Tagore has been a colossal part of my childhood, like for many others, and his songs and poems have stayed within me like magic, nurturing my knowledge and my desire for creativity. I, like millions of Bengalis worldwide, have grown up admiring his poems and prose, hummed his songs in every occasion, and been awestruck at his universal appeal.

The evening of February 4th was a tribute to the great poet. Gitanjali Indian was staged at Kala Mandir for the first time in December 2013 to commemorate the centenary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Rabindranath Tagore. A book by the same name was released which I had conceptualised, and the compilation was done by Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay. Eminent artists had sung Rabindrasangeet in different India languages. Gitanjalir Golpo has been an integral part of this programme from the very inception. I rehearse recitation as a hobby, but without my friends from the industry, who are performing artistes, I wouldn’t have been able to improve my skills.

Hon’ble Chief Justice of the High Court at Kolkata - Dr. Manjula Chellur, Shri. Shyamal Sen - Former Governor of West Bengal and Smt. Mou Roychowdhury lit the inaugural lamp. Seven maestros from the cultural field were felicitated, following which songs from the Gitanjali were sung in various Indian languages like Urdu, Gujarati, Hindi and Malayalam. We staged the song-recital Gitanjalir Golpo which has been a huge success in each of its previous performances. Some of the eminent artistes who are my confidants helped me with rehearsing my part of recitation.

Such an evening isn’t just music of Tagore but it is solace in its entirety – a soul-enriching musical homage to Kabiguru.