August 9, 2011
State pays tribute to Kabiguru on 22e Shravan
Kolkata, August 9: The West Bengal state government organized two major programmes in Kolkata to commemorate the 71st death anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore on August 8. Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee along with her council of ministers and eminent personalities from all walks of life took initiative to make the programmes a grand success.
The first one, a padayatra or the ‘Alokpheri’ as called by Ms. Banerjee, received immense response among Rabindra Anuragis (admirers of Rabindranath Tagore) who had gathered in large numbers at the designated places and began their march. The idea behind this initiative was to arouse the city dwellers and spread the message of Tagore amongst the citizens. Kolkata, known for its enthusiasm for art and culture did not disappoint in spite of incessant rains since the day before. People across the city were seen gathering at the designated venues Jorasanko, Collage Square, Park Circus and Harish Mukherjee Road respectively and began their padayatra which passed through various areas before culminating at the Shaheed Minar at Maidan. Bystanders were greeted with songs and dance by the performers passing through the streets of city. Ms. Banerjee, an ardent admirer of Tagore’s philosophy and person behind these initiatives, was herself present at the
joined the Alokpheri and walked upto Shaheed Minar alongwith the school children.
The function was held at the Metro Channel in Esplanade, attended by noted personalities from the world of art, culture, music and cinema apart from the state ministers. Ms. Banerjee who preferred to keep silent and enjoy the songs was seen asking the school children to ascend the podium and perform whatever they could. Eminent singers from
Later in the day, the second phase of celebration was scheduled at Netaji Indoor Stadium, the venue for a colourful programme as a part of celebration to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. Emminent singer Lopamudra Mitra sang several Rabindrasangeet. People went frantic when the legendary singer Dwijen Mukherjee took the stage and enthralled the audience with his golden voice. Rabindrasangeet exponent Swagatalaxmi Dasgupta too touched the hearts with her warmth and serenity in rendering of songs. The atmosphere changed with eminent folk singer Swapan Basu and Kalika Prasad of Dohar singing those songs of Tagore which have a folk appeal like ‘tumi je surer agun lageye dile’ and ‘pagli hawa badol dine’ to name a few.
The evening drew to a close with the remarkable presentation by Alokananda Roy’s dance troupe and presented Balmiki Protibha making the audience spell bound. These performers are those who had been rehabilitated after having served terms in jail in the past.
