The women of DA Block, during the Pujas, put up a composite show highlighting how the Tagore household influenced society. The ladies appeared in period costumes, used props the family had helped popularise and all was punctuated, of course, by the bard’s music and poetry.
The show began with Srabani Maitra walking the stage with a beard, in a kurta and holding the Gitabitan. She played Tagore. There were no dialogues but Nandini Sengupta and Samir Chakraborty recited and explained the context. With them sat singers Debjani Dutta Chowdhury, Parama Chatterjee and father-daughter duo Mrinal and Jhilik Basu Roy. They sang Tumi kemon kore for the opening act.
Fourteen models walked the stage. To show how the Tagores stressed on education, Jhumpa Karmakar wore a graduation gown; to show their love for music, Indira Dutta walked with a sitar. The use of lace was shown on umbrellas, as were silver flower baskets and scrolls, on which greetings and wedding invites would be delivered.
Mili Dutta walked in a red Dhakai sari, holding an ornamental mirror. “The women of those times loved dressing up and so the mirror was important to them,” said the lady who got a new lace blouse stitched for this act. “I shall wear this blouse again for sindur khela on Dashami.” The song De tora amay nutan kore de was performed with her act.
The show was the brainchild of Nandini Sen, who herself showed off an embroidery frame on stage. “The Tagores appreciated needlework and it became the norm to put these up as wall hangings,” said the lady who did a fair bit of research to gather material for this show. “This family has contributed heavily to Bengal’s renaissance and continues to influence our taste in not just music and poetry but food to fashion,” said the former principal of Hariyana Vidya Mandir.
