“Tagore knew death up close”
Renowned Tagore artiste Sadi Mohammad is known for his beautiful rendition in our cultural circuit. Today, this prominent artiste talks about Tagore and his songs in conversation with The Daily Star.
Tell us about Tagore's favourite season?
Sadi: Monsoon is Tagore's favourite season. Among all the seasons, Borsha was the one that he wrote most songs about. He was not a big fan of Shantiniketan's monsoon as he had already experienced the non-stop monsoon of Bengal. He had the opportunity to see the monsoon of the Padma River, Chalan Beel and Kuthi Bari. Compared to ours, Shantiniketan's monsoon was the complete opposite. Tagore has added the touch of monsoon in most of his song genres- Puja, Prem, Prakriti and Bichitra as well as in his nritya-natya, giti-natya and beauty. This reflects the love and affection he had for monsoon and this would not have happened if he had not spent a decade in the now-Bangladeshi region.
Can you elaborate the thought and portrayal of death in Tagore's works?
Sadi: Tagore has experienced the death of many of his loved ones during his lifetime. His nephew Dinendranath Tagore, the Swaralipi writer, who he had named “Gaaner Kandari”, was one of them. Later, he saw the death of two of his daughters and his son. Tagore wrote a lot of songs and poems reflecting death. He believed someone's death cannot change the rules of the world. Mother Nature will keep going by its rules, no matter who lives or dies. Out of this realisation, after his son's death, he wrote “Aj Jochna Ratey Sobai Gechhe Bon-e”. Then he wrote “Morite Chahina Ami Shundor Bhubane”, “Keno Ei Duar Tuku Par Hotey Shongshoi, Joy Ojanar Joy” and “Kheya”. These reflect his concern about the afterlife as well as the beauty of life. Even Sanchita's first poem was about Radha comparing death with lord Krishna. To him, the thought of death is about strength. For me, Tagore knew death up close.
How can Tagore help us to bring peace in our society?
Sadi: Tagore's songs can definitely help bring peace and happiness. His songs are about life, death, love and spirituality. These are the core elements of life that can help us to appreciate it even more. Being an ambassador of Tagore's songs, I have always cherished my responsibility to spread their essence.
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