(From top) Farooque Sheikh, Shabana Azmi, Soumitra Chatterjee and Sabyasachi Chakraborty

Imagine Shabana Azmi?s distinctive voice floating across the House of Lords as she (playing Kunti) tries to comfort Farooque Sheikh (Karna). Or, Soumitra Chatterjee?s baritone recreating a boy?s fantasy of a chivalrous world with Birpurush.

An evening sometime in June will see the launch of a four-CD album on the works of Rabindranath Tagore in the House of Lords, featuring Karna Kunti Sambad, Kshudhita Pashan, Phanki and some of the Bard?s poems for children.

The project is a collaboration between the London-based Bithika Raha, who runs Nrityakala, and Eternal Records, a music company located in Paikpara. While Shabana and Farooque?s pieces were recorded almost a year ago in London, the rest of the recording is in progress at the north Calcutta studio.

The album comprising the English recitations will be available in all music stores across London. ?The reason behind marketing the album in London is to tap the second-generation NRI Bengalis who don?t read or speak their mother tongue. Then, there are the non-Bengalis and Europeans who also take a lot of interest in anything Indian,? says Priyanath Chatterjee, a sitar player based in London and also the proprietor of Eternal Records.

The first of the quartet is Karna Kunti Sambad, translated by Ketaki Kushari Dyson, and read by Farooque Sheikh and Shabana Azmi. The piece will also feature a stotra path by Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty.

The second CD has actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty reading out the poem Phanki in the original and in English. It has been translated as Deception by William Radice.

The third in the series is dedicated to Tagore?s works for children. The six popular poems ? Birpurush, Proshno, Banshi, Pratiksha, Chhutir Ayojan and Aguner Parashmoni ? have been recited by Soumitra Chatterjee. Some excerpts from Daakghar and a sprinkling of Tagore?s letters may also be added to this part, says Priyanath.

The fourth, and perhaps the most ambitious of the lot, is a reading of the short story Kshudhita Pashan. The performers include Soumitra and Sabyasachi. An English version, titled Hungry Stone, is also being worked out.

Chatterjee has conceived an elaborate music arrangement for each of the four albums involving Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Pandit Jasraj, Shubha Mudgal and six musicians from Scotland.

?Tagore had derived some of his tunes from traditional Scottish music. We are reworking some of the original tracks into the albums,? says Priyanath.

A melange of foreign instruments like saxophone, piano, keyboards and African koda have been used alongside sarengi, esraj, sarod, sitar and tabla.

Reshmi Sengupta

Couture for a cause

Picking up nine yards of that fine fabric glittering with a few golden threads is a must for most women on a trip to Bangladesh. This week though, it?s Bangladeshi designer Bibi Russell who is coming to town with a bunch of jamdani saris, in various hues and designs.

Titled Magical Thread, the display is part of a fundraiser hosted by Spandan and the Oberoi Grand in aid of Anubhav Kolkata. Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia will unveil the ramp show, along with an exhibition of original paintings by Spandan Art, at Oberoi Grand on April 25.

?This is a specially designed set of jamdani saris created only for this event. I will be showing only a part of my autumn-winter collection, which was unveiled at the German Fashion Week last December,? said Bibi, from Dhaka.

The Monday show will feature saris woven with zari threads in a wide variety of vibrant colours. ?I will start off with off-white, plum, pink and then move on to shades of blue and green. I have also used a combination of lilac and purple,? added the former model-cum-designer who has put the traditional gamchha on the global fashion map. The jamdanis are mostly in saris, excepting a handful of panjabis, pants and short kurtas.

Bibi has been helped by a group of traditional jamdani weavers residing in a hamlet 20 km off Dhaka.

?Jamdani is created in this area specifically because you need that particular humidity and climate for the thread,? said she.

Bibi Foundation employs some 35,000 Bangladeshi craftsmen specialising in khadi, jamdani and kantha work.

?I wanted to be a part of this fundraiser because most of my days are spent with the village craftsmen and I know how poor they are,? added Bibi, who has decided to drive down to Calcutta to save up for the Anubhav scheme.

Anubhav, a proposed home for underprivileged children and senior citizens, will come up on a plot off Basanti highway.

?Through the show we want to raise awareness and funds for Anubhav. We plan to provide vocational training to children and, in the second phase, build small cottages for the elderly,? said Doel Sen, vice-chairperson, Anubhav. The Rajasthan chief minister is also the chief patron of Anubhav.

Proceeds from the auction of original paintings displayed by Spandan Art will go into the setting up of the home.

Bird who goes by the book

She is the latest sizzler on the music video screen, but Nicolette Bird has her priorities right. It?s studies first for this former Sananda Tilottama who is back home in Calcutta to write her IInd year English (hons) exams. ?I have managed to keep my honours despite all this,? chirps the Saiyyan dil mein aana re girl. And her favourite album? ?Aankhiya milake,? is the instant response from the Mumbai-based beauty.