Ritu Ranga: The Colours of the Seasons

Music and Dance
London Sharad Utsav
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An evening to commemorate Rabindra Jayanti: the birth anniversary of Bengal’s greatest poet, song-writer, and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore.

The theme celebrates the beautiful poems and songs by Tagore on nature and the beauty of the seasons of Bengal. There are five seasons in the Bengali calendar, Grishma (summer), Barsha (the rainy season), Sharat (early autumn), Sheet (winter) and Vasanta (spring). The artistic and musical genius of Rabindranath Tagore has celebrated the ever-changing moods of these seasons in hundreds of poignant and evocative songs.

Tagore loved to live close to nature. One of the most creative phases of his life was spent by the bank of the river Padma. The poetry he wrote then shows how keenly he observed nature, and with what delicacy he depicted the seasons of Bengal. The wide skies and open spaces of Santiniketan, where, over a span of 40 years, he experimented with education and gave shape to his dreams, inspired him to compose incredibly beautiful songs on the seasons.

Ever since Rabindranath's time, it has been a tradition at Santiniketan to welcome each season with Rabindra Sangeet and Rabindra Nritya. For the participants, this is both homage and celebration. Our performance at the Nehru Centre will similarly pay homage and enact celebration through songs and dances.

Although Tagore is most famous as a poet and composer, he also painted and, late in his life he pioneered a very individual style of painting characterised by simple bold forms and a rhythmic quality. He produced thousands of works in this style and was the first Indian artist to exhibit his works across Europe, Russia and the United States. His painting style served to inspire many modern Indian artists. We will also pay homage to Tagore as a painter by creating a work of art on-stage, painted by LSU artists on the theme of Ritu Ranga: The Colours of the Seasons.