On the occasion of 150 years of eminent Bengali poet Rajanikanta Sen’s birth, the City of Joy will be seeing a string of events, like a new book, the unflagging of a statue and a cultural show where his songs will be rendered by eminent musicians from Bengal and Bangladesh.
A rare book on the poet which will throw light on the bard’s life, reminiscences, select songs, rare photographs, manuscripts will be published by Patra Bharati on the July 25. Singer Riddhi Bandopadhyay, who has compiled and edited the book, will be present along with eminent author Nabaneeta Deb Sen, noted music director Debojyoti Mishra, singer and theatre researcher Debjit Bandopaduyay will also be present on the occasion. A CD on the poet’s works will also be released at the event.
On July 29 Riddhi Bandopadhyay will present the acclaimed stage show, Pancha Kabir Gaan, where popular songs of Rajanikanta will be performed by Golam Haider and Ameena Ahmed and others from Bangladesh and Riddhi herself.
Interestingly, on July 26, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Riddhi—A Step for Music will unveil a statue of the bard at a famous park in North Kolkata. The Mayor of Kolkata, Sovan Chatterjee, Debashis Kumar, the poet’s grandson, Dilip Kumar Roy and great grandson, Arup Ratan Gupta and his wife, Sapna Gupta will be present on this occasion.