Established in the 1970s during a period of stagnation in Bangla music, when commercial film songs were the dominant market force, the lyrics (and to some extent the compositions) of leader Gautam Chattopadhyay were radically new. They were of a very personal or social nature, similar to the urban folk movement led by Bob Dylan in the 60s. Though they were almost unknown in their time, in recent years they have undergone a critical re-evaluation much like the Velvet Underground. This can not be understood without a little background on the Jibonmukhi movement. In recognition of this renewed interest, Gautam released a compilation of Mohiner Ghoraguli covers by contemporary artists, Aabaar Bochhor Kuri Pore in 1995. They have since come to be considered an unrecognised pioneers of the jibonmukhi style and ethics, decades ahead of their times.
They are sometimes also credited as the pioneers of the flourishing of Bangla bands in the new millennium. This is debatable as their songwriting was strongly rooted in Bangla folk and also American urban folk, while modern Bangla bands like Fossils and Insomnia are influenced by grunge.
Their signature song is Prithibita Naki, a reflection on how television creates urban alienation. It has been covered by many artists.
Style
This group was formed by a group of Kolkata musicians led by Gautam Chattopadhyay towards the end of 1974. Initially, they called themselves 'Saptarshi', and finally settled on the name 'Moheener Ghoraguli' proposed by Ranjon Ghoshal. The name was borrowed from a poem 'Ghora' by Jibanananda Das. The 1970s were not a propitious time for an experimental group like Moheener Ghoraguli. It was the heyday of classic Bengali singers such as Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Shyamal Mitra, etc. - soloists who were responsible for creating the canon of adhunik gaan or 'modern Bengali songs'. These were songs that updated the tradition of Tagore and Nazrul. They were traditional in their instruments and arrangements, and traditional in their themes and lyrics. They often appeared for the first time in the soundtrack of Bengali movies before getting wider release. Indeed, composers like Salil Chowdhury maintained a bank of their compositions, to use when they were requested to score a film. These were usually typical romantic songs, fluffy and unmemorable in their lyrical content. The situation has been compared to the mellow, commercial Tin Pan Alley music in USA that led to the rebellious rock'n'roll movement.
In such a conservative climate, Moheener Ghoraguli, with its unorthodox musical compositions and strange choice of song themes, failed to gain much of a fan base. Its songs dealt with everyday topics -politics, poverty, injustice, revolution, love, loneliness, even begging and prostitution. Gautam Chattopadhyay had strong political beliefs; in common with many intelligent and idealistic young men of his generation, he was involved in socialist/communist politics during the 1960s and 1970s. (According to former bandmate Abraham Mazumdar, Gautam may have been involved in the Naxalite movement as well. This political outlook was reflected in the musical output of the band.
Meaning of the band's name
The name of the band itself is a strange one. The literal meaning of Moheen'er Ghora-guli is "Moheen's horses". While this obscure phrase puzzles many of the band's fans, it is actually taken from a poem Ghora ('Horses') by the great modernist Bengali poet Jibanananda Das. The second line of the poem is:
Moheener ghoragulo ghash khae Kartik'er jyotsna'r prantorey
loosely translated as:
"Moheen's horses graze on the horizon, in the Autumn moonlight"
One of the band's most popular songs, Bhalobashi jyotsnae, is a tribute to the natural beauty of the Bengali countryside; the influence of Jibanananda's pastoral poetry is evident throughout the song.
There are other parallels: Jibanananda broke with the literary tradition of his time and introduced modernist themes and diction to Bengali poetry. He is often considered the first Bengali poet to truly break free of Rabindranath's imposing presence. To some extent, Moheener Ghoraguli attempted to do the same for Bengali popular music.
Live performances
The original Moheen lineup performed consistently over the period 1976–1981 throughout the city of Kolkata. Some of their notable performances were at:
* Jogesh Mime Academy (1977 and 1978)
* Star Theatre (1978)
* Max Mueller Bhavan (1979)
* Rabindra Sadan (1979)
* St. Paul's Cathedral (1980)
* Calcutta International Jazz Festival (1980)
* Calcutta School of Music (1981)
In 1995 Gautam Chattopadhay wanted to do first Bengali Song CONCERT. He got immediate response from Jadavpur University Student's union. In march '95 when the inter college cultural festival was happening, Gautamda was requested to do a live performance. Monida took the challenge and as usual, bengal saw something which till date nobody ever dared to repeat "SOMO SAMAYIK BANGLA GANER CONCERT" at the JU OAT.
All the new generation musicians who performed in the Abar Bochhor kuri poray album were given the opportunity to perform.... While the singers and musicians were enjoying the stage performing, at the back side, 6 huge canvas was kept and bengal's one of the most famous contemporary painter was depicting the meaning of the songs live on the canvas.
Each of the Canvas later on was donated to JU Student's Union with a autograph of Monida and Rathinda, which might be still decorating few historic walls of JU.
In this concert few members of Original Mohineer Ghoraguli was also present like Abraham Majumder with his young students to jamm in, Bapida (Tapas Das), Bulada (Pradip Chattopadhyay), Raja Banerjee...
Monida's last live performance was at Kalyani University in Jan 1999, along with Subrata Ghosh of Garer Math, Neel, Bonny & Dwide of the then Krosswindz and the live sound mixing was done by Chhoton (founder member of Chandrabindo) a die-hard follower and inspirer of Subrata & Monida.
