BD Hall
Rabindra Jayanti celebrations at Laban Hrad Mancha in Salt Lake were ushered in with a prabhat pheri at 6 in the morning which saw a dozen or so people walk around BD Park singing Aloker ei jharnadhara. Then they walked into the auditorium, as other audience members came over not just from adjoining blocks in Salt Lake but also from neighbourhoods like Kestopur, Baguihati and Lake Town.
Local councilor Ratna Bhowmick greeted each artiste with a batik shawl, flowers and mementoes, before they began their performance. Asked if this was a breach of the Election Commission’s model code of conduct, she said: “People of Salt Lake are here for Tagore. Let’s just forget the Lok Sabha polls for a day and concentrate on that one man we all admire and worship. People here love me and they know I love everything about Tagore.”
The mercury came down a few notches thanks to the shower. Organiser Ashok Panja, from Swastik Event Management, could not be happier. “The rains have brought relief after the heat wave. Perhaps Tagore’s spirit made the weather gods send showers our way on Rabindra Jayanti. So, how can the polls affect anything when the weather cannot?” he said.
Several prominent artistes such as Chandrabali Rudra Dutta, Debasis Kumar Basu, Samik Pal, Sovon Sundar Bosu among others took to the stage and performed. While Chandraboli sang Akash bhora surjo tara and Kharabayu boi begey, Samik Pal presented Choron dhorite, Pran chay and Godhuli gogone. Both artistes performed to resounding applause at the end of each song and were faced with requests of “one more, one more”. “I would love to sing more but I also have to visit other places and save my voice for them too. Surely, we will all meet soon,” responded Pal, adding, “It feels wonderful that we have this opportunity of multiple performances in a day! What else can an artiste ask for?”
While Debasis Kumar Basu recited a couple of poems from Tagore’s collection of poems, Balaka, in a very traditional way, Sovon Sundar Bosu used a little diversion. He recited the lyrics of the song Hridoy amar nachere ajike and Nirjhorer swapnobhongo to the beat of tabla in a sing-song style of recitation. This was a huge hit with the crowd which lapped up every word.
Apala Chowdhury, a resident of Lake Town who was in the audience, said: “Every year, I come to BD Hall, because I feel the ambience is very homely and welcoming. I have friends here and we join the celebrations right from early morning. I have been coming here for the last 15 years.”
Purbachal
Purbachal auditorium experienced a breath of election air during the Rabindra Jayanti celebrations as Saikat Mitra, son of noted singer Shyamal Mitra, took stage. He began his performance with Srabon er dharar moto and was about to leave the stage when the audience requested him for more songs. He came back heeding their request and said: “A lot is happening in our country because of elections. Some people think they can do anything only because they have money and power. But this is Bengal and that kind of attitude is not going to work here.” He then went on to sing Bidhir bidhaan katbe tumi emon shaktimaan and asked the audience to join in. Almost a hundred people sitting in the audience sang along in chorus and clapped to the beat, creating an electrifying ambiance of protest.
The rest of the day lacked drama. Many, like Debasis Kumar Basu who came hurrying in from BD Hall, took the stage, performed their items and hurriedly left. Basu recited Porichoy and Hey bondhu bidaay from Shesher Kobita.
Next up was Alok Rowchowdhury who sang Ami kaan petey roi, followed by Shreya Guhathakurta who performed with Nurul Islam, an artiste from Bangladesh. They sang Aji jhorer raatey and Moha bishmey mahakashe. Organiser Minu Das Chakraborty, the local councilor, greeted each artiste with flowers, food packets and mementos. “People in Purbachal love this show. They are all very culturally inclined. They expect this from me and I do my best to bring the best artistes for them,” she said.
Piyali Das, a resident of Purbachal Cluster XIII, said: “I have been living in Salt Lake for the last 20 years. My husband is a doctor but he loves music. I too sing Rabindrasangeet. We make sure there are no other engagements on this day. He joined the prabhat pheri and I came in a little later after finishing all household chores.”
Did you visit any of the Rabindra Jayanti programmes this year? Write to saltlake@abp.in