Rajeeb's homecoming for the Folk Fest

On this year's Dhaka International Folk Fest lineup, the name Prosad is a total wild-card entry. This born-and-raised Canadian multi-instrumentalist with a penchant for sitar is probably going to be a surprise element for the festival, but his ensemble has another surprise: one of his band members is a Bangladeshi musician living and working in Toronto.

Tanveer Alam Rajeeb flew in with Prosad to Bangladesh this week to perform in the Folk Fest, for the first time in seven years. “As a Bangladeshi, it is a huge deal for me to be coming back home to perform, on a stage like this,” Rajeeb told The Daily Star. He met Prosad in Toronto many years ago, and performs with him there. They sent their videos to the organisers of the Folk Fest, and eventually finalised the gig.

But what is a Canadian musician going to play at a folk music festival in Dhaka? “Prosad plays the guitar, flute and sitar, and I will be playing tabla and percussion with him. We will be doing some of his original songs -- country-styled music, and some reggae, but in a fusion style incorporating the sitar and tabla,” Rajeeb says. “It is going to be interesting, and I hope the audience likes it.”

Prosad has toured across Canada, Europe and South Pacific, and composed for films in Hollywood. He learned sitar from Shambhu Das (a senior disciple of Pt. Ravi Shankar) and also plays the didgeridoo (a wind instrument developed by indigenous Australians). A hallmark of his music is the use of ancient instruments to create music for the modern age.