Wikipedia

Sangit Bhavana

Sangit Bhavana(Institute of Dance, Drama and Music), ofVisva-Bharati University,Santiniketan,started functioning as a part ofKala Bhavanain 1919 and as a separate institution in 1933. It was established by the Nobel laureateRabindranath Tagore.[1]

Sangit Bhavana
Visva-Bharati University
Sangit Bhavana, Santiniketan
LocationSantiniketan,West Bengal, India
Coordinates23°40′52″N87°40′55″E/ 23.68101°N 87.68183°E/23.68101; 87.68183
FounderRabindranath Tagore
Established1933
PrincipalProf. Nikhil Chowdhury
Websitevisvabharati.ac.in/sangitbhavana

Overview

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The Statesmanwrites, "Like the fine arts, music was an important part of the curriculum taught atTagore'sschool. For theSantiniketancommunity, his songs were a constant source of joy and solace. They were integral to each aspect of Santiniketan's unique way of life and cultural identity. Not surprisingly, the teaching of music and dance received a fresh impetus whenVisva-Bharatiwas founded. A new musical tradition evolved under the guidance of stalwarts likeDinendranath Tagore,Rabindranath's musician grandnephew, and Pandit Bhimrao Hasurkar Sastri, a versatile Maharashtrian musician who taughtHindustani classical music.[2]

"Simultaneously, a new style of dance was created through experimentation with styles borrowed from various traditions and cultures. TraditionalManipuriandKathakalistyles and also non-Indian dance forms such as theCeylonese Kandy dancewere incorporated into this new dance style that had an identity of its own. Such syncretism was a hallmark of Visva- Bharati's distinctive cultural outlook.[2]

"Santiniketan revolutionized Bengali and, by extension, Indian perceptions of culture by challenging social prejudices against the performing arts. The students broke a taboo when they began to participate in performances on the public stage. In short, in Santiniketan the performing arts gained a new respectability."[2]

History

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Rabindranath's school, Brahmacharyasrama, at Santiniketan, was formally opened on 22 December 1901.[3]Music was an important part of the curriculum right from the beginning, but the music taught was limited toRabindra Sangit.[4]In 1919, whenKala Bhavanafirst started functioning, it taught both music and art. In 1933, the two streams were separated with individual institutes for each stream - Kala Bhavana and Sangit Bhavana.[5]

Dinendranath Tagore,grandson ofDwijendranath Tagore,the poet's eldest brother, was brought up in the culturally rich environment ofJorasanko Thakur Bariand was a talented musician familiar with bothHindustani classical musicand music inwestern culture.He was particularly good withmusical notationsand was in-charge of the music department from the earliest years.[6]Bhimrao Hasurkar Sastri introduced the teaching of Hindustani classical music in Santiniketan. He was the second adhakshya of the music department from 1923 to 1927.[4]Thereafter, Dinendra Nath Tagore once again took over charge.[6]

Bhatkhande Music Instituteset up by renowned musicologist and pioneer in classical music training,Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande,inLucknow,provided well-trained Hindusthani classical music acharyas to Visva Bharati for many years.[7]

The association of music with the courtesans in those days somewhat damaged its reputation as an art form, andRabindranath'sexperiments with the art of dance atSantiniketanwere initially received with opposition and criticism from the then existing orthodox society.[7]

In 1919, Rabindranath decided to includeManipuri dancein the curriculum of Santiniketan after witnessing a dance performance in Sylhet. He requestedBirendra Kishore Manikya,the king ofTripura,to send a Manipuri dance teacher and the latter sent Rajkumar Buddhimanta Singh to Santiniketan. Later, Nileswar Mukherjee of Bhanugach also joined Santiniketan as a teacher of Manipuri dance.[8]

Rabindranath Tagore was attracted toKathakalimainly as a result of its rhythmic dance components likekalasamandsari,with only a veneer of gesturalabhinaya.He sentSantideb Ghosh,twice to South India to get in touch withKerala Kalamandalam.In 1939Poet Vallatholvisited Santiniketan. Rabindranath requested him to send a Kathakali teacher to Santiniketan. Santideb Ghosh again visited Kerala for the purpose.Guru Kelu Nairwas the firstKathakaliteacher atSantiniketanfrom 1937 to 1941. Subsequently, Haridasan Nair, Balakrishnan Menon, Keshava Poduval, Unni Krishna Kuruppu and Mohan Krishnan Poduval were some of the eminent teachers at Santiniketan for Kathakali dance. In later years, Kalamandalam Govindan Kutty was associated with bothKolkataandSantiniketan.[9]

The institute overview

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Eminent names in the musical arena such asDinendranath Tagore,Bhimrao Hasurkar Sastri,Indira Devi Chaudhurani,Santidev Ghosh,Sushil Kumar Bhanja Choudhuri andSailajaranjan Majumdarlaid down rich traditions in earlier years.[10]In later years the traditions were upheld by such persons asKanika BanerjeeandNilima Sen.[11][12]

In addition to those who studied at Santineiketan and remained back as notable teachers, some of the students who have emerged as popular singers, beyond Santiniketan, are:Suchitra Mitra,[13]Subinoy Roy,[14]Sumitra Guha[15]andRezwana Chowdhury Bannya.[16][17]

Sangit Bhavana "focuses on the realms of music and dance. The courses vary from PG to undergraduate study and from diplomas to certificate courses. Almost all forms and styles of Indian music and dance are dealt with under one roof."[18]Sangit Bhavana imparts training in Rabindra Sangit, Hindusthani classical vocal and instrumental music (esraj,sitar,tabla,pakhvaj), Manipuri and Kathakali dance styles, dramas and Tagore's own musical dance-dramas. For exceptionally talented post-graduates, there is scope for research.[10]

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  • Mrinalini Sarabhai(then Mrinalini Swaminathan, 20 years old), studiedKathakaliunderGuru Kelu NairandManipuriunder Guru Ambui Singh. An extremely creative person she was always on the look out for new forms in traditional techniques to express herself. When Tagore gave her the leading role in his dance dramaChandalikashe was thrilled, more so because she had to do theBharatnatyamchoreography by her-self. ‘Dance it as you wish,’ Tagore said. It was the first time that Bharatnatyam was introduced in Tagore's dance drama.[19]
  • TheKandyan danceof Ceylon and thedance-dramas of Java and Balirepresented the 'Asian mind' for Tagore. The hybrid form of Tagore's dance drama developed over time.Pratima Devicalled it a product of ‘chemical synthesis’ of several traditional Asian dance forms and modern European dance. Kathakali and Manipuri formed the base and there were additives from the modern European styles ofRudolf Laban,Kurt JoossandMary Wigman.Tagore's niece Shrimati Tagore brought in many of these to Santiniketan after training in Europe for three years. A Japanese dancer named Maki had choreographedChitrangada[20]
  • Tagore's music was a blend of different genres and many of his compositions were sung in Western classical mode also. Two Ashramites, Allen Danielu and Arthur Gedes, presented Tagore's lyrics in English, set to his tunes, and rendered in western style with piano as accompaniment.[21]
  • Manoj and Manisha Murali Nair, a brother and sister duo, have produced 10 Rabindra Sangit albums until now. They are children of Kalamandalam Murlidharan Nair, the Kathakali guru at Visva Bharati.[22][23]
  • Rabindranath's timeless songPurano shei diner kathahas its roots in Scotland. It was inspired byAuld Lang Syne(Long long ago) by the Scottish poet and lyricistRobert Burns.Several other Tagore songs have a similar history. In 2011, the Scottish government set up a Centre for Tagore Studies at Napier University in Edinburgh.[24][25]In January 2019, Visva Bharati organised a special programme on Rabindranath and Robert Burns.
See also -Special programme on Rabindranath Tagore and Scottish poet Robert Burns

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Sangeet Bhavan is still relevant while completing hundred years".anandabazar(in Bengali).Retrieved16 July2022.
  2. ^abcChanda, Sukalyan (4 February 2019)."Centenary of the Nest II".The Statesman, 5 February 2019.Retrieved12 September2019.
  3. ^"Visva Bharati".History.Visva Bharati.Retrieved4 September2019.
  4. ^ab"Bhimrao Hasurkar Sastri".Visva Bharati.Retrieved4 September2019.
  5. ^"From Bharmacharyashrama to Visva-Bharati: A Chronicle of Metamorphosis of a Tiny School into an Internationally-Acclaimed Centre of Learning"(PDF).Visva Baharati.Retrieved4 September2019.
  6. ^ab"Dinendranath Tagore (1882-1935)".Visva Bharati.Retrieved4 September2019.
  7. ^ab"Sangit Bhavana and Rabindranath's Vision"(PDF).Sodhgnga.Retrieved4 September2019.
  8. ^Naorem Sanajaoba (1988).Manipur, Past and Present: The Heritage and Ordeals of a Civilization.Mittal Publications. p. 131.ISBN978-81-7099-853-2.
  9. ^"Dance Education in Santiniketan"(PDF).Shasthrapathi Chandani Kasturi Arachchi.Sangeet Galaxy, July 2016.Retrieved4 September2019.
  10. ^ab"Sangit Bhavana".Visva Bharati.Retrieved4 September2019.
  11. ^"Kanika Bandopadhyay".Visva Bharati.Retrieved3 August2019.
  12. ^"Nilima Sen profile".Veethi.Retrieved29 August2019.
  13. ^"Rabindra Sangeet exponent Suchitra Mitra passes away".The Indian Express.3 January 2011.
  14. ^"Kolkatar Karcha".(in Bengali).Ananda Bazar Patrika, 6 November 2017.Retrieved29 August2019.
  15. ^"Sumitra Guha".Underscore Records.Retrieved29 August2019.
  16. ^"Meet Rezwana Chowdhury Bannya, a Bangladeshi exponent of Rabindra Sangeet".The Economic Times.The Economic Times, 7 August 2016. 7 August 2016.Retrieved10 August2019.
  17. ^"Rezwana Chowdhury Banya".Biography.last.fm.Retrieved10 August2019.
  18. ^"Tagore's Vision of an Institution".Colleges.26 March 2012. 26 March 2012.Retrieved11 September2019.
  19. ^Women, Speak, Nation: Gender, Culture and Politics.Taylor and Francis/ Google. 24 July 2019.ISBN9781000507270.Retrieved6 September2019.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  20. ^Performing Otherness: Java and Bali on International Stages, 1905-1952.Springer/ Google. 27 October 2010.ISBN9780230309005.Retrieved7 September2019.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  21. ^"Over The Years".Sudip Bhattacharya, page 65.Edurecreation Publishing / Google. 26 December 2015.Retrieved9 September2019.
  22. ^"Together with Tagore".The Telegraph, 9 May 2017.Retrieved5 September2019.
  23. ^"Tagore in Tune".The Hindu.The Hindu, 25 October 2012. 25 October 2012.Retrieved29 August2019.
  24. ^"Tagore drew inspiration from Scottish bard for his poem".The Times of India.The Times of India, 20 November 2011. 20 November 2011.Retrieved9 September2019.
  25. ^"Now, a Rabindranath Tagore hub in Edinburgh University".DNA 10 May 2012.Retrieved9 September2019.
  26. ^"Pallavi Krishnan".Pallavi Krishnan. Archived fromthe originalon 21 September 2019.Retrieved9 September2019.
  27. ^"Pallavi enthuses effortless grace".The New Indian Express, 3 December 2018. 3 December 2018.Retrieved9 September2019.
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External videos
Visva Bharati and Preparation of Basanta Utsav(commentary in Bengali)
DD Santiniketan 22 she Sravan
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