Tomar Porosh Ashe, the annual Rabindra Jayanti celebration held by Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC), was a two-day event honoring Rabindranath Tagore‘s legacy through several performances, readings, and discussions.

Rabindra Jayanti, which was celebrated on Rabindranath Tagore’s birthday, provided a chance to revisit his extensive and multidisciplinary body of work. The program engaged with Tagore’s ideas in ways that are still pertinent to modern cultural practice, reflecting on his ongoing influence across artistic and intellectual traditions through the integration of literature, music, performance, and thought.

The program, which took place at the KCC Amphitheatre over two days, included a variety of presentations that addressed Tagore’s works in different but related ways. Patha Bhavan High School students gave a performance to kick off the opening day. Dr. Dheeman Bhattacharyya, accompanied by esraj artist Sougata Murmu, gave a talk titled PARA SANTIH: The Musical Substratum of Rabindranath’s “Visva” during the evening segment. This talk examines Tagore’s philosophical framework through the lens of music and aesthetics.

Shishutirtha, a performance poetry presentation created through a workshop led by Bratati Bandopadhyay, came next. The work was presented through a group investigation of voice, rhythm, and expression. It was first written in English as The Child (1930) and then translated into Bengali by Tagore himself. Bratati Bandopadhyay and her group led an elocution performance that continued the evening, interacting with Tagore via movement, music, and narration.

The program’s second day was devoted to performance, conversation, and music. An evening of Rabindrasangeet by Prolipto Ghosh, Megh, and Palashi Ghosh was organized by Tomar Porosh Ashe, who traced common musical ancestry influenced by the Santiniketan cultural milieu. Amit Dasgupta’s discussion on the ongoing significance of analyzing its engagement with themes of power, resistance, and human values came next.

A dance and theater performance of Red Oleanders, which included artists from Manipuri Nartanalaya and Darpani Dance Academy, marked the program’s conclusion. The production revisited Tagore’s text through a modern lens, engaging with its examination of freedom and the human spirit by fusing movement, music, and dramatic interpretation.

Tomar Porosh Ashe reflected the depth of Tagore’s creative universe by bringing together various ways to interact with his work through its diverse presentations. Through performance and conversation, the show gave viewers a chance to experience his writing, music, and concepts while acknowledging their enduring relevance in various contexts and eras.

Priyanka Dutta