The 34th 'National Rabindranath Music Festival' organised by the Bangladesh Rabindra Sangeet Shilpi Shongstha (RSSS) took place at the International Mother Language Institute on Friday, May 12.
“Koris ne laj, koris ne bhoy, aponake tui kore ne joy”- with these words of Rabindranath Thakur, the two-day festivities began around 10:30 AM.
The executive president of the organisation Amina Ahmed on the significance of this occasion states, “To Bangalis, Rabindranath Thakur is a very special name. He is the primary pillar of Bangla literature. He was a poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, and painter. He has gained a place in the essence of Bangladesh through our national anthem, written by Rabindranath Thakur. He continues to, and will continue to be a part of the people of this country through his contributions.”
The executive president further emphasised, “The organisation aims to spread the practice of Rabindra Sangeet. We are responsible for making sure that our culture does not fade. We must ensure that this practice passes on to our new generations, who are being heavily influenced by other cultures.”
The musical segment of the event began at 5 PM, with a choir of the organisation's singers singing the national anthem. This was followed by individual musical performances. Under the guidance of the RSSS's general secretary Piyush Barua, more than a hundred artists are to be participating at the event.
Musicians, guitarist Enamul Kabir and Rabindra Sangeet singer Lily Islam were given special mentions during the festival.
Former singer at the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra and general member of the RSSS advisory council, Rafiqul Alam, “Before 1971, I only sang Rabindra Sangeet. Around 7 or 8 years ago, I used to sing Rabindra Sangeet on television, (the founder general secretary) Tapan Mahmud asked me to join. I have been singing at this annual event ever since. I very rarely get the opportunity to sing Rabindra Sangeet on television or other media forms, they do not want to give me recognition as a Rabindra Sangeet artist.”
The general member giving insight on the role of the RSSS in this current age states, “There is a theme behind these organisations. The purpose of this organisation is to encourage practice of Rabindra Sangeet. There are many people who wish to sing Rabindra Sangeet but they don't have access to a platform. This is an excellent platform which bridges that gap. We aim to spread out from Dhaka to the villages, actually we've held quite a few such events in recent times. We would like to bring access to our platform to those who are unable to come to us.”
The Rabindranath centric organisation was founded on May 27, 1988 by iconic artist Kalim Sharafi. Currently the organisation has over 200 members.