Short, concise and informative ? perhaps these three words best describe the session on Rabindranath Tagore?s compositions held at the G.D. Birla Sabhagar on October 13. What added to the novelty of the programme was its theme ? one of those aspects of Tagore?s versatility which is not spoken or written about as often as his lyricism, for example.

Organised by Santiniketan?s Association of Youth Hosteliers, the 90-minute programme was dedicated to an analysis of the use of taal and laya in Rabindrasangeet. At the helm of affairs was one of the best-known exponents of Rabindrasangeet ? Suchitra Mitra. Once again, she enthralled the audience with her voice, this time in the role of a script-reader. To illustrate her well-argued points, she was assisted by vocalist Anita Pal who rendered popular numbers like Aaji Jhorojhoro Mukhoro, Aamar Nishith Rater Badaldhara, Nrityero Taale Taale, Basante Basante Tomar Kobire apart from four songs from the dance-drama Chandalika.

Each of these songs was sung on two different taals. For example, Basante Basante was first performed on Dadra and then on Kaharba. Set to Dadra, the song exuded the excitement the poet felt at the onset of spring, whereas the Kaharba cast a pall of gloom, depicting the agony the poet felt as spring left.