BA BLOCK’S Rabindra-Nazrul evening saw some 50 residents in performance of various shows at their community hall Utsarga.
The programme commenced with Adrija Chowdhury singing the inaugural Rabindrasangeet followed by Kalpita Saha who presented Nazrulgeeti. Block president Arunava Das paid homage to the bards with garlands and thanked residents for their participation.
“Both Rabindranath and Nazrul Islam remain symbols of humanism. Instead of making a public demonstration of our worship of these men, we should try to follow the principles and values they stood for in our daily lives,” Das said.
This was followed by a geeti alekhya, titled 'Hey kobi loho pronam', directed by Indrita Mondal. It comprised Tagore songs interspersed with brief narrations on the circumstances from his life that occasioned their composition.
So 'Esho hey Baisakh' ushered in Tagore’s birth and upbringing in the rich cultural atmosphere of Jorasanko Thakurbari. 'Jodi tor daak shune' stood for Tagore’s patriotic fervour and 'Gram chhara' embodied his effort to represent rural Bengal on the world stage.
Children recited poems by both Tagore and Nazrul. A special occasion was the unveiling of the second issue of Swajon, a quarterly digital magazine published by the block association. This was followed by a solo dance performance by Samriddhi Biswas to the song 'Tomar khola hawa' and solo music by Ishita Nath.
The segment “Rabindra-Nazrul-er chokhe nari” had Ankur Mazumdar, Uma Das, Parama Das and Madhabi Roy presenting excerpts from the bards’ songs and plays, depicting the portrayal of female characters in their works. Sampurna Ghosh and Debabrata Mondal recited Tagore’s 'Lukochuri' and 'Nirjhorer swapnobhongo'.
The show ended with 'Sahitye Purush', conceptualised by Satarupa Hore and directed by Subrata Hore. It sought to raise questions as to why male characters such as Arjun and Bajrosen in the dance dramas 'Chitrangada' and 'Shyama' respectively seem to have got overshadowed by their female counterparts.
