DL Block 

Saheli, the ladies club of DL Block residents, put up a programme to commemorate Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rajanikanta Sen. 

The event was held at Natya Sodh Sansthan in EE Block and featured music, dance and an audio drama. 
“Usually we celebrate a Rabindra-Nazrul sandhya but this is the 150th birth anniversary year of Rajanikanta so we decided to perform his songs as well,” said Bharati Chatterjee, who directed the Rabindrasangeet chorus. Sapna Bhanja directed the Nazrulgeetis.

The show began with the Tagore song Nrityero taley taley that was sung in chorus and danced to. “Initially the dance team rehearsed the songs on their own. It was only in the final stages that they practised with the singers,” said Surjani Chatterjee, the choreographer who moved to the block last year after her marriage. 
The youngest performer, five-year-old Umika Saha, danced to Amra shobai raja as her mother Priyam captured her moves on camera.

Nazrulgeetis like Srijano chhande anonde and Gagane krishna megh dole were sung in chorus as were Rajanikanta songs like Tumi nirmala koro. Bhaswati Mitra sang a solo Rajanikanta number Tumi amar antasthaler khobor jano. 
The Tagore play Chhatrer Poriksha was also performed as an audio drama. “Since ours is a ladies club we replaced the male teacher in the play with a female one,” smiled Dipanwita Ghosh, who played the student. 

“This tribute to musical greats is a must on our club’s annual calendar and performers as well as guests await it eagerly,” said secretary Shanta Majumdar.

CA Block

“Rabindranath Tagore had a narrow, white beard and he loved poetry so much that he grew old writing it,” said the seven-year-old Ayushi Datta of CA Block. “He had also written the poem I am about to recite, Khanto Burir Didi Sasuri.”

CA Block Citizens’ Association had organised Rabindra Nazrul Jayanti at its community hall and taking part were Tagore and Nazrul admirers including those as young as Ayushi.

The event began with a chorus of Tagore songs like Hey nuton and Darun agni bane re. “Many of us celebrate Rabindranath in our own way everyday but an event like this is an opportunity to remember him formally together,” said Gopa Goswami, who was the compere and a part of the organising team.

There was a musical extravaganza Ritur Mela on Tagore’s seasonal songs for which Sarbani Ghosh had written the script. Mahua Chatterjee sang both Rabindrasangeet and Nazrulgeeti. “I perform on TV and radio. For my neighbours today I shall sing Amar poran jaha chay and Priyo jai jai bolo na,” she smiled.  

Utpal Mitra, who had recently lost his mother, had wanted to recite Tagore’s Mrityunjay but a lack of participants in the Nazrul section forced him to choose Tirtha Pothik, which Nazrul had written as a tribute to Tagore. 
Anindita Basu also led a group performing an audio drama on Tagore’s Atithi. 

HA Block

Kazi Nazrul Islam once escaped the police by pretending to be drunk. Another time police raided his house and broke open a trunk looking for guns, but found only toys in it. 

Such anecdotes from the rebel poet’s life were shared at HA community hall when the residents’ forum commemorated his 116th birth anniversary. Social activist Miratun Nahar narrated how at an early age Nazrul recognised the plight of dark-complexioned girls in society and other problems like untouchability which he depicted in stories like Rakshushi, Mrityukhudha and Kuhelika.

The discussion ended citing quotations from Nazrul’s Rajbondir Jobanbondi, which reflects his strong personality and how he never compromised with injustice and falsehood.

The discussion was followed by music. Guest singer Dipak Mitra performed songs that Nazrul had composed at the time when his magazine Dhumketu was under fire for being anti-British. “When police raided the magazine’s office, Nazrul confused them by pretending to be intoxicated,” said Mitra. 

There was a general impression among people that Tagore did not like Nazrul so when Tagore once wrote a letter to Nazrul praising him, Nazrul proudly shared the news with his friends at Dhumketu — Premendra Mitra, Sailajananda Mukherjee, Humayun Kabir and Nalinikanta Sarkar — and said that the letter was to be published in every edition of the magazine henceforth. 

Mitra also shared a poignant incident. “When the police raided Nazrul’s house, he was calm in the beginning but panicked when the police spotted a particular trunk. He tried his best to stop them from opening it but could not. Out came — not guns but — toys and clothes of infants,” said Mitra. They were the memories of Nazrul’s son Bulbul, who had succumbed to small pox at the age of three-and-a-half years. The police left his place empty-handed but Nazrul broke down. Thereafter he composed Sunnyo ey bukey pakhi mor phirey aay, one of his best known songs, Mitra said.

The programme ended with Nazrul songs sung by guest artiste Srija Chakraborty.

Bharati Kanjilal

CK Block

An evening of Tagore’s poetry and songs was presented at IPHE Hall in CK Block recently. 
Organised by Bidhannagar Sanskriti Angan and Bidhannagar Film Society, the show was titled Barshonmandrito Rabindra Sandhya. 

Asked at the start of the show if he would want the sky to open up in keeping with the title, former chairman of Bidhannagar Municipality Biswajiban Majumdar, who is the president of Bidhannagar Film Society, quipped: “It’s so humid that we all want the showers again but not in extremes that our streets get water-logged.”

Songs were sung by Dipen Mukhopadhyay, Samir Sengupta, Anindya Pal and Shreya Guha Thakurta. “We are privileged to be part of such a high quality event and look forward to similar programmes in future,” said Goutam Baran Adhikary, who sang Horoshey Jago Aj and whose student Snigdha Kar Acharya sang Nai Ba Daako. 

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