‘Namaskar’

“Rabindranath, O Aurobindo, bows to thee!
O friend, my country's friend, O voice incarnate, free, . . .”

On the occasion of Kavi Guru Rabindranath Tagore’s 162nd birth anniversary, Sri Aurobindo Society held a delightful event in the aesthetic and magical ambience of MatriNiketan –Puducherry’s foremost heritage building.

The evening of 9 May (২৫শে বৈশাখ) titled ‘Into the Heaven of Freedom…’ opened with reflecting on an emotional meeting between Sri Aurobindo and Rabindranath Tagore at 12, Wellington Square in Calcutta soon after the former’s acquittal in the 1907 ‘Bande Mataram Sedition Case’. Apart from the splendid rendering of popular Rabindrasangeets such as ‘Aguner paroshmani’, ‘Jodi tor daak shune’ and ‘Phule phule’ by a team of 11 devotees led by musician Arjita Chowdhury, a few also read in English several extracts from Gitanjali including ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ and Rabindranath Tagore’s tribute to Sri Aurobindo: ‘Namaskar’.

In the hour-long event, Sushanto of Sri Aurobindo Society narrated what Sri Aurobindo had said about the contribution of Rabindranath to India’s culture and evolution. The event attended by more than 50 people, held its audience captivated who marvelled at the wonderful evening and looked forward to many more such events.

The event’s pleasant highlight was the spontaneous participation of well-known singers Gautam Mitra, Uttam Ganguly and Anshuman Basu from the audience who shared the stage with the performers lending their mellifluous voice to the evening.

Others who participated in this Rabindra Jayanti include Shweta, Shivakumar, Shantanu Verma, Shahana, Priti Mandi, Mansee, Krishna, Rathi Paranthaman and Gayatri Majumdar.