EVEN MUSIC WASN’T LEFT BEHIND FROM TAGORE’S LEGACY

When we as Indians hear our National Anthem anywhere, a sense of pride and patriotism fills our hearts. On days of national importance like the 15th day of August or the 26th day of January, with Jana Gana Mana playing proudly in the background, all we can think of is the deepest respect that we have for our countrymen who give their all to protect and nurture it. Little do we think about the man of glory who wrote our national anthem. Rabindranath Tagore, fondly known as Gurudev and more precisely as the Bard of Bengal was a man of artistic profoundness. Born to a Bengali family in the antique majesty of Kolkata, Tagore was a very influential polymath who not only excelled in literature but also showed adeptness in painting, poetry, and music. The first non-European Nobel Laureate, he inspired the National Anthems of India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. One might immediately associate Gitanjali with Rabindranath Tagore but do you know about Gitabitan? Gitabitan is a collection of all 2233 songs written by him.

Rabindranath Tagore has a complete music genre to his name - Rabindra Sangeet. Replete with melody, Tagore’s songs hold 2 things in very high regard; the lyrics and their deep meanings. His music has had a huge impact on Bengali Folk music.You would find yourself immersed in the tunes of worship, love, seasons, patriotism, psychology, nostalgia, reflection, and modernism when you start appreciating his work. An interesting thing to note is that Gurudev never thought he wanted to categorise his songs. Though efforts have been made after his death to do so, he had left the interpretation of the songs and their message to the listeners.

An enthusiastic traveller, he had travelled to the West during his time and had brought back a wealth of experiences. He appreciated nature and his learnings and teachings found their way into the lyricism in his songs. If you are acquainted with the thumri style of Hindustani classical music, you will find its influence on his songs. Tagore retained elements from the preexisting music at that time but made sure that his songs had their originality and came out unique by playing around with different ragas. He is also known to have created 6 new taals in the music repertoire. Apart from the folk music of Bengal, his work influences the ‘Baul’ music which is similar to Bengali Folk. His craft also found its way into Bollywood. A Kishor Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar hit, Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Raina is a popular song that has derived its inspiration from a member of the Rabindra Sangeet family, Jodi tare nai chini go shey ki. Choo Kar Mere Mann Ko is another much-loved song from Bollywood that we can see within the impact locus of his Tomar holo shuru, amar holo shara.

If we actually listen to each of his songs and try and understand their meaning, we realise that he has touched upon almost all emotions – extreme and mundane, all strata of society – rich and poor, and explains many concepts of simple, and eventful lives akin. It goes without a doubt that the people who know Bengali can appreciate the depth of his lyrics far better than any of the others. For the non-Bengali-speaking community, it becomes an earnest wish to know the language to understand Tagore better!

Here is a Spotify Playlist for you to know more about Rabindra Sangeet:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1n3TvAA6zXmSfNm7t836XH?si=5EbGaQjxRbO6wAz3BRhnZg

- Aditi Gadre