“I only paid Tk500 to buy my rights for ‘Tomar Jonno’,’’ says Jayita Mahalanobish with a smile. Jayita Mahalanobish is a theater artist who better known as the director of Prothom Partho, a production by Theatre School Praktoni. The drama has three songs under its belt, each growing in popularity as the drama gains a greater fan following. In conversation with Showtime, Jayita shares how she purchased “Tomar Jonno,” one of the three songs, for a mere Tk500.
Back in the early 2000s, Jayita and her friends would go to Bishwo Shahitto Kendro and spend several hours chatting, sharing ideas and discussing art, music and culture. ‘’We used to share many new ideas back then. That ‘adda’ was the first step we made towards our media careers. It was a golden time for us,’’ says Jayita. During one of those sessions, Dalim Kumar, one of her friends, sang the song “Tomar Jonno.” He also wrote the lyrics for the song. On one of those days, Jayita asked Dalim to sell the song to her so she could use it in the future. Dalim didn’t give the offer a second thought. It was sold for Tk500.
‘’In 2000 and 2001, Tk500 was a big amount for struggling artists like us. In a time like that, buying a song fully knowing the uncertainty of the future was a risky, crazy decision to make,’’ Jayita smiles.
Now Jayita Mahalanobish is using that very five hundred taka worth song for her very first venture as director. She is also singing the song herself. ‘’If someone has any goal or future plans, they should start investing because in the long run there is no loss.”
