Rabindra Jayanti: online celebration binds nationals

Rabindra Jayanti is India’s one of the most celebrated cultural milieu. His teachings are never-ending and so are his verses. The most important lesson that man can learn from life, is not that there is a pain in this world. But that it is possible for him to transmute it into joy. This pandemic has brought pain, sufferings, stress, anxiety and even boredom. But as said by Gurudev Tagore, “If you cry because the Sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.”

Rabindra-Utsav Competition:

Spending the whole day inside respective homes and craving for outdoor trips our anxiety takes a toll on us. We live in a digital world and anything can come up with just a click of a button. Hence, art is also getting technologically updated. Taking this advantage, on the auspicious occasion of 159th Kavi Guru Rabindranath Tagore’s birthday, an online competition was organised in the name of Rabindra-Utsav. Here Tagore lovers showcased their talents. There were 6 categories to participate in Rabindra Sangeet/Instrumentation, Dance, Recitation, Storytelling, Thakur Barir Saaj and Cooking.

It is through such activities that one can communicate with each other, learn, strengthen our bonds, share our knowledge, enhance our creativity and partake in the empowerment of community even though it is virtually organised.

Variation in Rabindra Jayanti contests:

The age group was a wide range from 2.6 years to 81 years. Both male and female were a part of this. People from Canada and Australia participated in the contest. Everyone was excited and the feeling of results was the same for everyone. There was a huge number participating in the event.

Judges for Rabindra Jayanti:

The judging panel had Agnimitra Paul for Thakur Barir Saaj, Guru Sanchita Bhattacharya for Dance, Madhumita Basu for Recitation, Sounak Chattopadhyay for Singing/Instrumentation, Padmini Dutta Sharma for Storytelling, and Rongon Neogi for cooking. The curators for the competition were Arpita Basu and Sulekha Bhadra.

Guest Performers:

The online celebration witnessed many facets, of which the most intriguing was the guest performances were another highlight of the event. Performers like Guru Sanchita Bhattacharya, Madhumita Basu, Avrajyoti Chakraborty, Sampurna Chakraborty, Tapas Chowdhury, Anirban Ghosh, Dipanjan Bakshi, Prerona Gangopadhyay, Bapan Biswas, Proloy Sarkar, Padmini Dutta Sharma, Sudip Bhattacharjee, Bhaskar Dutta Sharma, and Abhisekh Chattopadhyay.

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Winners of the contest:

The judgement was pretty difficult for the Judges. Every participant was bright and knowledgable. The winners are –

• Singing/Instrumentation (Senior) – Chandrima Mukherjee (Winner), Apalak Das and Pratiki Chakraborty (1st Runners-up), and Abhishruti Dutta (2nd Runner-up).
• Singing/Instrumentation (Junior) – Soumili Nag (Winner), Aishani Biswas (1st Runner-up), Rhine Banerjee and Ganavi S Chakraborty (2nd Runners-up).
• Dance (Senior) -Nayonika Talukder (Winner), Sayanee Bagchi (1st Runner-up) and Eshaani Mitra (2nd Runner-up).
• Dance (Junior) – Mohali Das (Winner), Meghna Bose and Surela Naskar (1st Runners-up), Senjuti Patra and Adrija Ghosh (2nd Runners-up).
• Recitation (Senior) – Joyita Chakraborty (Winner), Sharbani Ghosh (1st Runner-up), Dr Biswarup Chanda and Jayati Das Manna (2nd Runners-up).
• Recitation (Junior) – Adrija Saha (Winner), Madhubani Roy (1st Runner-up) and Ruprekha Goswami (2nd Runner-up).
• Cooking – Ruby Pathak (Winner), Chumki Dutta (1st Runner-up), Swapna Halder and Tithi Dutta (2nd Runners-up).
• Thakurbarir Saaj – Sulagna Adhikary (Winner), Chandra SinghaRoy (1st Runner-up), Soumyojit Adhikary and Eshaani Mitra (2nd Runners-up).
• Storytelling – Ruma Ghoshal Gangapadhyay (Winner), Ananda Sengupta (1st Runner-up), and Adrija Saha (2nd Runner-up).

Tagore has always mesmerised masses through his words. His stories, songs depict the different shades of life with a subtle touch. And his poetry speaks for itself; the inquisitive nature alongside the emotional connect is quite soothing to the soul. Even after such a long time, his influence on Bengali art, literature and culture has not lost its relevance. Rabindra Utsav has brought these artists and creatives together to virtually celebrate art, culture and the Bard of Bengal’s birthday.