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Tagore's taans in town
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Rabindra Sangeet reverberates in our City, and there is a group trying to get non-Bengalis to learn it.
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Tagore's heritage in music
BENGAL IS not just the home of the tremendously popular rossogollas and Tangails, but also of Rabindra Sangeet. Every Bengali worth his or her sandesh knows at least the basics of this style of music, originally created by one of the most revered Bengalis, Rabindranath Tagore.
Tagore, with his tremendous intellectual and aesthetic sensibilities, fused his love for poetry and music into one entity, creating a new, semi-classical form, called Rabindra Sangeet. The beauty of this form of music influenced other musicians, especially instrumentalists, including the great sitarist, Ustad Vilayat Khan Sahib, and the sarodiya, Buddhadev Dasgupta.
An exponent of Rabindra Sangeet in Bangalore, Nandini Mukherjee, has popularised this music in the City with her group, Amar Lahiri, named after her guru, Sri Amar Lahiri. According to Ms. Mukherjee, Rabindra Sangeet was termed as "Bhava Sangeet" by Tagore himself and is characterised by its rich and meaningful lyrics. "Tagore's music is relevant in any day and age. There is a song for any occasion and any emotion," she says.
This certainly explains the popularity of Rabindra Sangeet especially among Bengalis. One finds at least one member of every Bengali family who is into this kind of music. Ms. Mukherjee's guru Amar Lahiri learnt under Sri Subinoy Roy who was around when Tagore was alive. All his life, he worked to popularised this exceedingly lyrical form of music.
Ms. Mukherjee is a trained Hindustani classical musician. It is rather unusual for a classical musician to opt for a form less classical. Initially, she had no plans to learn Rabindra Sangeet. However, as she puts it: "Subinoy Roy was my inspiration. It was when I saw him perform that I decided I would get into Rabindra Sangeet."
She then found her guru in Amar Lahiri, who was Subinoy Roy's student, and started training under him.
Tagore classified his music into four kinds — Puja, Prakriti, Prem, and Swadesh, and composed several songs accordingly. The music is not totally pure, since Tagore borrowed tunes and even ideas from other forms of music; but his approach was unique. "Tagore's music will never die. He has brought out the voice of humanity through his songs. Any emotion one can think of is brought out in a song by Tagore," says Ms. Mukherjee.
One of the few people to bring Rabindra Sangeet to Bangalore, she initially had no plans to start classes, it just happened accidentally. "I didn't think I was going to start teaching. I always learnt music for myself and sang for myself. Then one day, I was asked by someone to teach a group of students and hence started teaching. Then it became an interest, and now I have a group of my own." Nevertheless, the singer adds, her foremost objective is to popularise the music of Tagore among non-Bengalis.
Her group, which performed at the Sweden in Bangalore and 100 Years of the Nobel Prize concert organised by Bangalore School of Music, seems to have gained acclaim among music lovers in the City.
"So far, we have performed several times in Bangalore and have received a lot of appreciation. Our audiences have been so varied, but all kinds of people have enjoyed our music," she adds.
One can only hope to hear more such soul-soothing music that also speaks the words of Tagore.
Nandini Mukherjee can be contacted on 3443904.
SONIRA GULHATI
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