A tribute to Tagore

Renowned artistes paid homage to Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary at a cultural fiesta

Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore has been loved and revered by Bengalis. Apart from growing up listening to Rabindra sangeet (songs penned by the legend), natives of West Bengal have also been avid followers of his literary works. But the same cannot be said about the young generation of probashi Bengalis (who stay in other parts of India and across the globe). To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore, Mumbai-based Katha Group organised Homage to Tagore, a cultural extravaganza to introduce the bard’s literary works to Gen Next. Renowned artistes like actress Rituparna Sengupta, tabla player Bickram Ghosh, dancer and actress Sudha Chandran, sarod player Sanjay Chakraborty, actress Srila Majumdar came together to pay homage to the litterateur at Ravindra Natya Mandir.

Krishnendu Sen, chairman Katha Group said this event was a precursor to several such programmes that his group would be organising across Mumbai throughout the year to promote the legend’s works. He said, “Tagore and his philosophies, thoughts and dynamism have inspired me. As a group, we want to introduce the new generation to Tagore’s wisdom and acquaint them with their cultural roots. Tagore is the ideal icon for the youth.”

The group is also planning to produce a movie on Tagore that will span the last days of his life after he won the Nobel Prize. Penned by lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar and directed by Ujjwal Chatterjee, the film titled Sound Of Silence is currently in the research stage. “The film will be set in Shantiniketan. We decided to make a movie on Tagore’s life after he won the Nobel Prize as this phase of his life has not been chronicled in any film. It’s likely to release on Pochishe Baisakh (April 25) next year on his birthday,” said Sen.

As for roping in reputed actress Rituparna Sengupta and dancer Sudha Chandran for Homage to Tagore, he says, “Rituparna has always been known for her acting prowess but very few people know that she is an excellent dancer. Similarly, Sudha is an acclaimed dancer, so it’s interesting to see how she enacts a dance drama written by Tagore. The audience gets a chance to see these artistes in a different avatar,” Sen added.

This was the first time Rituparna was paying a tribute to Tagore in Mumbai. Clad in a simple top and a flared multi-coloured skirt, the actress enacted Tagore’s famous poem Sadharan Meye (An ordinary girl) that narrates the tale of an ordinary girl who falls in love with a foreigner. She later performed classical dance on few monsoon songs penned by the bard. “Like every Bengali, I have also been truly inspired and influenced by Tagore. He was a powerhouse of talent and wisdom. I have grown up listening to Rabindra Sangeet and performed in a lot of dance dramas written by him in Kolkata. We wanted to make his works contemporary and present it to Mumbaikars too,” said the actress.

Her performance was followed by a recitation from Gitanjali by famous host Sujay Prasad Chowdhury and actress Srila Majumder. Sarod player Sanjay Chakraborty provided the perfect background score for the recitation. Sudha Chandran enacted Tagore’s famous dance drama Chitrangada, the princess who fell in love with Arjuna and forsake everything. Sudha said, “This is the first time I’m enacting Tagore’s work. Culture knows no boundaries. I’m an artiste from the South who is performing on songs composed by a literary figure from the East who made India proud. It’s truly an honour.”

Renowned tabla player Bickram Ghosh enthralled the audience with his performance. He performed some numbers from his forthcoming lounge album based on Tagore’s songs. “The bard’s biggest rythmic contribution to music was the rupakra taal, which is a low end deep bass taal. We have taken this taal and presented it in a new fashion. We have taken the seven most popular songs penned by Tagore and added a contemporary touch by interjecting different frequency levels. For instance, we have taken a song and given it a sufi mode. We have added an electronica backdrop to another song that has a ’60s blues feel,” the musician said. When asked, what prompted him to come up with this album, Bickram said, “The current generation is very reticent to Tagore’s works as they feel it’s very retro. The whole idea is to reach out to them through this album. This is my way of paying a tribute to the bard.”