Praner Alap

by Ochin Pakhi, Innova Recordings (2025)

Praner Alap (“Meeting of Hearts”) is an album by Chicago band Ochin Pakhi, produced by Chicago Folklore Ensemble and released on the label Innova Recordings, presenting a selection of songs from Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry collection Gitanjali (Song Offerings). Praner Alap is the fruit of a collaboration between dear friends from around the world, joining their wide array of artistic backgrounds to explore the depth of Tagore’s music and poetry.

The digital album is accompanied by an art booklet presenting song lyrics newly translated by Lucia Thomas and paintings inspired by each song by visual artists Sanchayita Kar, Dipsikha Debnath, and Hanna Grahm. You can purchase the booklet here online, or at Ochin Pakhi’s live shows.

Tracklist:

1. Amare Tumi Oshesh Korechho
2. Protidino
3. Ami Hethay
4. Kolahol To Baron Holo
5. Megher Pore Megh
6. Ei To Tomar Prem
7. Jagote Anandajoggye
8. He Mor Debota
9. Peyechhi Chhuti
10. Jibono Jokhono Shukaye Jay
11. Tumi Kemon Kore Gan Koro
12. Kolahol To Baron Holo (Reprise)

Credits:

Featuring:
Subhajit Sengupta – vocals
Swarnali Banerjee – vocals, recitation, manjira (11)
Lucia Thomas – violin, oud (1), Hindustani 5-string violin (4, 12), dotara (6), khamok (6), manjira (6)
Sam Hyson – accordion, violin (1, 12), guitar (1)
Molly Greening – cello

Guest musicians:
Dhananjay Kunte – tabla (2, 3, 7, 10, 12)
Soumyajyoti Ghosh – bansuri (1, 6, 7)
Justin Peterson – upright bass (6, 11)
Nate Torrence – khol (6), frame drum (10)
Mehtab Kirtan Singh – tabla (11)
Shamim Aqil – dhol (11)
Max Bessesen – saxophone (3)

Visual artists:
Sanchayita Kar
Dipsikha Debnath
Hanna Grahm
Subhajit Sengupta

Production:
Gene (Zhenya) Nemirovsky, audio engineering and production
Lucia Thomas, assistant audio engineer
Lucie Van Der Elst, booklet design

Lyrics translated from Bengali into English by Lucia Thomas, except for the song “Jibono Jokhono Shukaye Jay,” which is Tagore’s original translation.

Additional thanks to Tzippora Rhodes, Sayak Mitter, Elja Roy, George Zrust, Christina Nichol, Debajit Goswami, Shri Indradeep Ghosh, Shri Hindol Cattopadhyay for their invaluable help with this project.

The story behind the album:

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was Bengali polymath and cultural icon whose vast body of work includes poetry, novels, dramas, essays, paintings, and over two thousand songs. In 1912, Tagore published his own English translations of his devotional poetry in a collection entitled Gitanjali (Song Offerings). The work cemented his reputation as a world-class poet and led to him being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Unbeknownst to most of his Western readers, many of the poems in the original Bengali version of Gitanjali were lyrics of songs that Tagore had composed – songs Bengalis still know and love.

After vocalists Subhajit Sengupta and Swarnali Banerjee immigrated to the United States from West Bengal, they shared these and other classic Bengali songs with friends they met in Chicago. In a cross-cultural collaboration, they formed the band Ochin Pakhi (“unknown bird”), performing a variety of Bengali folk and traditional music. This group of friends worked together to create innovative arrangements of these songs by Tagore, combining emotional sensibilities from various musical styles. In a multi-year project organized by Chicago Folklore Ensemble, Ochin Pakhi collaborated with musicians and artists from around the world to record this album and produce an accompanying booklet with new translations of the lyrics and original artwork inspired by each song.

The album Praner Alap grew out of Chicago Folklore Ensemble’s live show Our Gitanjali: Song Offerings of Rabindranath Tagore, which premiered in 2018. Our Gitanjali was a two-hour performance that took audiences on a spiritual journal via Rabindranath Tagore’s music and poetry, intertwining Tagore’s exquisite verses with the music that brings the poetry its full emotional resonance. English language recitations of several poems from Gitanjali were paired with innovative arrangements of the songs, sung in Bengali, plus improvisations in the songs’ corresponding ragas. Over the course of the show, the performers shared stories and personal experiences to illustrate the enduring power and relevance of Tagore’s legacy across cultures and continents.