15 Nov, 2022: The charm of ‘Vishwarang 2022’ reverbrated with melodious waves of songs and music in the picturesque city of Bhopal. While the Monday morning began with Jabalpur’s Sur Parag’s Rabindra Sangeet at Rabindranath Tagore University (RNTU), the evening witnessed the magic of classical music by Kaushiki Chakraborty. Vishwarang, an international festival of literature and arts, started on a musical note today. The mega cultural festival embarked on its journey with the ‘Kala Utsav’.
The ceremony was formally inaugurated by offering flowers to Tagore’s statue stationed at the beautiful green campus of RNTU in the morning. While inaugurating the festival, Vishwarang’s Director-Chancellor Santosh Choubey said, “With many colours in hand, the fourth edition of Vishwarang is being presented to you today with a new flavour in Bhopal, the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh.” He further said, “With the blessings of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Vishwarang is spreading its joy throughout the campus.”
Along with this, Kolkata’s musicians Shubhavrat Sen and Manas Sarkar enchanted the audience by performing Gurudev’s prayer songs on Dotara, a musical instrument. Elevating the mood further, Sur Parag Art Group of Jabalpur sang Tagore’s poems full of love, nature, prayer and patriotism.
Noted singer Taapsee Nagraj adapted Tagore’s poems into a musical composition, leaving the hall in complete awe of her spellbinding performance. Twenty artists transformed the vision of music composer & flute player Muralidhar Nagraj and the unique experiments of Sridhar Nagraj into a captivating experience. From Tagore’s classics ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ and ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ to the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana,’ the musical number had all the Rabindra Sangeet’s colour and fragrance that have been throbbing in the soul of the whole world for years. Art critic Vinay Upadhyay was the facilitator of the one-and-a-half-hour-long presentation.
Before the evening cultural program, Vishwarang Director, Santosh Choubey, said, “Vishwarang has now become the biggest festival in the country. In its inception year, 2019, it only hosted 12 countries, but today 50 countries have joined Vishvarang.” Meanwhile, the Chief Guest of the programme, Mayor Malti Rai, welcomed Kaushiki Chakraborty on behalf of the city.
Kaushiki Allures the Audience with her Mesmerising Voice
Kaushiki Chakraborty who has renewed the legacy of the Patiala Gharana with her wealth of education and practice, or Taleem and Riyaz’, captivated the hall with her classical singing prowess in Rabindra Bhavan during the second part of the Vishwarang Day-1. Murad Ali’s sarangi, Tanmay Devachke’s harmonium and Yashwant Vaishnav’s tabla blended with the voice of Kaushiki took the audience to a sublime level. Kaushiki chose Bandish Hovan Lagi Saanjh as her rendition. With a winter nib in the air, the ragas felt like warm sunshine, keeping the hall hooked to the incredible performance.
While talking to the audience, Kaushiki Chakraborty said she was overwhelmed by the Vishwarang’s hospitality. She further said that she would be more than happy to come back again at the invitation of Vishwarang or RNTU.
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