The Rabindra Jayanti programme at Purbachal community hall started with a choric rendition of the song Hey nutan dekha did aarbar, by the music group Anandadhara. And watching their performance more keenly than others in the audience was a lady seated in the last row.
It was the 30th year of the Rabindra Jayanti that had started on a modest scale with only local participation, directed by veteran singer and Purbachal resident Mita Chatterjee. Within a few years, it became a Rabindra Jayanti celebration of note, riding on the wings of her contacts.
As the show completed three decades, she had come from her Cluster IX home to watch her students perform, despite her failing health.
Recalling the first year of Purbachal Kabipranaam, she said: “In 1994, we, a handful of residents, planned to organise a pnochishey Baishakh programme. Hemen Moitra of Cluster XIII, who was the first secretary of the Purbachal central committee, gave us a subscription of Rs 1,200. Historian Nisith Ranjan Roy inaugurated the show. Gradually it increased in scale and now it is being celebrated with much grandeur,” said Chatterjee, who remained rooted to her seat throughout the programme.
After the first few years, the programme was shifted to the Purbachal playground to allow more people to attend. It was here that the city’s music stalwarts started performing. The programme, about 15 years ago, has shifted back to the auditorium which is now air-conditioned, providing a respite in this summer heat.
Mukherjee’s nephew Parthasarathi Mukherjee, a nephrologist, had also come from Phulbagan to compere the programme along with Taposi Sinha. When Soumi Bhattacharjee sang Khara bayu boy bege from Tasher Desh, he mentioned that Tagore had dedicated the dance drama to Subhas Chandra Bose and Netaji was the boatman who was being urged to row the boat in stormy waters to safety (ogo neye naokhano baiyo), indicating the turbulent situation the country was in.
The solo performances had started with Sunechho hey biswapita by Chandrabali Rudra Dutta. Several well-known names followed — Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta sang Akashbhora suryotara, Rupankar Bagchi presented Bhalobeshe sakhi while Saikat Mitra performed Sraboner dharar moton.
Pranati Thakur recites on the Purbachal community hall stage
Purbachal was the only Salt Lake venue to draw a full house
The songs were interspersed with recitation — Chhotoboro and Thakurdadar Chhuti from Sishu Bholanath by Shovansundar Bosu, Debotar Grash by Rokeya Roy, Jhorer Kheya by Molly Debnath and Oi je abhoy shankho baje by Bijoylakshmi Barman among others.
A highlight was the presentation of a section of Mongpute Rabindranath by the elocutionist duo Jagannath and Urmimala Basu which held the audience in thrall. The segment brought out the poet’s love and anxiety for Visva-Bharati which is very relevant in the context of the current situation at the university. “We are passing through a tumultuous time and that, Pochishey Baisakh is being celebrated now, is in itself a big deal. Tagore is one figure for whom, we, Bengalis are capable of holding our heads high in the international arena,” said Urmimala Basu, on the sidelines of the programme.
Singer Sahela Panja, a DL Block resident, made light of the heat. “Gurudev was born in sizzling summer, so hot weather is the norm at this time of the year. This is why his birthday was celebrated on Poyla Baisakh in Santiniketan (for the last three years of his life, after which summer holiday started). Our attachment to him brings not only the performers but also music lovers out of the comfort of home. Earlier when this programme used to be held under the shed of a pandal, even then there was no dearth of listeners.”
Minister Sujit Bose was present as chief guest.
Other artistes who performed included Debarati Som, Agnibho Bandyopadhyay, Debmalya Chatterjee and Probuddho Raha.
The programme concluded with recitation by actor Biswajit Chakraborty and the national anthem.