Rabindra Sangeet

Rabindra Sangeet (Bengali: রবীন্দ্রসঙ্গীত, pronounced Robindro-Shongit, Template:IPA-bn), also known as Tagore Songs in English, is a form of music composed by Rabindranath Tagore who added a new dimension to the musical concept of India in general and Bengal in specific.

Rabindra Sangeet use Indian classical music and traditional folk music as sources. Tagore wrote some 2,230 songs.

Collection composition

The collection is sometimes known as the Gitabitan (garden of songs). The four major parts of this book are Puja (worship), Prem (love), Prakriti (Nature) and Bichitra (Diverse).

Influence and legacy

Rabindra Sangeet has had a very strong influence on Bengali culture. These songs are regarded as cultural treasures of Bengal in both Bangladesh and West Bengal (India).

The Rabindrasangeet, which deal with varied themes are immensely popular and form a foundation for the Bengali ethos that is comparable to, perhaps even greater than, that which Shakespeare has on the English-speaking world. It is said that his songs are the outcome of 500 years of literary & cultural churning that the Bengali community has gone through.

In his book Caste and Outcaste, Dhan Gopal Mukerji has said that these songs transcend the mundane to the aesthetic and express all ranges and categories of human emotion. The poet had given a voice to all—big or small, rich or poor. The poorest boatman on the Ganges as well as the rich landlord find expression for their emotional trials and tribulations in Tagore's songs.

Rabindrasangeet has evolved into a distinctive school of music. Practitioners of this genre are known to be fiercely protective of tradionalist practice. Novel interpretations and variations have drawn severe censure in both West Bengal and Bangladesh. And like Beethoven's symphonies or Vilayat Khan's sitar, Rabindrasangeet demands an educated, intelligent & cultured audience to appreciate the lyrical beauty of his compositions.

He was among the first to recognize that cinema should have its own language. In 1929 he wrote, “The beauty and grandeur of this form in motion has to be developed in such a way that it becomes self-sufficient without the use of words.” The inherent beauty & depth of Tagore's songs have persuaded a number of filmmakers to use Tagore’s songs in their films including Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Nitin Bose, Tapan Sinha and Kumar Shahani.His songs were also used in British, European & Australian movies just to capture the mood of a cinematic situation & to reveal a delicate interplay of relationships.

Ritwik Ghatak said of Tagore, “That man has culled all my feelings from long before my birth…I read him and find that...I have nothing new to say.” In his Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-capped Star) and Subarnarekha, Ghatak uses Rabindrasangeet to express the poignancy of post-Partition Bengal.

Two of the songs written by Tagore are the national anthems of India and Bangladesh. These are:

• Bangladesh: "Amar Shonar Bangla"
• India: "Jana Gana Mana"

Singers of Rabindrasangeet

Some of the well-known singers of Rabindrasangeet are:

• Kanika Bandyopadhyay: her original name was "Anima" but Tagore had renamed her "Kanika" and Abanindranath Tagore used to call her Mohar by which name she is known to many of her dedicated listeners.
• Debabrata Biswas: also known as the Second Man of Rabindrasangeet and the most popular male voice.
• Suman Chatterjee
• Chinmoy Chottopadhyay
• Arundhoti Home Chowdhury
• Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta
• Banani Ghosh
• Santidev Ghosh: direct disciple of Rabindranath Tagore and Dinendranath Tagore.
• Kishore Kumar
• Kavita Krishnamurthy
• Suchitra Mitra: like Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Suchitra is another female pioneer and virtuoso of Rabindra Sangeet. Many of the contemporary singers are disciples of Suchitra and Kanika.
• Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay: although he sang Bengali contemporary and Hindi songs also, Rabindrasangeet was his passion. He was among those who were instrumental in making Rabindrasangeet popular across all strata of Bengali population.
• Dijen Mukhopadhyay
• Pankaj Mullick: also known as the First Man of Rabindrasangeet.
• Subinoy Roy
• Nilima Sen: she was the Principal of Sangeet Bhavan and Swastika Mukhopadhyay was her student,who now teaches Rabindra Sangeet there.
• Indranil Sen
• Sagor Sen
• Lopamudra Mitra
• Srikanto Acharya

Teachers of Rabindrasangeet

India

Some of the well-known teachers of Rabindrasangeet (barring Tagore himself) are:

• Dinendra Nath Tagore
• Shantideb Ghosh
• Ruma Guha Thakurta
• Suchitra Mitra
• Kanika Bandyopadhyay
• Subinoy Roy
• Nilima Sen
• Swastika Mukhopadhyay

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, prominent Rabindrasangeet trainers who have contributed to developing new artistes include :

• Abdul Ahad
• Anisur Rahman
• Rezwana Chowdhury Banya
• Abdul Wadud

Rabindrasangeet singers in Bangladesh include :

• Abdul Ahad
• Anisur Rahman
• Kalim Sharafee
• Sanjeeda Khatun
• Fahmida Khatun
• Kaderi Kibria
• Rezwana Chowdhury Banya
• Papia Sarwar
• Mita Haque
• Fahim Hussein Chowdhury
• Dodul Ahmed
• Tapan Mahmud
• Arup Ratan Chowdhury
• Sadi Mohammad

Institutes

• Rabindra Bharati University
• Dakshinee

References

• Tagore rocks?, The Music Magazine
• Ghosh, Śhantideba (2006). Rabindrasangeet vichitra. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 8180693058. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Bandhopadhyaya, Beerendra (1981). Rabindra-sangit. Granthalaya. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Further reading

• Som, Reba (2009). Rabindranath Tagore: The Singer and his Song. New Delhi, India: Penguin Books (Viking). ISBN 9780670082483.

External links

• http://www.rabindrasangeet.org is a free and public repository of information on Tagore songs. It has the lyrics and scores of all Tagore songs. The lyrics are text searchable.
• http://www.rabindrasangeet.com More on Rabindra Sangeet