Celebrating Rabindranath Tagore’s Music and Philosophy through Dance

Geet-O- Nrityanjali is concerned with understanding and elucidating the ‘myriad-minded’ poet, philosopher, and artist – Rabindranath Tagore. Incorporating both popular and uncommon compositions of Tagore (Rabindra Sangeet), this production amalgamates Tagore’s philosophical and artistic vision through the fabric of dance and music. The idea is to tell the story and beliefs of a man who above all else, tried to reveal the virtues of God to humankind and to enable individuals to find the hidden creative forces buried within themselves. Falling back on the Upanishads, Tagore’s ardent belief in humanity, spirituality, and inherent power within one’s self was unquestionable. This production attempts to unravel the mysteries of the human psyche through the eyes of one of its greatest humanists Rabindranath Tagore.

Geet-O-Nritanjali was premiered at the Soorya Festival on 19th September 2019 in 'Dreams Unlimited'- a curated dance festival in Thiruvananthapuram, featuring six productions that showcased a rage of new themes.

An hour long presentation in form of on-stage lecture and demonstration, Geet-O- Nirtanjali is specially designed for a non-bengali speaking audience who might be familiar with Tagore music and would like to explore more of Tagore literature, art and philosophy.

Geet-O- Nrityanjali is 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.

Souraja Tagore is a classical Bharatanatyam dancer having over 20 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.

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 director of Dakghar, an institution dedicated to training emerging talent in Rabindra Sangeet.

ARTISTS

Souraja Tagore (Rabindra- Nritya)

Manoj Murali Nair (Rabindra-Sangeet)

Pandit Biplab Mondal (Tabla and Percussions)

Arnab Chatterjee (Keyboards)

DURATION

55 minutes

MEDIUM

Lecture- English/ Songs- Bengali (Rabindra Sangeet)

MODE OF PRESENTATION

Lecture-Demonstration

TARGET AUDIENCE

University students/ Foreign diplomats / Non-Bengali speaking audience