Rabindranath Tagore’s tunes still a hit with Bengal’s young

Tagoreana, celebrating Tagore,  involuntarily assimilates into   a Bengali’s subconscious in the formative years. As such, Tagore and Bengaliana are inseparable.

Little wonder then, twelve-year-old Tuhina Sen, a music student, does riyaaz regularly and her playlist accommodates classical, contemporary and songs by  Tagore. Tuhina swears by Rabindrasangeet — a genre by itself.

Poet, visionary, philosopher, Nobel laureate, internationalist and patriot, Rabindranath Tagore needs no introduction. Somewhere down the line he strikes a chord. Maybe that is why   Bengal’s new generation can belt out a filmy song with abandon and instantly switch to a Tagore tune with apt seriousness.

In short, Rabindrasangeet sales have not gone down in West Bengal in times characterised by a surfeit of rap, techno and Bollywood. This isn’t a matter of perception; figures speak for themselves.

Krishnendu Banerjee, deputy general manager of Sagarika Music Company,  says that over the past 10 years, sales of Rabindrasangeet at Sagarika have gone up by 60% as against previous figures of 30-35%, and the share of the genre in Sagarika’s total catalogue is around 40%.

“The large format stores have allowed more marketing avenues. When it comes to impulse purchase, customers inevitably settle for a Rabindrasangeet album,” says Banerjee.

At Asha Audio, also in Kolkata, Tagore’s music marks 50% of the catalogue. Proprietor Mahua Lahiri says her company has witnessed a similar increase in sales over the same period.

To sustain the trend, both Banerjee and Lahiri are trying out new strategies. Sagarika, for instance, is attempting thematic packaging.

Recently, it brought out an album by singer Monomoy Bhattacharya called Shotoborsher Gitanjali, keeping in mind the approaching 100 years of Gitanjali, written by Tagore in 1912.

Asha Audio, while having a huge stock of albums of traditional Rabindrasangeet singers like the late Hemant Mukherjee and Debabrata Biswas, is also roping in contemporary singers to bring out more albums.

Shaan will shortly launch his album, Khola Hawa and Babul Supriyo, his second. Last year, Supriyo’s first album Kotobar Bhebechhinu sold more than 22,000 copies.

Kavita Krishnamurthy will release her second Rabindrasangeet album Bhalobashi shortly. Her first, recorded about 10 years ago, observed all stipulations of the Visva Bharati University at Shantiniketan.

Before copyrights were lifted a few years ago, the University had strict stipulations for rendering Rabindrasangeet. Every singer had to get the university board’s approval before their song could be released. When copyrights were lifted, the music industry started experimenting with the genre in terms of rhythm, mannerisms and musical arrangements.

“Shaan, Supriyo and Krishnamurthy, while following the notations religiously, have sung to a quicker rhythm and with a richer arrangement,” says Lahiri. “Since Asha Bhonsle and late Kishore Kumar brought out Rabindrasangeet albums, perhaps no playback singer has attempted singing Tagore’s songs.”

Singers Indrani Sen and Pratik Choudhury say that Tagore’s relevance will not wane even after 150 years because he transcends time. Sen, who has sung 800-odd songs of Tagore, some even in Hindi, says, “Tagore is so contemporary. And he has addressed a gamut of emotions; each song has meaning and a message.”

“The older generation has a responsibility to hand down the Tagore legacy to their children,” says Choudhury.