Singer Ankon Kumar has returned to Coke Studio Bangla with a new song that explores separation, unfulfilled love and the emotions that remain long after a relationship has ended. Titled ‘Mathura: Adhora Bhalobashar Sur’, the semi-classical track features Ankon alongside Sanjida Mahmud Nandita.
Released as the fifth song of the ongoing fourth season of Coke Studio Bangla, ‘Mathura’ marks Ankon’s return to the platform a year after his appearance in its third season. He has not only lent his voice to the new track but has also written and composed it. Shubhendu Das Shubh has arranged the music.
Ankon began attracting attention through the Hatirpool Sessions song ‘Up’, although his musical journey started before that release. His association with Coke Studio Bangla subsequently helped bring his work to a wider audience. Last year, his performance of ‘Long Distance Love’ in the programme’s third season gave him broader recognition. He has since also sung for web films and cinema.
‘Long Distance Love’ featured Ankon with Mumtahina Mehjabin Afrin. For ‘Mathura’, however, he has teamed up with Nandita, creating a different vocal combination around a story of love that never reaches fulfilment.
Nandita is also a familiar voice on Coke Studio Bangla. She first came into wider attention on the platform during its inaugural season with Kazi Nazrul Islam’s ‘Bulbuli’. In the second season, her rendition of ‘Arale Duare Mor’ also received appreciation from listeners.
The central idea of ‘Mathura’ is built around two people whose emotional connection remains strong even though their lives move in different directions. Their relationship is likened to two parallel lines travelling side by side. They remain close enough to see one another, yet never reach a point where their paths can truly converge.
The song draws on the enduring theme of incomplete love found in well-known tales such as Radha and Krishna, Romeo and Juliet, and Laila and Majnu. Rather than presenting love only through the idea of togetherness, ‘Mathura’ focuses on what happens when a relationship remains unfinished and its memories continue to occupy a place in the hearts of those involved.
That sense of emotional residue forms a key part of the song. A relationship may come to an end, but the feelings attached to it do not necessarily disappear at the same time. Memories, unspoken words and unresolved emotions can continue to shape how people remember a chapter of their lives.
The semi-classical arrangement provides the musical setting for those emotions, allowing the song to move between longing and restraint. Ankon’s writing and composition are supported by Shubh’s arrangement, while Nandita’s vocal contribution adds another dimension to the narrative.
Shubh has previously worked with both artists on Coke Studio Bangla. He arranged Ankon’s ‘Long Distance Love’ and was also responsible for the musical arrangements of Nandita’s two earlier songs on the platform.
With ‘Mathura’, Ankon, Nandita and Shubh have brought their established creative connection into a new setting. The song revolves around the ache of separation, words that remain unspoken and a love that survives in memory even when two people can no longer walk the same path.
