Item from ‘Sajabo Jataney’

Comedy and the comical have little in common. The former is sharp-edged, and hard to grapple with. It is harder to pin down its quicksilver effervescence. Tagore had dabbled enough in comedy, to fully perceive and shy away from the errors that people generally commit while dealing with the lighter side of life, inadvertently turning the razor-edge of mirth to point at their own desiccated selves.

‘Sajabo Jataney Rasik Rabindranath’ — a programme of songs, dance and recitation based on the poet’s verses dealing with feminine beauty, make-up and grooming, costumes and jewellery on the one hand and his sharp sense of humour on the other — proved to be entertaining, well-researched and educative. It was organised by the Youth Guild for Friendship and Sanchari Kalakendra and held at Gorky Sadan on July 2. The touch of professional precision that held Jayanti Purakayastha’s concept, script and direction together was present all along, except in a few instances.

The concept of the nayika dressing to present herself in all her splendour before her paramour, a common theme of Vaishnavite literature, runs through many of the songs on love and longing penned by Tagore.

De lo sakhi de; Tomaye sajabo jataney; Esho neepa baney and relevant portions from Oi aashey oi ati bhairava harashey painted a quaint picture of the woman — eager to meet her lover — pleading with her close friends and attendants to help her with her cosmetics, dress and accessories.

Krishnakali was a commendable solo, but the chorus often lagged behind in pace, as in Tomay sajabo. Rasik Rabindranath clubbed entertainment and aesthetics to present a healthy combination of music and verses.

The poem from Khapchhara on the drunken antics of a train fuelled with alcohol, the weird recipe that Ray thakurani Ambika rustled up with green bananas and salty porridge, or the feverish pace that Aaju moron ban boley reached while Tagore playfully toyed with changing rhythms and beats, were unusual examples of the poet’s funny side.

Solo numbers by Debashis Raychoudhuri, Rita Ray, Rohini Raychoudhuri and Anup Mitra, and the penultimate tea session based on Tagore’s Sushim Cha Chakra, added finesse to the programme.

Srutiniketan presented songs and lyrical compositions in duets by Tagore at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture on July 4. Subrata Sengupta and Tania Das were good in parts but failed to eliminate the discord that often runs through duets.

Orey aaye re amar shukno patar or Aamarey jodi jagaley were sadly reduced to a shaky, frenzied effort to achieve a last-minute coordination.

The Achin Mukhopadhyay-Madhabi Datta duo proved to be far superior in style, coordination and presentation than the rest, in songs like Hey bideshi, Premer joarey and Kon debata shey from Shyama and Mayar Khela.