By Alyssa Goldman and Amanda Sawit “In Ireland we have two days of nice weather in September, and for some reason we call it an ‘Indian summer’,” said Today FM presenter Conall O Morain, who hosted a special event to recognise the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate and Indian cultural ambassador Tagore Radindranath.
The bilingual programme at DCU’s Helix theatre on 5 November not only celebrated the man considered to be India’s greatest poet, but also promoted Ireland’s connections to the subcontinent.
The evening featured the best of poetry, dance, theatre and music written by Tagore, supported by an array of international artists.
Aside from being an accomplished poet, Tagore was also a novelist, playwright, music composer, choreographer, philosopher and educator.
He became the first non-European Nobel laureate when he earned the 1913 prize for literature, and is widely credited with transforming the literature and music traditions within the historic region of Bengal.
The performances underscored Tagore’s strong connection with Ireland and his friendship with the poet WB Yeats.
Performers on stage included the show’s director Dipti Paul Roy, a professional Santini-kentan-trained choreographer from Malaysia, and Laura Yanez, a soprano singer from New York.
Renowned Irish poet Gabriel Rosenstock has translated many of Tagore’s works into Irish, which is an Indo-European language. He read a short story, ‘Stray Birds’, and described it as “neither prose nor poetry – just delightful fragments. But they’re complete fragments.”
Children and their teachers also got involved, performing English poems and choral speaking by Tagore.
Tagore was the first to attempt the fusion of western and Indian music. Both European music and Indian singing styles influenced many of his poems. He also applied western tunes in the dance dramas Valmiki Pratibha and Kalmrigaya.
Songs including ‘Kali Kali Bolo Re Aaj’, ‘Mori O Kahar Bachha’ and ‘Purano Sei Diner Kotha’ were sung directly after their respective western influences – English sailor song ‘Nancy Lee’, Irish song ‘Go Where Glory Waits Thee’ and Scottish folk tune ‘Aud Lang Syne’.
Many of the audience came to the tribute because of their fondness of Tagore, while others attended simply to experience a different culture, or embrace their own.
“The songs, poems and dances were passionate and heart touching,” said audience member Nadia Monalisa.
The tribute to Tagore was organised by the Sujan Bengali Cultural Society, Ireland, in partnership with the Embassy of India.
