Rabindra Sangeet

"Rabindra Sangeet " (Bengali: রবীন্দ্র সংগীত, IPA: rabindra sŋgit), also known as Tagore Songs in English, is a form of music composed by Rabindranath Tagore who added a new dimension to the musical concept of India in general and Bengal in specific.

Influence and legacy

These songs are regarded as cultural treasures of Bengal in both Bangladesh and West Bengal (India).

The "Rabindrasangeet", which deal with varied themes are immensely popular and form a foundation for the Bengali ethos that is comparable to, perhaps even greater than, that which Shakespeare has on the English-speaking world. It is said that his songs are the outcome of 500 years of literary & cultural churning that the Bengali community has gone through.

In his book "Caste and Outcaste", Dhan Gopal Mukerji has said that these songs transcend the mundane to the aesthetic and express all ranges and categories of human emotion. The poet had given a voice to all—big or small, rich or poor. The poorest boatman on the Ganges as well as the rich landlord find expression for their emotional trials and tribulations in Tagore's songs.

"Rabindrasangeet" has evolved into a distinctive school of music. Practitioners of this genre are known to be fiercely protective of tradionalist practice. Novel interpretations and variations have drawn severe censure in both West Bengal and Bangladesh. And like Beethoven's symphonies or Vilayat Khan's sitar, Rabindrasangeet demands an educated, intelligent & cultured audience to appreciate the lyrical beauty of his compositions.

He was among the first to recognize that cinema should have its own language. In 1929 he wrote, “The beauty and grandeur of this form in motion has to be developed in such a way that it becomes self-sufficient without the use of words.” The inherent beauty & depth of tagore's songs have persuaded a number of filmmakers to use Tagore’s songs in their films including Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Nitin Bose, Tapan Sinha and Kumar Shahani.His songs were also used in British, European & Australian movies just to capture the mood of a cinematic situation & to reveal a delicate interplay of relationships.

Ritwik Ghatak said of Tagore, “That man has culled all my feelings from long before my birth…I read him and find that...I have nothing new to say.” In his "Meghe Dhaka Tara" (The Cloud-capped Star) and "Subarnarekha", Ghatak uses "Rabindrasangeet" to express the poignancy of post-Partition Bengal.

Two of the songs written by Tagore are the national anthems of India and Bangladesh. These are:
*Bangladesh: "Amar Shonar Bangla"
*India: "Jana Gana Mana"

ingers of "Rabindrasangeet"

Some of the well-known singers of "Rabindrasangeet" are:
* Pankaj Mullick also known as the "First Man" of Rabindrasangeet.
* Santidev Ghosh direct disciple of Rabindranath Tagore and Dinendranath Tagore
* Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay
* Kishore Kumar
* Debabrata Biswas also known as the "Second Man" of Rabindrasangeet & unarguably the most popular among male voices.
* Subinoy Roy [http://www.rhymerecords.com/ArtistBio.aspx?BioOf=Subinoy] .
* Kanika Bandyopadhyay her original name was "Anima" but Tagore had renamed her "Kanika" and Abanindranath Tagore used to call her "Mohar" by which name she is known to many of her dedicated listeners.
* Suchitra Mitra
* Rajeshwari Dutta was originally from Punjab. She was married to a well-known Bengali poet, Sudhindranath Dutta. She made her mark in the classical-based "tappa" and other compositions
* Argha Sen
* Ashoketaru Bandyopadhyay
* Beethin Bandopadhyay
* Banani Ghosh
* Dwijen Mukhopadhay
* Chinmay Chattopadhyay
* Debanjan Kundu
* Gita Ghatak
* Iffatara Khan
* Irene Sarkar
* Mita Huq
* Nilima Sen
* Promita Mollik
* Purba Dam
* Rajasree
* Rajeswari Dutta
* Rezwana Chowdhury Banya
* Ritu Guha
* Roma Mondal
* Rono Gohathakurota
* Ruma Guha Thakurta
* Sadi Mohammad
* Sagar Sen
* Sumitra Sen
* Sanghamitramitra Gupta
* Susil Mullick
* Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta
* swapan Gupta [ [http://www.uvm.edu/~sgutman/Swapan_Gupta_page.html Swapan Gupta page ] ]
* Dr. Tanya Das
* Ashok Das
* Monica Ghose
* Sasha A.K. Ghoshal
* Sinjini Acharya Mazumdar
* Shefali Mishra

Teachers of "Rabindrasangeet"

Some of the well-known teachers of Rabindrasangeet (barring Tagore himself) are:
* Dinendra Nath Tagore
* Shantideb Ghosh
* Ashoketaru Bandyopadhyay
* Dwijen Mukhopadhay
* Shailaja Ranjan Majumdar
* Maya Sen
* Suchitra Mitra
* Rajasree
* Kanika Bandyopadhyay
* Rezwana Chowdhury Banya
* Subinoy Roy
* Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta
* Sinjini Acharya MazumdarIn Bangladesh, prominent Rabindrasangeet trainers who have contributed immensely in developing new artistes include :
*Abdul Ahad Deceased
*Sanjida Khatun
*Wahidul Haq Deceased
*Kalim Sarafi
*Ajit Ray
*Anisur Rahman
*Papia Sarwar
*Rezwana Chowdhury Banya
*Mita Haq
*Sadi Mohammad
*Fazle Nizami Deceased
*Hamida Haq
*Atiqul IslamDeceased

External links

* [http://ekuul.com/music/lyrics/rabindra-sangeet.html Rabindra Sangeet]
* [http://www.rabindrasangeet.com/ More on Rabindra Sangeet]
* [http://www.sangeet-bhuvan.com/ Rabindra Sangeet: Sangeet Bhuvan]
* [http://www.coolgoose.com/music/category.php?id=10394&PHPSESSID=68427494766f6c4cb587ba0f03a7e0cf A good collection of free to download Rabindrasangeet. Most of them are quite good as far as technical quality is concerned. ]
* [http://www.emusic.com/album/Debabrata-Biswas-Rabindra-Sangeet-Debabrata-Biswas-MP3-Download/10907251.html One can listen to and download small clips of songs sung by Debabrata Biswas]
* [http://www.calcuttaweb.com/gaan/rabindra/index.shtml One can listen to but not download songs from here. These are sung by various artists]

Notes

www.rabindrasangeet.org is a free and public repository of information on Tagore songs. It has the lyrics and scores of all Tagore songs. The lyrics are text searchable.

References

* [http://www.themusicmagazine.com/tagoregayatri.html Tagore rocks?] , "The Music Magazine"