"Through the change of seasons, especially monsoon and spring, Tagore has presented human emotions in all its variety. To understand his thought process, we have to know his background. Rabindranath belonged to the Brahma Samaj, a community to whom music is an expression of devotion. Moreover, after his visits to the then East Bengal in the early 20th century, Tagore was very much influenced by the bauls. These trips had a significant impact on his vision, thought and philosophy, which influenced his style of writing. Tagore believed that love is synonymous to devotion and nature is its background. That is why love, devotion and nature are interwoven in Tagore's songs", adds Ila.

Rabindranath once said that a song begins where a poem ends and that the message of music travels further than that of words. Usually songs have a preponderance of tunes and measures but Tagore songs are essentially poetic and therefore their poetic themes are as important as their tunes. Ila says, "Tagore's interpretation of music is different from others--music or tune is simply a medium through which the theme of his songs is delivered to the audience. The theme of the lyrics is a key factor for his compositions.

"Rabindranath Tagore grew up with different genres of music, which have always been the guiding factors of his compositions. Practicing classical music for the devotional songs for Brahma Samaj prayers and western music was his family tradition. When he visited England he became an admirer of Irish folk music. He applied many western tunes in the songs of his musical plays Valmiki Pratibha (1881) and Kalmrgaya (1882).

"His familiarity with kirtan, shyamasangeet and ramprashadi is seen in the songs composed between 1884 and 1886. The use of baul tunes became noticeable from 1905 onwards. Rabindranath realised that the best way to touch the hearts of the people was to incorporate the tunes drawn from the soil. Twenty songs composed by him at the time were published in a book entitled Baul. Moreover, he took tunes from Indian states like Mumbai, Gujarat, Madras, Mysore and Punjab (Sikh bhajan)"

On the influence of classical music on Tagore, Ila says, "He composed many devotional songs in the Hindustani classical style. The Tagore songs composed in this tradition are treasures of our music. Many of his songs abound in the Dhrupad form of sthayi, antara, sanchari and abhog. The influence of the classical style is also manifested in the tunes, words and articulation of the songs. Even in folk tunes he experimented with a mixture of ragas to create a genre of his own." Ila continues, ...Tappa is yet another form that has enriched Tagore songs. The use of tappa in giving expression to Bangalee emotions has been noteworthy."

"His unique ability to blend these musical genres gave him the opportunity to develop his own distinctive style of songs. Because of this quality, his tunes can be easily identified even when he has based them on other musical forms." -- concludes Ila.