It has been a long time since a new genre of cultural performance 'recitation of poems' – more popularly known as 'Elocution' – evolved in the domain of Bengali culture. Though the art is much practiced and familiar in Bengal, it lacks popularity in other parts of the country.
An unparalleled elocutionist since late 1960s, Pradip Ghosh has been working towards popularising this art. He is well-known for his unique and inimitable style of recitation.
Inspired by his father Chinmoyjiban Ghosh, Pradip started reciting poems even before he learned to read or write.
His father would carry him fondly on his shoulders, and the little boy would go on happily with long poems on his lips.
The famous elocutionist of Eastern India, delves deep into the soul of the poems, while he recites them. Also, he believes that it is not the technique that matters, but the message that he wishes to convey through the presentation.
Ghosh has travelled extensively in the West presenting Rabindranath before the foreign audience. Tagore is Ghosh's first love from his early childhood, and therefore he tried to introduce a new style in reciting the poems of Tagore particularly those whom the poet had written for children.
To give the art and artist more recognition, Bhavna Records and Cassettes have recently published two audio CDs of Tagore poems by Pradip Ghosh. The CDs named 'Shishu Kishor' and 'Swadesh' will be formally launched by the Governor of West Bengal Keshri Nath Tripathi in the presence of renowned elocutionists Partha and Gouri Ghosh, Urmimala and Jagannath Basu and Bratati Bandopadhyay on April 4, at 5 pm, at the Kolkata Press Club.