An enchanted evening

Tagore’s versatility and the universal appeal of his works are not confined to any one community. The uniqueness of his songs, like that of the poems of Wordsworth and Browne is the fact that they can uplift your mood; anytime, anywhere. They were geniuses who had seen life from so close and felt the bonding with Almighty with such intensity that their words infuse hope today, even in the toughest of situations. They rose like the phoenix from the ashes of their personal defeats and pains to pen down lines of unmitigated strength. Wordsworth’s lines— “To me alone there came a thought of grief: \ A timely utterance gave that thought relief,\ And I again am strong:…” and those from Tagore’s, “Amar e dhoop na porale/ Gondho kichhui nahin dhale” (Until you burn my incense, Lord! I cannot give the fragrance) were written when they were going through bad patches in life. Read the lines, get the essence, and our sorrows fade in the sunshine of our strengths.

Tagore’s poems and songs have always been a constant companion for his readers in their moments of happiness, triumph, togetherness, separations and grief. A collection of a few pearls from the Kaviguru’s collection was presented during concluding ceremony of Tagore's 150th birth anniversary celebrations: an event organised by Nikhil Bharat Bango Sahitya Sammelan, Nagpur Chapter. The programme was held at Scientific Society Hall at Laxminagar. Singer Agnibha Bandyopadhyay meticulously chose songs so that the bouquet he created was wholesome. Bandyopadhyay’s research (he is an Associate Professor at Rabindra Bharati Vishwavidyalaya) and years of familiarity in recital of Tagore’s songs was evident as he presented some of Tagore’s rare compositions. His rendition touched every heart, of even those who did not understand the language. Each song emerged from the depth of Bandyopadhyay’s knowledge of Tagore literature mixed with his years of riyaaz in classical music, and from his obvious love for what he was doing.

Among his accompanying artists were some world-renowned names like Sheetal Ganguli (on Madira) and Shubhobroto Ghatak (on keyboard), who is better known as Shonku Ghatak.

Anshubho Bandyopadhyay created magic on tabla and Chiranjeev Choudhuri ably accompanied in guitar.

The enchanted journey through Tagore’s songs took a magical turn with Balmiki Pratibha, the dance drama by Tagore that was staged by Surabhi Kala Kendra, Kolkata. The beautiful performance by the artists of the Surabhi Kala Kendra was choreographed and directed by Shri Sudhir Das. Valmiki Pratibha, meaning, the ‘genius of Valmiki’ was composed by Tagore for an entertainment purpose; for a family gathering. Tagore kept the overall mood of the drama happy and kept elements of comedy for the delight of children of the family. The plot is based on the story of Ratnakar, the chief of dacoits, being moved to pity and having a change of heart after witnessing the grief of one of a pair of cranes whose mate was killed by a hunter. Ratnakar was so moved that he broke into a lament in Sanskit, the Devvani (language of Gods) unbeknownst to him so far. Later, Ratnakar became Valmiki and composed his Ramayana in Sanskrit.

Members of Surabhi Kala Kendra portrayed every character flawlessly. Sudhir Das fused bharatnatyam, kathak, Rabindra Nritya and a bit of Puruliya chhau deftly and created a choreograph that was perfect and captivating. He played the central character of Ratnakar. Painstakingly done stage sets, costumes and makeup that were clearly works of genius, left an everlasting impact in the minds of Nagpurkars.

(See more photographs by ace photoghapher Sanjib Ganguly on FB)

Prelude to review of Tagore Birth anniversary celebrations

My Saturday (the 21^st of May) didn’t take off well. But it did end grandly, just the way I’d love a Saturday to bring curtains down on a hectic week (yeah yeah, my office works six days a week). A friend of mine, very generously gave me two passes to a Bengali cultural event that marked the culminations of Rabindranath Tagore’s 150^th birth anniversary celebrations.

If and when there is a rendition of Tagore songs, my mother is not likely to miss an attendance. So I took her, with my 10-month-old son in tow to the recital of Tagore’s songs by Mr Agnibha Bandyopadhyay, from Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata followed by presentation of dance drama, “Valmiki Pratibha” . The programme, as expected, was audio-visual treat.

The evening was a personal milestone as it was my son’s first cultural evening. And did he enjoy! He is familiar with Rabindra Sangeet (many of them are his lullabies); he was amazed to listen to the same songs with accompaniment of musical instruments. So much so, he tried to ‘sing’ (at top of his voice) with Mr Banyopadhyay and kept clapping at his own masterful rendition.

The dance drama, “Valmiki Pratibha” was delightful; thanks to brilliant choreography and flawless acting. The programme needs to be mentioned separately, and not as a part of my musing. So keep a watch on my blog for a review of the event. Nagpurkars, spare yourself the trouble of digging out for Sunday’s newspapers; there ain’t nothing except one pathetic article in one local paper. Surprisingly there, the reporter has very successfully portrayed Tagore as a petty poet churning out ‘songs and poems of different taste’ (the way a roadside vadapav vendor may create different chutneys to keep his customers hooked)!

The Generation Z

I felt a little stupid walking into a quasiexpensive salon braving an outside temperature of 42^oC (107.6^o F) in Nagpur’s infamous summer. The roads were deserted, as one would expect, in the middle of the day. However, I could not postpone my visit—overt growth of facial hair had started restricting my social life. So I walked in, almost stealthily, to the comfortably air-conditioned salon expecting to see a bunch of sleepy-eyed people giving me the why-is-this-dame-here-at-this-ungodly-hour look.

Instead, I was happily surprised to see a couple of slaves-to-beauty-consciousness clients ensconced in the chairs and a mild buzz of activity around them. I was greeted with a big smile from the pretty receptionist—how much of this smile was for my obvious need for threading and how much of it was at the thought of emptying my purse remains debatable. The next surprise was bigger, literally. The girl who emerged from behind a door was tall with long, never-ending legs clad in a pair of body-hugging, designer jeans. She was 19 something and had that devil may care attitude typical of girls her age. She had a face angelic and impudent at the same time. Tribal style bracelets adorned her not-so-delicate wrist, a diamond nosering reflected some light and more attitude, many diamonds that decorated her ear-lobes spied about her background. I was definitely not expecting a she-could-have-been-a-model to do my eye-brows! My astonishment must have been evident (and not new to her) because she gave me a patronizing look and asked me to take a chair.

The way her hands moved swiftly, surely and she rid me of my facial hair without making me reach for wads of tissues—all in less than five minutes, gave me a feeling that she belonged to the rare group of people who are highly efficient and perfect in whatever they decide to do. I felt like asking her what she was doing in a salon. Why a prospective supermodel would chose a profession that included cleaning smelly toes of people is way beyond my understanding.

But then again, I was meeting the generation Z. They know their minds, they have the courage to follow their hearts, they know no work is undignified. The girl, who in all possibilities might never have poured herself a glass of water, was playing Abigail to clients. As a mom, I was disturbed by the thought of my son following his heart to someplace similar to. But hey, will I not be proud of him, at his courage, even secretly?