Whose Tagore?

Lubna Marium
A file photo shows Shadhona presents Ay Amader Angaye based on a Tagore's work
Being a lifelong Tagore aficionado, I was mildly shocked when hhayanaut, the Bangladeshi
bastion of Tagorean music, decided against allowing us the use of their auditorium, because our
dance practice seemed to their authorities, to militate against Tagorean aesthetics! It set me
thinking! Should there be only one interpretation of Tagore"s works#
As Bengalis, we cannot deny that we ha$e not done enough to take Tagore"s literature to the
world! %hereas stalwarts like Shakespeare and Ibsen ha$e been adopted, adapted and performed
worldwide, Tagore continues to be, more or less, imprisoned within the confinements of the
Bengali speaking community! &one will disagree that the uni$ersal message of his writings
needs to be disseminated far and wide! But, is that possible without letting him loose from our
emotional apron strings#
But what were the poet"s own thoughts about his creati$e endea$ours#
The 'uintessential tra$eler, both in the physical and spiritual sense all his life, Tagore searched
for a uni$ersal form of art! (uring a con$ersation between Tagore and )omain )olland, Tagore
said* +I ha$e always felt pu,,led why there are such great differences in musical forms in
different countries! Surely music should be more uni$ersal than other forms of art, for its $ehicle
is easy to reproduce and transmit from one country to another" -.illeneu$e, /0 1une 23/45
6e e7plains this life8long endea$our by writing in his essay, +The Meaning of Art"* Life is
perpetually creati$e because it contains in itself that surplus which e$er o$erflows the boundaries
of the immediate time and space, restlessly pursuing its ad$enture of e7pression in the $aried
forms of self8reali,ation!
Late in life, awed at the sight of the dance of the Manipuris, Tagore rued the fact that Bengal was
depri$ed from the 9oy of dance! 6owe$er, ne$er one to sit back and bewail matters, he
immediately in$ited dance gurus from Manipur and :erala to Santiniketan! Thence emerged a
refreshing new dance style!
;f course, as all things new, it was and still is open to debates! This debate embarks first and
foremost with the degree of Tagore"s own in$ol$ement in the genesis of this style of dance! It is
a well8known fact that Tagore"s daughter8in8law, <rotima (e$i, imbibed with an awe of balletic
performances during their =uropean tour, was enthused with a desire to present Tagore"s dramas
in the dance form! Though choreographed by dance teachers under her super$ision, in the
memoirs of +Asramiks" Amita Sen et al, we are told that no performance would go on stage
without the final appro$al of Tagore himself! This is corroborated by Shaila9aran9an Ma9umdar,
when writing about )abindra &ritto* + Their e$ery stance, posture, look, the modulation of their
$oices 8 elimination of the unbecoming, inclusion of which was anathema according to him
-Tagore5 8 e$ery step of the way the troupe was painstakingly guided and groomed by him
-Tagore5"!
Though the style is largely based on the classical dance traditions of India, Tagore shifted from
the traditional and encouraged an emphasis on the creation of the larger picture rather than an
o$ert emphasis on detailed artistry! In fact, this remains true for )abindra Sangeet, Tagore"s
own uni'ue songs, too! As Satya9it )ay, the renowned film8maker, remarks in +Thoughts on
)abindra Sangeet"* )abindranath"s o$erwhelmingly indi$idual creation in songs cannot be
assigned a genre by pre$ailing rules because )abindranath ne$er thought about genres! 6e
aimed at a distincti$e specialty, at presenting certain specific feelings in specific words and
specific melodies and rhythms!
Also, Tagore was open to the inclusion of any style as long as the final choreography or structure
could blend in with his own +aesthetic" image! (uring his lifetime he acti$ely encouraged pupils
to $isit and learn dances from such di$erse places like :andy, Bali and Burma! Srimati (e$i, a
distant relati$e of the Tagore family is known to ha$e presented Tagore"s lyrics in the balletic
style!
;f course, )abindra8nritya is defined by parameters which make this form of dancing distinct!
(ebate again arises in the defining of these $ery same parameters!
In $arious writings, Tagore has stressed on the language of art which, for him, was more
indicati$e than descripti$e, such as in the following passage in +:abbo* Sposhtoebong
Awsposhto"* In poetry it is often seen language does not e7plicitly e7press the spirit of the
emotions, rather through suggestion it directs us towards it! 6ere une7pressed symbolism
supersedes language! Though accuracy is generally necessary, at times like these we ha$e no
need for lucidity!
The e$er8e$ol$ing dynamism of the style, which is in fact its greatest strength, has, unfortunately
encountered the most criticism, due to inept interpretations! 6ere we ha$e a style which is based
more on a concept rather than on elaborately laid down rules and regulations! The end goal is to
be able to get the message across! By tying down Tagore"s most dynamic legacy to a particular
interpretation we shackle it!
As a dancer, I feel that my greatest tribute to Tagore is in e7perimenting with the $arious ways in
which his timeless literature can be brought on stage for the most di$erse of audiences, beyond
+boundaries of the immediate time and space"!
The writer is a dancer, researcher and writer