Tagore Program for Sat 21 & Sun 22 May 2011
Celebrating Tagore’s Universalism: 150th Birth Anniversary of Nobel Laureate Bengali Poet Rabindranath Tagore
2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) — a legendary Bengali poet and the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. By all accounts Tagore was a versatile talent whose literary output was not confined to poetry alone, but encompassed such diverse areas as fiction, travel writing, musical and dance dramas, belles letters, children’s literature, aesthetics and art. He was also an educator who set up a university for imparting modern education while imbuing a respect for tradition in learners. Tagore also travelled across the rural heartland of Bengal, and realized the reality of the daily lives of peasants and ordinary people. He initiated a microcredit and a cooperative scheme in villages around Santiniketan, the seat of his university. The poet and visionary Tagore thus ably supported the social reformer and the man of action in him.
On this occasion Monash Asia Institute (MAI) in collaboration with the Consulate General of India in Melbourne and Indian Council on Cultural Relations, Government of India, New Delhi has decided to celebrate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Tagore with a two day program. The 2-day event consists of a one half-day conference on Saturday 21st May and a screening of a documentary and cultural evening on Sunday 22nd May.
Venue
Consulate Hall, Consulate General of India, Melbourne 344 St Kilda Road (opposite the Shrine), Victoria 3000The celebration is organised by Monash Asia Institute in collaboration with the Consulate General of India, Melbourne and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Government of India, New Delhi. All are welcome at this free public event. (See also: Conference Poster)
Schedule
Day 1, Saturday 21st May 2011: Academic Session
1.00 PM - Mangal Pradeep
1.05 PM - Opening song
1.15 PM - Inaugural speech, Professor Marika Vicziany (Director, Monash Asia Institute)
1.20 PM - Speech by Indian Consul General, Ms. Anita Nayar
1.25 PM - Keynote presentation, Emeritus Professor Anisuzzaman
1.55 PM - Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam
2.25 PM - Question and answer session
2.55 PM - Tea break
3.15 PM - Dr. Peter G. Friedlander
3.45 PM - Question and answer session
4.15 PM - Vote of thanks
Day 2, Saturday 22nd May 2011: Documentary on Tagore and cultural evening
3.00 PM - Welcome speech, Emeritus Professor Anisuzzaman
3.10 PM - Documentary on Tagore, Bangladeshey Rabindranath : Poth Chaoatei Anondo (Tagore's time in Bangladesh 1890-1937)
3.40 PM - Tagore songs, "Tagore—Beyond Frontiers" – Part I (Ms. Pramita Mallick)
4.25 PM - Tea break
4.45 PM - Tagore songs "Tagore—Beyond Frontiers" – Part II (Ms. Pramita Mallick)
5.50 PM - Vote of thanks, Professor Marika Vicziany (Director, Monash Asia Institute)
Speakers (May 21)
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Emeritus Professor Anisuzzaman (Keynote speaker) Department of Bangla, University of Dhaka & Chair, Joint India-Bangladesh National Committee on Tagore Celebrations |
The Worldview of Tagore. |
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Dr Peter G. Friedlander Senior Lecturer in Hindi and Buddhist Studies Asian Studies School of Social Sciences La Trobe University |
Two outcomes of Tagore’s visit to London in 1912-13 were Gitanjali, a collection of English translations of his own Bengali verses for which he won the Nobel prize for literature, and One Hundred Poems of Kabir, a translation of verses by the medieval Indian saint Kabir. Despite the accolades once garlanded on Gitanjali, it is now little read outside of India, whilst his One Hundred Poems of Kabir has been continuously in print since it was first published and has had a significant impact on popular images of Kabir in the West. In this essay the speaker investigates the translation processes which took place during Tagore’s visit to London in 1912-13. In particular, how Tagore’s relationship with Keats impacted on Gitanjali and how that subsequently influenced his collaboration with Evelyn Underhill on Kabir. The conclusion of this essay is that Tagore and Underhill’s translations of Kabir produced a conflation of Tagore’s and Kabir’s ideas and Underhill’s Christian mysticism which has had a remarkable and long lasting impact on perceptions of Kabir. |
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Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam Department of English. University of Dhaka |
Tagore's art of storytelling, and how he combines both a sophisticated writerly tradition with the oral tradition of storytelling in Bengal. The speaker will discuss some of his short stories and a couple of his novels, as well as his thoughts on the art of storytelling. |
Music (May 22)
The musical performance will be by Tagore Singer Ms. Pramita Mallick and her group. The three accompanying musicians, all specialist Rabindrasangeet accompanists, are:
- Subrata Mukherjee: One of the seniormost keyboard players of Kolkata, Subrata has been playing the instrument since 1988. He is a very well known accompanying artiste,who has travelled to ICCR organized tours of South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritus in 1998 and Malayasia and Singapore in 2009. Other than this he has been to the UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Dubai, Qatar and Bangladesh on concert trips with various artistes.
- Siddharth Bhattacharjee: One of the most senior and talented percussionists who has been playing on public stage since 1991, Siddharth plays the tabla, pakhwaz and khol with equal expertise. He has been to Australia on a travel grant from the ICCR. Moreover he has played in various cities of the USA, including the Harvard University, the UK, Canada, Italy, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Qatar and Singapore. He is a much sought-after artiste.
- Surajit Roy: A young talented Esraj player, Surajit has made a name for himself in the cultural scenario of Kolkata. He plays the instrument with a lot of depth and feeling. He plays with all the top singers of Kolkata. He has toured the US as an accompanying artiste.
The narrative with brief translations will be in English and the songs will be sung in the original Bengali.