Editorial
A chorus of thousands
A first ever event marks Tagore's 150th birth anniversary
It would not be an exaggeration to say that as a country we specialise in holding commemorative events. From religious to secular, from national to international, we have a large number of anniversaries (could perhaps even be highest in the world) that we celebrate the year-round.
But on last Thursday, we did something quite exceptional. To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, Dhaka put up what could be easily termed as the grandest of such events anywhere. It was exceptionally bold in conception and literally flawless in execution. We gathered 1000 artists from all over Bangladesh to render 12 Tagore songs in a well rehearsed and competently rendered chorus that won the hearts of all those who listened both at the Bangabandhu Conference Centre and millions who watched on TV.
The event organiser was Shurer Dhara, a Tagore music school run by eminent Tagore singer, Rizwana Chowdhuery Bannya, deserve to be praised for putting on such a grand show. Not only the event, Shurer Dhara, under Bannya's exceptional leadership, brought out 22 DVDs with rendition of all the 2,222 songs contained in Tagore's Geetobitan. This is a magnificent effort that deserves both national and international recognition. As a result of this effort Tagore music lovers all over the world will now be able to learn all the songs of Tagore in a easily accessible manner.
Today as we celebrate Tagore's birth anniversary in this grandiose manner, we cannot fail to recall that in the mid-sixties Tagore music was banned in the then East Pakistan by the then government of Gen. Ayub Khan. That act further convinced our people that Pakistan was out to destroy our cultural heritage and added to the growing realization that independence was the only way for us to survive as a people. We take pride and great satisfaction for having travelled from those dark days to the sunshine of our freedom.
This newspaper congratulates Shurer Dhara, its leader, Rizwana Chowdhury Bannya, and all others who helped to bring this magnificent event to fruition.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments