Shrutibritto presented Rabindra Utsav, an evening of music and dance, on May 17 at the Satyajit Ray Auditorium of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. The programme began with a chorus presentation by the Bhawanipur Baikali Association, under the guidance of Pramita Mullick. “Anek diner shunyata mor” and “Jani jani kon adikal hote” were two of Rabindranath Tagore’s Puja songs that were performed. This performance bore the stamp of Mullick’s vigorous training. It was followed by two songs sung by Shaunak Chattopadhyay from Tagore’s Basanta and Barsha compositions. The rendition of “Eso shyamalo sundaro” was average. Chattopadhyay’s performance was lackadaisical; he was not in his element. Next was a dance production by Kalamandalam called Dakhina Pabane. Choreographed by Thankamani Kutty, the entire presentation was based on Tagore songs inspired by South Indian tunes. It was accompanied by slide shows and a narration which gave the audience a glimpse of where Tagore got some of his inspiration from. It is not always easy to blend the strict format of classical dance with Tagore’s abstract thought and philosophy. Five dancers in traditional Bharatnatyam costumes began with their performance to the song, “Anandaloke mangalaloke”, followed by a Mohiniattam performance to “E ki labonye purno pran”. The latter dance lacked ease and comfort; it looked forced and artificial. Crisp movements and synchronized choreography added to the beauty of the performance to the song, “Biswa bina robe”. The dances for both “Basanti he bhuban mohini” and its South Indian song were choreographed using different styles. The whole presentation proved that the dancers were dedicated and loyal learners of Bharatnatyam and Mohiniattam. After the dances, an enjoyable selection of verses and songs titled Amar Rabindranath was performed by Prabuddha Raha and Suvadeep Chakraborty. Raha excelled in singing “Aji bijan ghare”, while the rendition of “Byartho praner aborjona” was lively and expressive. Chakraborty performed three pieces with different moods. His presentation of Paribarik Chalchitra by Swapnamoy Chakroborty was praiseworthy. It ended with Raha performing Bhara thak smriti sudhae. The artists were accompanied by Debasish Saha on the keyboard and Partho Mukherjee on the tabla. The programme ended with Srikanta Acharya’s rendition of three songs.

Rabi-Purabi organized Kabi Pranam, a programme of songs and recitation at the Sri Aurobindo Bhavan on May 18. “Tumi nabo nabo rupe eso prane” featured Shikha Dutta, Uma Mukhopadhyay, Sathi Dasgupta, Soma Chakraborty, Sanjukta Banerjee, Bibhas Chatterjee and others. The renditions were earnest inspite of the large number of participants; the show was well-prepared. Ishita Das Adhikary’s recitation was upto the mark. Shaktipada Mukherjee, Debasish Mitra, Tania Mitra and others also participated in the recitation. The chorus song by the students were well-rehearsed. The programme was compered by Mou Bhattacharya.