Basanta Utsav

Celebrating Spring

Basanta Utsab or The Festival of Spring was and is still celebrated as a festival of unity, and professes love, peace and brotherhood. There is no bar whatsoever and people from all walks of life and all religion and sects participate in the cultural extravaganza held at Shantiniketan each year.

Souraja Tagore and Manoj Murali, exponents of Tagore Dance and Music, attempts to be the flag bearer of this legacy of Tagore and has been organising Basanta Utsab at the 'Praasad' (the heritage residence built in 1884 by Maharaja Jotindra Mohan Tagore at Prasanna Kumar Tagore Street, Kolkata) The celebrations are in line with the tradition practised in Shantiniketan for years and encapsulates Tagore’s vision. The event is marked by Songs and Dances of Tagore against a sprawling thakur-daalan (heritage courtyard) upholding Tagore's message of love. peace, prosperity and universal brotherhood.

ARTIST ORGANIZERS | PERFORMERS

Basanta Utsavis a joint venture between two artists Souraja Tagore and Manoj Murali Nair, hailing from distinctly different musical and artistic backgrounds who found common ground in their love for Tagore, his music, vision, and philosophy.

PRODUCTION DETAILS FOR A CUSTOMISED PROGRAMME FOR GUESTS AND DELEGATES

ARTISTS

Souraja Tagore (Rabindra- Nritya)

Manoj Murali Nair (Rabindra-Sangeet)

Members of Daakghar, Koothambalam and Guest performers

DURATION

45-50 minutes

MEDIUM

Songs- Bengali (Rabindra Sangeet)

MODE OF PRESENTATION

Tagore songs (live recordings and presentation)

Tagore dance (live performance)

THE PRODUCTION CAN ALSO BE PRE-RECORDED AND STREAMED ONLINE FOR A SELECT AUDIENCE

TARGET AUDIENCE

University students/ Foreign diplomats / Non-Bengali speaking audience

FOR PRODUCTION COST AND OTHER DETAILS CONTACT: 9831566648/ 9831156056

EMAIL: souraja.tagore@gmail.com

ABOUT SOURAJA

Souraja Tagore is a classical Bharatanatyam dancer having over 25 years of professional performance experience. Through her discipleship and years of rigorous training under her Guru, Shri Abhoy Pal, Souraja has mastered the nuances and subtleties of artistic expression along with the crucially demanding necessities of creative and intuitive movement in Bharatanatyam performance practice. She is a graded and empaneled artist under Doordarshan, Sangeet Natak Academi, EZCC, and ICCR; and has presented her art in numerous solo and collaborative performance projects in India, Europe, and southeast Asia.

For several years, Souraja studied the works of her illustrious ancestor, Rabindranath Tagore, as part of her doctoral research dissertation. Immensely moved by his writings on literature, thought, and the artistic traditions of India, she has aimed to integrate Tagore’s unique approach to dance within her own training in a classical repertoire, thus reimagining Tagore dance (Rabindra Nritya) for a contemporary audience. Her recent productions include Infinite in the Finite (2016); Chitrangada (2017), where she played the parts of both Surupa and Kurupa; and Tagore through Dance (2018) for the Sundaram Art Gallery, New York. She is also credited with publishing several academic research papers on Bharatanatyam, Tagore dance, and other artistic and aesthetic traditions of India.

Visit : www.sourajatagore.com

ABOUT MANOJ MURALI

Manoj Murali Nair is a celebrated vocalist and a leading exponent of Rabindra Sangeet in Kolkata. Originally from Kerala, he moved to Santiniketan at the age of seven, after his father, Guru Kalamandalam Murali Nair, was invited to teach Kathakali at Sangeeta Bhavana, at Viswa Bharati University, Shantiniketan. He is an MA (Mus.) from Sangeeta Bhavana in Hindustani classical music. Hindustani classical and Carnatic musical traditions inform his renditions of Rabindra Sangeet. Having revived many forgotten Tagore songs based on established traditions such as the Dhrupad, Manoj Murali also experiments with various instrumental and stylistic repertoires and has evolved a distinct framework for presenting Tagore songs to audiences in India and abroad. He is also the artistic director of Daakghar, an institution dedicated to training emerging talent in Rabindra Sangeet.

YOUTUBE LINK FOR BASANTA UTSAV 2021

https://youtu.be/6-j8yjQEMoE

PHOTO GALLERY