The Bengali cultural association, Panaji as part of the year long celebrations to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore organised a function called Rabindra Jayanti 2010 at Dinanath Mangueshkar hall, Kala Academy recently.

The event saw troupes performing a mixture of Konkani and Bengali songs and dances. Ruprashi from Goa sang the Bengali version of the Konkani song ‘Palayat Shigmo Fulla Ranivani’. The song was translated into Bengali by Narayan Desai.
The speaker of the legislative assembly, Mr Pratapsing Rane, present as chief guest at the function, said Rabindranath Tagore was a multifaceted personality. Earlier, an inspiring talk by key note speaker, Professor Pabitra Sarkar on the life of Rabindranath threw more light on the interesting aspects of the great poet’s life.
Although Tagore hailed from a well-to-do family, he always thought of the poor and worked for their welfare, said Mr Rane.
Professor Sarkar described the life and works of Rabindranath Tagore in detail. He said that Tagore wanted a person to relate to everything that was natural around them. He recited some extracts from Tagore’s poem and writings. “In 1991”, said Prof Sarkar, “He wrote on a Hindu window. He wrote thus-‘My deity is not in the temple but in the human’.”
Rabindranath celebrated nature by writing about its seasons and about man’s relationship with nature. Metaphorically, Tagore referred to death as a friend, a groom, mother, father and even as a king.
After the various enlightening talks, a variety entertainment program followed. Apurva Desai, Thuli Mukherjee, Punti Makhwana and others danced to songs that were composed by Rabindranath Tagore.
Pravin Gaonkar’s rendition of a Bengali song was the most fascinating highlight of the evening. A dance drama based on Tagore’s ‘Chitrangada’ was well-executed. The managing director, Dempo Group of Companies, Mr Vishwasrao Dempo, the president of the Bengali cultural association, Mr Gopal Bhattacharya, Ms Vijayadevi Rane along with Prasun Mukherjee and the cultural secretary of the association, Ms Subhra Mukherjee were present on the occasion.