A date with Rila Banerjee

Rila Banerjee is one of Kolkataʼs leading folk and jazz chanteuses who is getting ready to musically enchant us once again in her second innings! A voice that has often been compared with that of the legendary Joan Baez, Rila has been on the music circuit carving out her own, exclusive niche. She has also discovered her love for designing special jewellery that has become, in a short space of time, a big hit with her clients. Rila sells her ornaments exclusively through the social media and has found buyers not only in India but also abroad.

My first concert on stage was at the age of ten! But I have always been singing, as long as I can remember. I was especially enthusiastic about the singing classes at Loreto House. Then I joined the Calcutta School of Music where my mother plonked me to learn how to play the guitar as she was going abroad for three months and felt that this would keep me out of mischief and make me do something worthwhile with my time. However, my guitar teacher, Garney Niss, figured soon enough that I was more inclined to singing. So he encouraged me to learn how to play the instrument just about enough to accompany myself. He was actually instrumental in inspiring me to sing.

I started making money by singing from the age of 10! I got the princely sum of Rs 45 for my first public appearance. But for me it was big bucks at that time. Calcutta School of Music was then my second home. I did a Bengali album with HMV called ʻJonakiʼ some years later. The album was a little before its time because it was Bangla pop and people were not ready for it. Had it happened now, the story would have been quite different. Then, before I knew it, I got married and gave up singing altogether for fifteen years. So music was put on the back-burner but after my divorce, now that I have begun singing again, we are doing a lot of original music and we are hoping that at some point of time we will be able to cut a disc. But Sumith (Rilaʼs second husband) and I are realistic about it because the kind of music we make is for a very niche market. We are doing a lot more live shows than I ever did. Today, the music scene is very vibrant and has opened up in a major way in India.

Music will always be my first love but now I have also taken to designing jewellery under the Beeʼs Knees label. Sumith is a musician and that aspect will always remain in the home. Actually, I took to designing jewellery because I wanted to wear nice and chunky stuff on stage that I couldnʼt find anywhere.I was doing it for fun. Then some friends saw what I was making and wanted some for themselves. So there came a time when I was making jewellery for all my friends and relatives till my daughter suggested that I just convert my talent into a business. Well, one thing led to another and I did try selling some of my earrings and necklaces and it clicked!

I am terribly fortunate because I am now doing all that I love to do – sing and design my own jewellery. For years I have been singing other peopleʼs music which is fantastic. Thatʼs the kind of stuff that moulds you and makes you who you are. But at some point of time I felt that I wanted to carve my own identity and have my own sound. I always wrote a lot of music. So I was very sure that if we ever get back into the music scene seriously it would have to be our own stuff. Thatʼs how the new band, Plan B, was born. Now Rila B is excited about her new avatar! But frankly, both the music and the band take second place because first and foremost I am a mother, then a wife, then a house-keeper! Only after fulfilling these primary duties, whatever time is left on hand, I devote to my two favourite muses!

Pics: Pradip Patra