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. Band members Original line-up: Gautam Chattopadhyay (Manik a.k.a. Moni-da to his younger siblings) – voice, lead guitar, saxophone, folk instruments, lyrics Pradip Chatterjee (Bula Chattopadhyay)- bass guitar, flute Tapas Das – lyrics, voice, guitar Ranjon Ghoshal – lyrics, emcee, visuals, media relations Biswanath Bishu Chattopadhyay – drums, bass violin Abraham Mazumdar – piano, violin Tapesh Bandopadhyay (Bhanu) – voice, guitar, (till 1978) Later members: Raja Banerjee – (1978 onwards – voice, guitar) After Tapesh Bandopadhyay left the band in 1978, he was replaced by Raja Banerjee. Raja went on to record the third Moheener Ghoraguli album Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli with the band and performed in numerous concerts till the band was disbanded. For a brief period Pranab Sengupta and Christopher Vaz appeared with the band. Discography Selected albums (1977-1979) Shangbigno Pakhikul O Kolkata Bishayak (1977) Ajaana UDonto bostu ba Aw-Oo-Baw (1978) Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli (1979) Musicianship 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. 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, and may have been involved in the Naxalite movement. This political outlook was reflected in the musical output of the band. The type of music that Moheener Ghoraguli pioneered, though debatably, had the seeds of now very popular Jibonmukhi gaan or 'Songs of ordinary life'. Two decades after Moheen, singers like Kabir Suman, Nochiketa and Anjan Dutt took Jibonmukhi gaan to a new level of popularity, but the origins of the genre can be found in the songs of Moheener Ghoraguli. The band recorded with Western and Bengali folk instruments and also experimented in