The secret of the infinity of music lies in the fact that it keeps on evolving with time. Same is the case with Bangla music also. The rich Bengali music has evolved into various genres, from the base of Bengali classical. The most recent addition to the rich lineage of Bengali music has been termed Adhunik Bangla Sangeet, which means the modern music. This genre is a completely different from the other existent varieties, like Nazrul Geeti, Rabindra Sangeet, Baul and Bhatiyali music as well as traditional Bengali classical. It is highly influenced by the popular filmy music and different genres of western music.
Interestingly, despite being the most recent addition to Bengali music, Adhunik sangeet is not as new as it appears. It gained momentum under the British reign only, a few decades before the Indian Independence. Most of the music of this genre is targeted towards the mainstream audience. It is built on catchy tunes, combined with plain lyrics. As the music was a new genre at the time of India's independence, it was named 'Adhunik Music'. Even after 60 years of independence, the music is still considered to be the most modern (adhunik) form of music in West Bengal.
Modern Bengali music is considered to be the 'music of masses'. This genre includes a wide variety of songs and music, which have evolved within the last few years and do not fit into any other genre of Bengali Music. A conglomerate of the many kinds of music evolved in the present times, Adhunik Bangla Sangeet has grown faster than any other genre of Bengali Music. Apart from the filmy songs, this genre also includes Bangla Pop and Bangla Rock, highly influenced by western genre of music.
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