Contents

The Politics of ‘RuddhaSangeet’ ................................................................................................................ 2

Arrest of Kumarjit Sarkar ......................................................................................................................... 3

60 Years of Copyright ............................................................................................................................... 3

Glorious Past to a Perfect Future .............................................................................................................. 5

Tango with Tagore ................................................................................................................................... 8

Bickram Ghosh: Experiments with New-Age Soundscapes & Robindrasangeet ....................................... 9

Anjan Dutta: Tagore, jazzed up, remixed in 'Ranjana Ami Ar Asbo Na' ................................................. 9

Srabani Sen & Kaushiki Deshikan: Fusion of Rabindrasangeet and Hindusthani classical ....................... 9

Jayati Chakraborty : A dialogue between Rabindrasangeet and Sarod. ................................................... 9

Javed Akhtar launches Robindrasangeet album Anant in Hindi ............................................................ 10

Kavita Krishnamurti & Hariharan: Together Tagore ............................................................................ 10

Iman – Rupankar : fusion of Robindrasangeet with Lalon .................................................................. 10

Traditional versus Experimental ............................................................................................................. 11

Subrata Sengupta: Rabindrasangeet is beyond our capabilities to pollute ............................................ 11

Martin Kampchen: Time to experiment with Tagore works ................................................................ 11

Chain of emails on this subject............................................................................................................... 12

Tagore's Bengali-language initials are worked into

this "Ro-Tho" wooden seal, stylistically similar to
designs used in traditional Haida carvings. Tagore
embellished his manuscripts with such art.
The Politics of ‘RuddhaSangeet’
The voice of Debabrata (George) Biswas has played a major role in immortalizing Tagore's songs. George
Biswas began his recording career way back in the early 1940s with the 78 rpm medium. His voice has
captivated the lovers of this genre through extended play records, long playing records, cassettes and
then compact discs. Today there are more CDs of this charismatic singer than any other
``Rabindrasangeet'' singer.

Tagore, a writer, composer and a philosopher, musically expressed his feelings

about life, nature and death through songs. Singing Tagore will require right
balance between the words and the tune. George Biswas with his long
association with the Brahmo Samaj, where at prayer meetings and weddings
Tagore's songs were sung regularly, developed the right spiritual mind set to
understand the Tagore philosophy. Coupled with this was his experience of
singing in the Indian People's Theatre movement which helped him to develop
the qualities of drama, modulation and rhythmic declamation which enabled him to present Tagore's
songs with the right pauses, emphasis and nuances.

By the time Tagore's birth centenary arrived in 1961 Georgeda had grown into a phenomenon, gripping
the ardent RabindraSangeet followers with his deep, non-crooning and passionate voice. He had a
unique style of singing. Gleamed with enunciated pronunciation and sensitive modulation his
performances could bring in life and vivacity into the songs. To many of his fans the sound of his voice
resembled the voice of black American singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson.

However, the ostensive purists of the Vishwabharati Music Board (VMB) had started raising objections
about his presentation. The board was the controlling authority of the 2,600-odd songs written by
Rabindranath Tagore, most of which were set to music by him. The purists were unhappy with
Georgeda; In VMB’s view, he was altering the conventional tune-notations with melodic excesses and
wrong tempo. He was also accused for overusing western instruments in the prelude and interlude
section of the songs.

In the summer of 1964, Debabrata Biswas, received a terse letter from the VMB as he was leaving home
to record an album. It informed that he would not be allowed to record two of
the songs submitted by him on the scratch tape. Reason: excessive melodrama
and unnecessary interludes had made the songs "jarring and distorted".

Over the years, he was practically banned from singing RabindraSangeet even
though the public couldn't have enough of him. Finally, in 1971, Georgeda gave
up the fight, announcing that he would stop recording Rabindrasangeet
altogether. "It was not pride," he later wrote in a touching tell-all called
‘Bratyajaner RuddhaSangeet’ (The Outsider's Suppressed Music), "it was just self-
respect."
Arrest of Kumarjit Sarkar
Fast forward to April 2001. Kumarjit Sarkar, a disciple of Pashupati Bhattacharya, the father of
Bollywood playback singer Kumar sanu, was arrested in Kolkata by enforcement branch officials during
April, 2001 ostensibly because he had ''sullied something sacred''. Kumarjit Sarkar’s album o shinjini was
his experiments with Robindrasangeet —six songs penned by Gurudev set to tunes composed by him.
Kumarjit was caught in a copyright case.

In Kumarjit’s thinking ‘‘Only one thing is permanent and that is

change. Music began with the Veena and, today, one can't think
of classical music without the sitar. Similarly, music has
progressed from the Pakhwaj and the Tabla. But where are the
Veena and Pakhwaj in today's time? Of course, this does not
mean that the Veena and Pakhawaj have been insulted in any
way. It’s just that music is all about experimentation. I will
never cease to experiment with my music. Let the listeners
decide whether they want to hear my brand of music or the puritan form.”

After the arrest of Kumarjit, Rabindrasangeet exponent Suchitra Mitra caused quite a flutter when she
said in Delhi “Hathkada porey Rabindranather gaan gaoa cholte parey na”... (Rabindrasangeet cannot be
sung in fetters). On the eve of Ponchisey Boisakh, veteran singer Dwijen Mukherjee said: We will not
allow the Board’s tyranny to continue. We have to raise our voice against this.

Kumarjit Sarkar survived as singer, but he literally had to flee Kolkata to escape the wrath of Tagore
loyalists.

o shinjini is still banned.

And Rabindrasangeet continued to remain in the center of Bengali’s Cultural landscape - with or without
its copyright, with and without controversies.

60 Years of Copyright

The history of anxiety in the Bengali intelligentsia over the “future” of RabindraSangeet, especially the
“purity” of the style is rather long. Kabiguru himself had complained about the decline of the culture of
Rabindrasangeet. In his late years, when he was growing increasingly cynical about the ability of singers
to live up to the huge responsibility of empathetic interpretation and suitable rendition of his songs. In
a discussion with Dilip Kumar Roy, the renowned musician and musicologist, on 29th March, 1929,
Kabiguru was particularly rueful about the contemporary “distortions” in the singing of his songs. “I
have been hearing so much of distortion in my songs day in and day out that I also fear that it will
perhaps turn impossible to keep their own flavour (rasa) intact. The peculiarities of the strengths and
weaknesses of the singer cannot but affect music at least to an extent simply because of the fact that
music flows through the voices of many. It is easy to save painting and poetry from this misery”
After his death, the controlling authority of his creations, the VMB became very active in maintaining
this purity. Instances of the board acting as the self-appointed cultural nanny, as far as Tagore is
concerned, are innumerable.

When Bollywood producer Partho Ghosh decided to use some Tagore songs in his film Yugpurush, he
had no idea about the kind of trouble he would run into. April 1994, within weeks of the film's release,
VMB slapped a lawsuit on Ghosh. He had to pay Rs 9 lakh in fines.

Painter M.F. Husain tripped up on a song in his multistarrer Gaja Gamini. The music board finally made
him drop it. Filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh was luckier. In his National Award-winning Asukh, there were
some lines from a Tagore poem that Visvabharati insisted had been read incorrectly. Ghosh had to re-
dub.

VMB used to catch about a dozen copyright offenders each year and earned a substantial amount in
fines. Insiders say this amount is not much below the university's income from Tagore's musical royalty
of Rs 10 lakh a year.

Visvabharati's role as the sheriff of its founder's music was based on a highly meddlesome pre-release
scrutiny of records. The artiste (or record company) has to submit a list of selected songs. If cleared, he
gets the go-ahead to record a pilot tape. The pilot cassette is then submitted to the music board for
approval, and is duly sent to three of its musician - members well-versed in Tagore's music. The three
"examiners" must check for errors in articulation, tune, arrangements and even the "mood" of the song.
In the tussle with the artistes to maintain supremacy, perhaps, VMB have ignored the verdict of the
ultimate referee - the listener.

"I'm not sure where all these do's and don'ts came from," says Subinoy Roy, who spent some years with
Tagore in Santiniketan in the early 1930s. Some of the board's guidelines - supposedly modelled on
Tagore's preferences - haven't changed since the poet's death.

"Rabindranath liked the esraj, violin, flute and tabla with his songs," says Roy, "but if the guitar,
synthesiser and drums existed at the time, I'm sure he would have tried those out too. At least he
wouldn't reject them if they made his songs sound better."

Interestingly, stringed instruments like the tanpura and the esraj, which used to be the main
instruments accompanied to Rabindrasangeet when Tagore was alive and even after his death stalwarts
like Suchitra Mitra, Kanika Bandopadhyay, Nilima Sen and Shantideb Ghose used only tanpura and the
esraj while singing. These instruments are now almost extinct.

"These instruments have been completely replaced by the harmonium. Also, earlier, training in shastriya
sangeet was a must if you wanted to train in Rabindrasangeet. Now-a-days, it's just a lip service and this
affects the sur gyan of a student," informed Mohan Singh, Professor of Sangit Bhaban of Visva Bharati,
Shantiniketan.
In 1991, the Centre under pressure from Visvabharati extended the copyright period from 50 years to
60.

2001, Visvabharati Vice-Chancellor Dilip Kumar Sinha requested another extension – he wrote “No law,
no order….with no copyright, the purity of Tagore's songs will be lost”. However, Union Human
Resources Development Ministry refused to stretch Visvabharati’s copyright on Tagore.

January 1, 2002 marks the date on which Visvabharati’s copyright on Tagore's works ceased to exist.
That's when Visvabharati - the preserver of Tagore’s legacy - lost its 60-year copyright over everything
created by the poet.

However, the hottest debate on the matter was, which still continues today, about the future of Tagore's
songs. Without policing by Visvabharati, under the savage invasion of experimenters, will this vast bank
of music be enriched or will it be denigrated? Shall we accept or reject any experiment with Rabindra
Sangeet?

Does this long history of almost paranoiac possessive anxiety over Rabindrasangeet reflect the Bengali
urban middle class poverty in definitive cultural productions after Tagore?

Glorious Past to a Perfect Future

Rabindranath Tagore composed around 2230 songs. The bard, often compared to the world's most
celebrated playwright and poet William Shakespeare, wrote novels, stories, plays — all of which had a
strong lyrical or musical element. But it is perhaps in his songs, Rabindrasangeet, that the poet's
perception of life and death, nature, god and the eternal pathos of humanity are embodied the most. Its
appeal to Bengalis is perhaps timeless.

When Tagore composed his music largely based on the notational arrangements prescribed by Raagas.
He removed what he determined were complications of the indigenous classical music system. What he
retained were what he comprehended as the moods evoked by particular Raagas, and engineered several
songs on selected rules of different Raagas. In the process, he created a genre which those who were
not fortunate enough to get formal training in the classical grammar of music could sing and engage in.
From the point of view of pure classical renditions being “high art”, Robindrasangeet thus could not fit
into that umbrella. It is characterised by its distinctive rendition while singing which includes a
significant amount of ornamentation like meend, murki, etc. and is filled with expressions of
romanticism. The music is mostly based on Hindustani classical music, Carnatic Classical Music, Western
tunes and the inherent Folk music of Bengal. A lyricist and composer since his boyhood, he borrowed
from several genres and welded them into new creations. His sources of inspiration ranged from the
western classical to Irish, Scottish and German folk songs, church music, military bands, opera and
closer home, Indian ragas, kirtans and Baul songs. Indeed, it would be difficult to challenge Tagore's
virtuosity, or even improve upon it.
Were Rabindranath’s songs ever “popular” in the literal sense of the term? Like most of the products of
the Bengal Renaissance and its residual impulse in the nineteenth and the early-twentieth century,
Rabindrasangeet was almost exclusively appropriated by the culturally hegemonic Kolkata middle class.
The most notable exceptions in this respect probably are the contributions of Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar
and to an extent Raja Rammohun Roy, which, because of their thrust on wider social reformation, had
some immediate impact on the larger Bengali life and culture outside Kolkata.

Rabindrasangeet has been a largely urban educated middle class phenomenon with little appeal—other
than ritualistic—in the rural Bengali cultural life. The early history of composition and dissemination of
Rabindrasangeet would show that it was more or less limited within certain particular culturally
progressive groups in Kolkata and Santiniketan, mainly the Brahmosamaj. The audience for the songs
composed for the dance-dramas and the musicals were confined largely to the family-circle in Kolkata
and the Ashramites in the culturally insular space of Santiniketan. Santiniketan, was and still
substantially is an extension of the Kolkata middle class, especially since its gradual institutionalisation
as a heterotopic space for the cultural self-fashioning of this class, beleaguered first by the colonial
cultural onslaught and then by a history of socio-economic setbacks starting with the post-Independence
Partition.

It was only during the frenzied historical phase of the

“swadeshi” movement at the turn of the twentieth century
that a possibility was created for a wider public dissemination
of and participation in the specifically rich culture of
Rabindrasangeet. Though Tagore was never actively involved in
politics, he was not alienated from the socio-political scene
Rabindranath Tagore deftly used the concept of
brotherhood, togetherness and ‘the thread of protection’
either. He had his unique attitude towards nationalism.
as a medium to protest against British’s partition policy
by showing a picture of unity among the two
A staunch critic of the partition of Bengal, Tagore conveyed
communities
his views in the song “Banglar mati Banglar jol”. Among other
patriotic classics by Tagore “Jodi tor daak shuney keu na ashey” (one of Mahatma Gandhi's favourites),
'O amar desher maati' and 'Amar sonar Bangla' were sung in public domain. On 7 August 1905, one of

The Hindi version of the song 'Jana gana mana', with some minor changes (Sindh was
replaced Sindhu) was adopted in 1950 by the Constituent Assembly of the Republic of India
as its national anthem. In 1971, 'Amar sonar Bangla' became the national anthem of
Bangladesh.

the first mass demonstration in India organised in Calcutta’s Town Hall, ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’, was sung
by boisterous crowds in protest against the Partition of Bengal. As stated by director Goutam Ghose,
“When Rabindranath was asked to render a song on 1905 partition of Bengal in the British-ruled India,
he sang ‘Amay Bolona Gahite bolona’. 'Jana gana mana' was first sung in 1911 at a Calcutta session of
the Indian National Congress.
Then again, Swadeshi movement could only partially democratise Rabindrasangeet - from certain groups
(Brahmosamaj) to the educated, patriotic middle classes, mainly based in Kolkata. Any experiment or
variation was still considered blasphemous. It took almost twenty years after Kabiguru’s death, when
Rabindra Sangeet started its descent from its elitist platform into the hearts of common men.

It was 1961, Tagore's centenary celebrations when we saw many so called Professional Singers entering
this exclusive domain. During that whole year, artistes of the ilk of Debabrata Biswas, Hemanta
Mukhopadhyay and Lata Mangeshkar performed in innumerable public programs, cut CDs and even the
behemoth HMV couldn't get enough of Tagore's songs. Slowly, Tagore's songs made it to films, which
were soulfully rendered by Pankaj Mullick, K L Saigal and Kanan Devi. Films directed by Satyajit Ray,
Tarun Majumdar also used Rabindrasangeet to create unforgettable cinematic moments. Today, almost
every Bengali film and television soap is adopting Rabindrasangeet to create a special ambience.

It began with "Charulata", and a rendition of "Ami chini go chini" by Kishore Kumar in 1964. Some
Tagore scholars and members of the Visva Bharati music board squirmed in their seats even as there
were murmurs that the song did not follow approved notations.

During 2001, with the watchdog about to be muzzled, many artistes like Kumarjeet and record
companies began experimenting, even within Visvabharati's tight parameters. Singer Indrani Sen
released “Chand ki Hansee” and “Chhoti Chhoti Baatein”, two albums of Tagore songs in Hindi.

Around this year, Singer Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta released “Swagar Parer Hawae” and “Dakhin Hawa”,
two albums that delve into Irish-Scottish folk and Carnatic influences on Tagore's music. The attempt is
daring as it not only shows the connection of Tagore's music to many other languages from around the
world. The famous Purano sei diner katha matches Auld lang syne to the last bar - but uses authentic
instruments to accompany the adapted songs.

Singer Suman Chattopadhyay and composer Durbadal Chatterjee were also bending the rules about
traditional arrangements. While Chatterjee debuted with an album of Tagore songs on the violin,
Chattopadhyay, a guitar-slinging, Dylanesque singer, released an album under the HMV label that uses
just an acoustic guitar as back up. "This is the era of rhythm," says Chatterjee commenting on
Visvabharati's one-tabla barrier. "If the percussion is pumped up, the songs will move from the drawing
rooms to the puja pandals."

While they got away lightly, singer Pijush Kanti Sarkar was not so lucky. The board rejected three-
quarters of the songs in his albums. The 62-year-old singer was exploring "the operatic quality of Tagore
songs". On stage, he uses a headset microphone so that his hands are free, and emotes while singing.
Purists call it sheer gimmickry, but Sarkar is unfazed. He is now thinking of the ultimate adventure - a
Tagore music video.

Decembor 2001, Union Ministry refused to extend the Copyright, Vice-chancellor Dilip Sinha and other
officials were fuming. Sinha said "I will put Tagore on the Net. He may as well become free for all."
"A Tagore is born only once in several centuries," said Pradeep Banerjee, honorary secretary of VMB.
"We can't allow him to be sold on the streets."

Dwijen Mukherjee a member of VMB said: "When the board is gone, it'll be the listeners' turn to protect
the purity of Tagore's songs. They will never accept distortions." An observation that may quite stand
the test of time, if one considers the fact that the notational accuracy of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart
has survived without copyright all these centuries.

Tango with Tagore

With the coast clear for experimentation by artistes, a new market for Tagore had emerged — keeping
his position as the single biggest cultural force in both sides of Bengal intact. Young artistes began
giving Tagore’s music a contemporary Western flavour, which appealed to the sms generation.

August 2006, up and coming music director Neel Dutta's experiment with Tagore's 'Pagla Hawa' created
a storm in Kolkata. 'Pagla Hawa', a fusion of one of Rabindra Nath Tagore's composition, was burning
the dance floors at almost all the discos in the city. Sung in a fast, rhythmic style, Pagla Hawa, broke
free of the traditional, sombre Rabindrasangeet mould. While some think of it to be a rage, others
consider it a raging attack on the traditional essence of the music. “I have not changed the lyrics or the
music. I only gave it a fresh feel.'' the musician said. ''The music has become stagnant. Present
generation cannot relate with those songs any more. I just tried to revive that in my own way.''

August 2007, on the occasion of Tagore's 66th death anniversary Fahmida Nabi released an album Amar
Bela Je Jaye - “personal interpretation” of Tagore songs, a style quite often under fire. This was
Fahmida's first album of Robindrasangeet; The artiste is renowned in the adhunik genre. The USP of
‘Amar bela je jaye’ is the effective incorporation of the adhunik style in popular Robindrasangeet.

According to Fahmida, “I've tried to articulate the way I envision Kabiguru's songs.”
The USP of Amar bela je jaye is the effective incorporation of the adhunik style in popular
Robindrasangeet.

2010 when Rituparno Ghosh's experimental Bengali TV musical, 'Gaaner Opaare', marked the beginning
of a year-long celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore. The music was the brainchild of the
famous music director of Chokher Bali and Raincoat fame, Debojyoti Mishra. The songs were popular
Robindrasangeets and saw a lot of experiments like blending in of ragas to fit into situations of this 251
episode Bengali soap.

Mishra has put together staff notations for about 500 Robindrasangeet songs so that composers from the
western world can play them. Says Mishra, "Unlike Bethoven and Mozart, Tagore did not write his own
score. Even then, the basic metrics, phrasing and cadence of the original song must be maintained.
Liberty may be allowed in musical arrangement or orchestration to any extent".

Experimentation was now well on its way.

Bickram Ghosh: Experiments with New-Age Soundscapes & Robindrasangeet

March 2011, in a dynamic departure from the norm, new-age Tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh has chosen
some of Tagore's most admired songs and re-interpreted them in his album TAGORE LOUNGE. The music
is perched to be accepted by the youth with an injection of western orchestra tones. The sound
transports us to a 60s blues atmosphere (Amaro Porano), and sometimes into regal grandeur
(Anandadhaara) or a Sufi-like splendour (Ektuku Chowa). The Indian acoustic instruments (tabla, sitar,
sarod) have been juxtaposed with westernized strings and chords, drums, bongos etc. This is a sound
where tradition and modernity co-exist effortlessly, without any compromise to the dignity of either.

Mr. JK Srivastava, Managing Director, Veecon Music & Entertainment said, "…Bickram Ghosh in his
TAGORE LOUNGE has allowed this brilliant body of work to be made more accessible to a newer
generation…”

Commenting on the album, Bickram Ghosh said, "I have tried through Tagore Lounge to create a fresh
soundscape for Rabindrasangeet which is friendly to the modern ear and yet retains an aesthetics that
such an endeavour demands".

Anjan Dutta: Tagore, jazzed up, remixed in 'Ranjana Ami Ar Asbo Na'

Aug 2011, It is racy and rhythmic - attributes which are not readily associated with a Tagore song. Yet,
to many, it sounds refreshingly different and eminently acceptable in an era in which Rabindrasangeet
is free to be experimented with. 'Jagorone jay bibhabori' has never been sung in such a whistling style,
to the strumming of guitar and beating of drums. Purists and Tagore pundits might be squirming in
their seats, but youngsters loved the way the number was belted out in Anjan Dutta's 'Ranjana Ami Ar
Asbo Na'.

Srabani Sen & Kaushiki Deshikan: Fusion of Rabindrasangeet and Hindusthani classical

Dec 2011: Two leading exponents of Rabindrasangeet and Hindustani

classical music have came together to cut a unique Fusion Album on
Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary. Named 'Yatra-II', the
album featured Srabani Sen, a prominent artiste of Robindrasangeet
(Tagore Songs), and Kaushiki Deshikan, a leading vocalist of Patiala
Gharana.

Jayati Chakraborty : A dialogue between Rabindrasangeet and Sarod.

July 2014 - Jayati Chakraborty had her training under Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty. Widely hailed as one of the
finest Rabindrasangeet exponents. ‘Raager Aloye Rabi’ is a jugalbandi album. She wanted to participate
in a dialogue between a classical instrument and Tagore’s compositions.
With a special affinity for sarod for its deep resonant tone, she tried
to chronicle the entire time span of a day, from beginning to end, by
following appropriate ragas corresponding to the time cycle, with
Pratyush Banerjee, her collaborator on this album. Songs of Tagore
were selected to complement the mood of the chosen raga and the
representative time span. She feels that Rabindrasangeet is
contemporary in its ethos and no harm in presenting the song in different ways with new instruments.
It might produce an interesting outcome but I am opposed to distorting the original lyrics.

Javed Akhtar launches Robindrasangeet album Anant in Hindi

Jan 2015, Kolkata: Lyricist Javed Akhtar has translated eight songs of Rabindranath Tagore to Hindi,
which are featured in an album. To be launched on Monday at the Kolkata Literary Meet here, 'Anant'
has eight songs such as 'Tum Kaisey', 'Tumhey Janoo', 'Ghanghor', 'Aisa Tumhara Prem', 'Sakhi Prem'
among others.

Kavita Krishnamurti & Hariharan: Together Tagore

July 2015 , Asha Studio released an album Together Tagore where Kavita
Krishnamurthy and Hariharan. This was an experimental duet and
Hariharan’s debut in Rabindrasangeet. A few comments on this album:

Abhirup Sarkar: Beautiful sound design. Such works should be

encouraged. Sadly many so called purists criticize them a lot. And Hari ji's voice comes from another
world. I can't even comment on him. This song is beautiful. Thanks Asha Audio.

Titir Majumdar: Kavita Krishnamurti has a nice voice and sings with feelings. but the inputs in
the song have destroyed the song. Sing tagore songs without changing it; It will come out best.
Rabindranath had himself said that he did not like someone to change his songs. So respect his words.
TAGORE SAID THAT HE FELT PAIN WHEN ANYONE CHANGED HIS SONGS. THE PAIN IS LIKE THAT
WHEN ONE GIVES HIS OWN DAUGHTER IN THE HANDS OF A BAD MISMATCHED HUSBAND.
It is imp to know what tagore had said before experimenting with his songs

Iman – Rupankar : fusion of Robindrasangeet with Lalon

May 2017, Asha Audio’s new album Setu’s first song release is a fusion of Tagore’s Hridoy Ekul Okul
with Lalon’s folk song. This song is sung beautifully by Iman and Rupankar. Music Arrangement is done
by Prattyush Banerjee and recorded, mixed and mastered by Goutam Basu of Studio Vibrations. Setu is
released to commemorate the birthday of Rabindranath Tagore and has a unique collection of songs by
singers like Raghab Chatterjee, Lopamudra, Rupankar and Iman.
Traditional versus Experimental
Post 2001, end of copyright of Visvabharati, many saw it as an opportunity to explore Tagore in many
ways while others were concerned that the institution of Rabindrasangeet will start losing its sanctity.

In the early part twenty first century, experts of Rabindra Sangeet felt that the influx of TV shows with
the lure of money and playback opportunity is wooing good students of music and snatching them early
from the world of Rabindrasangeet. Today, in the age of facebook and youtube, on typing
“Robindrasangeet”, one finds videos of the Bengali songs in diverse visual and aural compositions and
also in some other languages. Visuals of Robindrasangeet are diverse. So are renditions, with solitary or
duet or band performances, and with varying rhythm and instrumental accompaniment. The set of
comments to these posts range from applause, criticism, disapproval to utter scorn.

Most of the disapprovals reflect and reveal hurt sentiments of people trying to preserve some kind of
sanctity and authenticity of Rabindrasangeet. They state in different ways that the ethics of presenting
the genre have been violated, via their notation and design; either by either makers of the film in the
song’s incorporation, or by the way young pop stars have been placed in particular montages.

Rahul Mitra, an exponent of Rabindrasangeet from the Dakshini school, believes in traditional rendition
of Rabindrasangeet, "Composers and singers who are experimenting with the form, have to attain a
benchmark before they can chop and change Tagore".

Subrata Sengupta: Rabindrasangeet is beyond our capabilities to pollute

Subrata Sengupta is in the forefront of a small rapidly vanishing community who still maintain faithful
to the spirit and notations and make it their responsibility to preserve the sanctity of Tagore songs.
Subrata has been groomed by none other than the Late Maestro Arabinda Biswas, who was also a
phenomenal teacher of Rabindrasangeet. Every song he sings is an exercise in bringing out the true
essence of the song in terms of its melody, mood, articulation, expressions, and of course, its accuracy.
Subrata's rich baritone voice is God's gift.

He believes that Rabindrasangeet is beyond our capabilities to pollute. He would cite the examples of
Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and Tchaikovsky to make an argument that any inaccurate rendition
will be automatically rejected by the critics as well as the audience. You do not not need a "gatekeeper"
to certify its accuracy.

Martin Kampchen: Time to experiment with Tagore works

Martin Kampchen, a German scholar, has been residing in Santiniketan since 1980 and has translated at
least 12 of the poet works into German. Kampchen primarily works in rural reconstruction around
Santiniketan - a concept vociferously propounded by Tagore during his lifetime. He has also been
working with the impoverished tribals in Santiniketan. He feels that 'The contemporary exponents of
Tagore's music show a tendency to sing all the songs in a uniformly mellifluous manner such that after
hearing 10 songs you feel that you have heard all the songs. There is too much of sweetness in the
music that spoils the essence of the lyrics, The songs need to be strong and aggressive.”

Kampchen, believes 'what is really needed at the moment is experimentation with the basic emotions
expressed in Tagore's texts to make them more contemporary….It can be best done in theatre. One can
always start something new without deviating from the original frame. Tagore had a fascination for
experimentation - and innovated till the last moment, trying out new songs and themes,'

And while the traditional versus experimental debate continues, Rabindrasangeet became popular and an
integral part of Bengal culture both East and West. More than 75 years after his death, Rabindrasangeet
is still given a special place in collective memory of Bengalis from both sides of the border.

It continues to be embraced by Bengali and the non-Bengali audiences alike all over the world. In the
Global context, though the rest of the Universe has responded well, Rabindrasangeet could have been
more popular over 150 years after the poet's birth in Jorasanko, Kolkata.

Chain of emails on this subject

On Mon, May 14, 2018 at 5:43 PM, Tapas Basu (via Google Docs) wrote:

Tapas Basu has invited you to edit the following document:

Time to experiment with Tagore works Rev 1

Now-a-days when we go for any Rabindra Sangeet program, we often land-up in an argument
- is it right to experiment with RabindraSangeet? In my opinion experimenting is the essence
of a creative mind and we cannot deny it from the artists, good or bad. I tried to compile
information available in the net. And it seems that the argument over this subject is never ending..

On Mon, May 14, 2018 at 9:09 PM, <……….@gmail.com > wrote:

I am not a puritan old haggard. But I am a believer of paying respect to heritage. There are many
heritage buildings in and around Kolkata. Imagine, some half-educated rascal decides, sort of,
"experimenting" with those buildings - erecting a wall here, putting up a grill there, or down-sizing the
wide verandah at some other place. That is, in their words, experimenting.

Or an idiot in France decides that the picture Monalisa has some deficiencies. She can be made more
beautiful, and acceptable to many more people, if a tiny beauty-spot is put on her cheek.

This sort of experimentation is the handiwork of such half-educated people. 30 years ago, when there
were talented musicians, lyricists and vocal artistes, they did not have to "experiment" with heritage
music. They used to create their own music, which people would listen with due respect. Now that
people in their own household do not listen to their music, the present day artistes I am talking about,
because there is neither good lyrics, nor good voice, they take recourse to poor old Rabindranath.

………

On Tue, May 15, 2018 at 4:33 AM, Tapas Basu wrote:

Thank you ……., for your comments.

I will try to highlight some observation on your comment. ""experimenting" with those buildings -
erecting a wall ........ in their words, experimenting." I think it is destruction in rational view.

But when someone builds a copy of the same building with some changes in scale, the color of the door
or wall, we may term it as experiment; though you may not give him the credit for the original
architecture...

I started with two names: Debabrata and Kumarjit to highlight the issue of talent of the experimenting
artist. I seriously believe that even "A Non-Puritan" may have problems in denying Georgeda his artistic
freedom.

I am trying compile the most famous experiments with Beethoven. Will share with you when ready. But
as you know experimenting with Beetoven is quite different and more difficult than experimenting with
Rabindra Sangeet.

Regards,

On Wed, May 16, 2018 at 4:57 PM, <……..@gmail.com > wrote:

What you have said about erecting "another building with the same design and then making necessary
'modernising` changes" - nobody, nor me, has any objection to it. I also tried to drive the same point.
Make new lyrics, add new tune and sing. If people accepts - great. Go ahead & mesmerise the World.
But the current day "Experimenters", are they doing that? They are singing the same Rabindrasangeet,
with cacophony of music, deviating from the original tune sometimes etc etc. And they, in their own
wisdom, think that they are making the songs more acceptable to many. These half-educated 'talents`
forget the fact that without their support and assistance, poor Rabindrasangeet has not only survived,
had been inspiration and solace to many many many people for more than 150 years.

On 16 May 2018 at 17:50, Tapas Basu.. Wrote:

I thought, we were discussing about copying; you are saying “Make new lyrics, add new tune and sing.”
– then how do you term this as copying?
On Experimenting Artist, I would like to give an example which relates your profession. There are
doctors whom we call “Hature Daktar”; They got a degree to practice medicine. How can you take away
their license? I think it is the same story. When we give freedom in any space, even if with licence or
degree for controlled entry, there will be some misuse, some bad-use and some excellent use.

But we cannot take away the freedom from Georgeda just because there are Kumarjits.

You have absolute FREEDOM to think in your own way about the artistic freedom related to Rabindra
Sangeet. But as we all know that misuse of freedom just like misuse ofcopyright will continue; And it is
always our choice to decide what we want to listen; that is listeners’ freedom.

On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 10:07 AM, <………@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello everyone,

Interesting topic and discussion!

When I was younger, I was absolutely against any kind of experimentation and/or distortion of the
original tunes of Rabindra Sangeet. As Kaku says, I considered all such things as nearly criminal offense!

Now I think, my reaction those days was utterly rigid. I am talking about the 90's. As you may recall,
Suman Chatterjee had just emerged with his offerings of 'jibonmukhi gaan' at the time. He faced a
mountain of criticism and a relatively tiny bit of appreciation. I sided with the criticisers. He wasn’t
experimenting with Rabindra Sangeet at all, instead he just attempted to create a new genre of bengali
music.

Only recently, with lot of reluctance, I listened to Suman’s music once again. Now that I can understand
the meanings underlying Bengali songs a little bit more than I did back in those days, I was amazed to
find out that some of his songs were absolutely brilliant! I feel sad that I remained so rigid and could
not be open to new ideas.

Apologies for digressing here a bit. For the most part, culture in Bengal has revolved around Rabindra
Sangeet and its set ways. We have been so obsessed with maintaining this heritage, that we completely
ignored other genres of Bengali music. Examples are Atulprasadi, Dwijendrageeti and songs of
Rajanikanta Sen. These composers became popular around the same time as Tagore. Despite Tagore’s
immense popularity along with the first Asian Noble Prize, these music composers were able to make
tremendous impact on the Bengali culture. That only speaks of their tremendous talent. But
unfortunately, today this ‘other’ Bengali music is dying, I believe because of our obsession with Tagore.
When Suchitra Mitra passed away, it was a national news. I was proud as a Bengali. Krishna
Chattopadhyay’s death went almost unnoticed, even in Kolkata!

Experimentation with Rabindra Sangeet isn’t anything new. Suchitra Mitra and her team collaborated
with Amjad Ali Khan, at least 25 years ago! It wasn’t the best, but wasn’t criticized too much because
after all, it was Suchitra Mitra. I am sure, there were experimentations even before this. Tagore himself
was heavily influenced by different kinds of music, and that is evident in the wide variety of Rabindra
Sangeet.

I wish Bengalis were a little more open to music, in its true term! The music of Konika, Suchitra and
Hemanta (I am not including Debabrata here) are immortal, and they will remain that way. But let’s try
and make some space for new comers and may be another Tagore will be born, making us equally
proud.

Regards,

…………….

PS: I am adding Baba and ……. to the e-mail chain as they might have interesting thoughts.

On Thursday 17 May 2018, 5:52:47 PM IST, Tapas Basu wrote:

"Tagore himself was heavily influenced by different kinds of music ...

On this subject, I understand from various sources that Tagore during most of his life had been quite
open about the rendition of his songs, but as he grew old and mostly during the last few years of his
life, became very rigid and skeptical about anyone trying sing RabindraSangeet with any variation
whatsoever.

On Thu, May 17, 2018, 23:08 <…….@yahoo.co.in> wrote:

It all depended on how was it placed.If not meeting the demands of listeners' mind, it will not
last.Rabindranath, Beethoven and some others could touch the fine cord of human minds in weal and
woe.Bengali songs of the great composers were for reading them too.Rabindranath, in particular, was a
poet first. Thanks, anyway, for thinking and passion.

On Sat, May 19, 2018 at 10:51 AM, <………@gmail.com> wrote:

……,

You have raised 2 issues:

1) Atulprasad. Rajanikanta &Dwijendralal. It is true that these great composers were subdued by the
popularity of Rabindranath. They deserved much more than they actually got. Krishna Chattopadhyay
also had the same fortune. For that we are responsible, not Rabindranath.
2) Suman: Suman created his own brand. You could like it or not. Some of his songs are good. That's a
different story.

Tapas has raised an issue of 'experimentation' with music. What Suman did was experiment. Fine. No
problem.

Present day artistes do not have any talent whatsoever. There is no new lyrics, no unique tune, not
even the voice. So they have fallen with poor Rabindranath; making some change in tune here, adding
some cacophony there. And they say they are experimenting to make R'sangeet more acceptable to
people. I have strong 9bjectipn to this. These half-educated people don't realise that R'nath and his
creations have survived mire than 150 years without their support.

…….

On Sat, May 19, 2018 at 12:19 PM, Tapas Basu wrote:

Quality of experiments that has been happening during (nearly) last two decades:

Unfortunately this is beyond my space and range to comment..My limit on experiments with Rabindra
Sangeet ends with Debobrata Biswas.

But based on comments and reviews available in the net, I have made a selection of such experiments
which are listed out in page 6 - 8 of "Time to Experiment with Tagore.." shared with you in Google
drive. If anyone is interested I can share those albums also. They are available in the public domain..

On Sat, May 19, 2018 at 9:02 PM, <…….@gmail.com> wrote:

first of all, what is the 'correct' way of singing a rabindrasangeet? the answer is, there is no correct
way. because, if there was only one way to sing rabindrasangeet, then so many great artistes (debabrata
biswas, subinoy roy, kishore kumar, anup ghoshal etc.) would have sung it the same way which is not
the case. it is a section of bengalis, mostly from a third-rated educational institution called viswabharati,
who complain about such vague aspects. the same section would be head-over-heels if a japanese or an
argentinian sings a tagore song whichever way he likes. this bangali 'adikkheta' with tagore has done
more harm than good to everything. to start with, bengalis have relegated tagore to a lyricist/song-
writer, while he is essentially a philosopher. if u ask the students of viswabharati about tagore's plays,
his letters, his writings on political/social developments of his times, u would see that most of them
know nothing about these great pieces of literary work. as regards vishwabharati, there is one more
point to make. if a person is somehow associated with the university, no questions will be asked about
his/her style of singing, however atrocious/annoying they might be. cases in point -- mohan singh
khangura and manoj murali nair -- both of whom are horrible in my opinion, but since they are
somehow associated with the university, no one will dare say such things about them.
as regards today's singers, bengal is possibly going through its worst phase right now where everything
is going downhill. no wonder that these days bengali singers can't sing, actors can't act, novelists can't
write and so on and so forth. that does not mean that if someone wants to experiment with tagore
songs or any other form of art for that matter, the students and alumni of a third-rated university
would be up in arms in the name of 'krishti'.

On Sat, May 19, 2018 at 10:17 PM, Tapas Basu wrote:

"........Bengal is possibly going through its worst phase right now where everything is going downhill......"

It is very strong criticism, but I think it is today's reality.

If we look at anything...science, arts, sports or.... we have to search for a name from West Bengal with
microscope. Even in corruption, we cannot find a competitor of Lallu or Mayabati..

This probably happens in everyone's life and every society - it goes through cycles..ups and down.

So I would like to add a positive note here that, if "Bengal is possibly going through its worst phase",
then we should be looking forward to the next cycle.

Cheers..

Tapas Basu May 21 (8 days ago)

to …….
Looks like the subject has lost its momentum..

May be, those who have been only listeners/ readers would like add something..