Celebrating Tagore and the timeless magic of Gitanjali

For every Bengali, the greatest source of pride is knowing that Rabindranath Tagore was born in Bengal.

Tagore’s presence in the hearts of Bengalis is unparalleled, and there’s a Tagore song for every occasion. The crowning glory came in 1913 when Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetic masterpiece, Gitanjali, making him the first Asian to win the honour. This sentiment was joyously celebrated on Saturday evening by the Techno India Group. An annual signature event of Aajkaal, ‘Gitanjali Indian’ on Saturday at Rabindra Sadan paid tribute to Tagore.

About 50 artistes performed Rabindra Sangeet in different languages, making it a memorable celebration of Tagore’s legacy.

The event kicked off with singer Santanu Roy Chowdhury and a choir performing ‘Aguner Poroshmoni’. Following this, state tourism minister Indranil Sen and Satyam Roychowdhury, Techno India Group Managing Director and Chancellor of Sister Nivedita University (SNU), paid floral tribute to Tagore.

Roychowdhury transported the audience to 1911, reminiscing the time when Tagore embarked on a journey to England, carrying his translated Gitanjali works. As Roychowdhury delved into various tales surrounding Gitanjali and the birth of Tagore’s most coveted collection of poems, the singers added a unique touch by performing ‘Tumi Kemon Kore Gaan Koro Hey Guni’ in Chinese. From the Italian translation of ‘Tomarei Koriachi Jiboner Dhrubotara’ to the French rendition of ‘Chokher Alo,’ the Japanese interpretation of ‘Purano Sei Diner Kotha,’ and a Spanish translation of ‘Momo Chitte,’ it was a unique celebration of Rabindra Sangeet’s global appeal.

TMC MLA Debasish Kumar, along with his wife Debjani, brought a poetic touch to the event by narrating a poem from ‘Gitanjali.’ “Gitanjali has made us known across the world. So, it’s an honour to be part of any event celebrating Tagore,” he said.

The event became even more special when stalwarts like Haimanti Shukla and Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta delighted the audience with their Rabindra Sangeet performances. “I always look forward to these enlightening events,” said Shukla. Other popular artistes like Raghav Chatterjee, Monomay Bhattacharya, Bratati Bandopadhyay,

and Sharmila Roy also participated, making the event a memorable celebration of Tagore’s timeless works.