Rabindrasangeet retains its true charm whenever it is interpreted by a sensitive artist. Few artists can internalize Tagore’s philosophy, perspective, passion and pathos. Sharmila Roy Pommot revealed this rare understanding of Tagore in a programme entitled Kanthe Nilem Gaan at Rabindranath Tagore Centre, ICCR, on September 6.

Organized by Finesse and The Event Managers, it was a programme with a difference. The artist shared her varied and precious experience with Peter Brook and other theatre groups through her songs and dialogue with the audience.

This Santiniketan-bred and Paris-based singer started her recital with Andhar raate ekla pagol, and the audience were drenched in the beauty of this song from the puja parjay. With her incredible range of emotions, the artist transported the audience to an altogether different world. It was followed by Ora chash kore anande, which was painted on a vibrant canvas by her joyous rendition. The recitation of the French translation of Tagore’s Shubhakshan was brilliantly correlated with Aha tomar shange praner khela. It was a confluence of mesmerising melody and rare realization. The artist caressed each note with such earnestness that one felt blessed to be in such company.

The impression on the whole was of a soulful prayer. Rendering a Tagore song is not just about following notations, clear diction and maintaining the rhythm. Beyond these technical and grammatical components, performers should understand the vision and the depth of each song. An inward-looking, austere spirit was invoked by Roy Pommot throughout her presentation. The songs chosen were contextualized by collating the writings of Sankho Ghosh, Abu Sayeed Ayub and others. These were sensitively read out by Sukriti Lahari. In Dhire bondhu dhire, from Falguni, which the artist had learnt from Shantideb Ghosh, Roy Pommot brought out the essence of the lyric. Her active engagement with art and music has enriched her vision, which was reflected in her selection of songs from Lalan. She effortlessly induced a cultural interface through Lalan’s Pabe samanye ki tar dekha juxtaposed with Tagore’s Amar praner manush achhe prane. Hridayer ekul okul, based on kirtananga, was graceful. Roy Pommot concluded with Hede go Nandorani, a beautiful song, which was written by Tagore at the age of 22.

Minimalist by nature, Roy Pommot was accompanied by Rajnarayan Bhattacharya on the tabla, Debasish Majumdar on the mandira and Shiuli Basu on the esraj. It was a great relief to find no keyboard around.