Event Details

Children’s poetry by Gurudev Tagore with Gulzar, Shantanu Moitra, Shaan, Rekha Bhardwaj, Mahalakshmi Iyer, a group of children and others.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), the Nobel laureate, poet, novelist, painter and composer, has had far-reaching impact not only on Indian literature but on music as well. A leading figure in the renaissance of Bangla literature, his contribution to children’s literature is indeed colossal. Although a large body of his work meant for children consists of poems, short stories, novels and songs, poetry seems to be central to his vision of childhood. Starting with his very first poem ‘Jol Pore, Pata Nore’ (raindrops fall, leaves rustle) that he wrote when he was barely eight years old, his works, including the Indian national anthem, truly transcend the barriers of nationality, culture, race and religion, expressing the pure spirit of love, freedom and joy.

Gulzar, one of India’s finest filmmakers and lyricists, was influenced at an early age by the literary works of Tagore. The Oscar-winning poet seems to share a special bond with the “Bard of Bengal”. In a career spanning over 50 years, he has written poems in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, and often translates from Bangla, the most recent being two volumes of translations of Gurudev’s poems.

Starting with advertisement jingles, Shantanu Moitra went on to compose music for some landmark films and independent albums: Ab ke sawan, Gulzar translates Tagore, and such others. He has also to his credit a National Film Award for best music direction (2014). Furthermore, he has uniquely married his sense of adventure with music to create memorable events such as Song of the Himalayas, Chandrayan and Songs of the River.

This event will feature a compilation of Tagore’s poems specially written for children, on various subjects like the beauty of nature, simple joys and innocence of childhood, etc. using elements of fantasy, fable, fairy tale and myth. Such is the beauty of Tagore’s words that even adults listening to his poems are bound to revisit the memory lanes of their childhood.

The poems are translated from Bangla to Hindi by Gulzar and will be presented in his deep sonorous voice. The song-versions of the poems are woven into the magic of music by Moitra, and will be performed by talented artistes, including Shaan, Rekha Bhardwaj, Mahalakshmi Iyer and others with a group of children.

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