Lalit Kala Kendra witnesses Tagore’s 157th birth anniversary celebration

The evening at Savitribai Phule University Pune gleamed as it commenced with –where Tagore devotees rambled the campus. Donned in shades of palash (gulmohar) and krishnachura flowers (royal poinciana), they walked through the campus towards Angan Manch at Lalit Kala Kendra.
Pune-based cultural group –Upasana celebrated Rabindranath Tagore’s 157th birth anniversary with various cultural programs ranging from dance to poem recitals.To set the event’s momentum, a Mumbai based dance troupe performed a dance on Bengali songs. Many students from Lalit Kala Kendra also performed. Avanee Gadre, one of the students from Lalit Kala Kendra performed on Kathak to Tagore’s work.
The main highlight of the evening was the concert by 100 singers. The organiser of the event Sharmila Mazumdar says “This year, was organised to draw people from various backgrounds of language to hymn together to Tagore’s work. It was for the first time in Pune where 100 singers synced together resulting in a cultural union.” Lata Sridhar, a Tamilian by ethos, sharing her first experience said “I have always been inclined towards Tagore’s writings and Bengali culture. This event was a great opportunity for non-Bengalis like us to be a part of the celebration. It was not just learning to perform, but we were made to understand the meaning of every word during the course.” Adding to that, Nilanjan Bhattacharya who took care of the musical said, “At first it was difficult since I was told that it’s not just Bengalis who are going to perform but is going to be a multi-cultural setup. Iraban Halder and Ranjana Seal helped me with the translation of the lyrics and the explanations were done mostly in Hindi and English.” It is because of everyone's sheer dedication, we could execute this event smoothly," he adds.