Navi Mumbai’s Bengali community will mark the 158th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore on Saturday with its annual programme that celebrates the works of the legendary poet. While Rabindra Jayanti, a public holiday, is observed on May 7, the community has planned to hold its annual programme a few days later on the weekend and has also expanded its roster this year to also pay tributes to four other celebrated Bengali poets. Advertising “We have been organising a cultural event to mark Guru Rabindranath’s birthday for more than 30 years now. Each year we have a different theme and present a wide variety of performances,” says Memai Gorai, president, Navi Mumbai Bengali Association. Saturday evening’s programme at the Marathi Sahitya Mandir in Vashi has been named “Pancho Kobir Swarne”, a celebration of five key Bengali poets — Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Dwijendra Lal Roy, Atul Prasad Sen and Rajanikanta Sen. The aim of the event, says Subhash Mukherjee, the association’s cultural secretary, is to take the audience back to different eras of Bengal’s history through the works of some of its finest literary minds. “Through songs, dance and recitals we will showcase the rich cultural and social fabric of Bengal, and also explore themes of spirituality, nationalism and Bengal’s role in the freedom struggle,” he added. Advertising The association has invited renowned Rabindra Sangeet exponents and poets from across the country to perform on Saturday. Nritya Natikas, or dance performances based on Tagore’s poems will be performed by children trained at the association’s dance class. “If you look at all the poets that we are going to honour, they have written about seasons, human behaviour, relationships, devotion, spiritualism, nationalism and a whole variety of other subjects. Our idea is to form a link between the eras they represent and the present day,” said Mukherjee. The programme has gradually seen an increase in attendance from about 100 people a decade ago to nearly 500 last year. Gorai said the event is not widely publicised due to the venue’s inability to accommodate a large gathering. “There are nearly 4,000 Bengali families in Navi Mumbai. If we publicise this event properly, then almost 2,000 will turn up. The hall cannot hold so many people,” he said. Gorai, however, said the attendance of younger members of the community has been steadily dwindling. “I don’t see a lot of interest in classical works among young people nowadays. They are more attracted to western music. It is a matter of concern for us,” he said.

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