Tributes paid to Tagore on death anniversary

PATNA: Glowing tributes were paid to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore at a function organized by Rabindra Parishad on late Tuesday evening to mark his death anniversary.

At least 13 students and teachers of Geeta Bhawan, the musical wing of Rabindra Parishad, presented seven vocal performances.

The celebrated Rabindra Sangeet, ‘Aguner Poroshmoni’ was sung while honouring Tagore’s statue in Rabindra Parishad. Six songs were later performed glorifying Tagore's role as a teacher and spiritual guide.

Former Magadh Mahila College principal

Mala Ghosh

was the chief guest on the occasion. She threw light on the humble beginnings of Geeta Bhawan, from a handful of students to its present prestigious stature. Rabindra Parishad chairman

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

also highlighted the musical wing’s history and its longstanding association with Visva-Bharati University.

Prof Ghosh said, “Born in 1861 to a privileged household, Tagore grew around the forerunners of Bengal renaissance. Religion, theatre, fine arts, classical music and dance were the constant companions throughout his isolated childhood.”

Mukherjee said, “Earning the reputation of reshaping Bengali literature and music, he influenced fine arts with contextual modernism. Besides being the only poet to have composed the national anthem of two nations, he was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.”

Aged 80, Tagore passed away on August 7, 1941 in the family’s Jorasanko residence where he was raised after a period of prolonged illness.

After the establishment of Rabindra Bhawan in 1948, a proposition to start a music school was put up in 1957 to teach classical music and dance. The school started the same year with a handful of students and one teacher under a tree. Tagore’s niece and music composer

Indira Devi Chaudhurani

suggested naming the music school Geeta Bhawan. Currently, it is one of the acclaimed music schools in Bihar with 450 students learning classical music, sitar, percussion and non-percussion instruments, fine arts, Bangla along with classical dance forms like Kathak and Bharatnatyam.

Rabindra Parishad’s fully airconditioned state-of-the-art auditorium was inaugurated by chief minister Nitish Kumar in February 2011. With a budget of Rs2.38 crore, the renovation work was carried out from 2008-2011 to improve the theatre’s structure and increase its seats from 655 to 1000.


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