Rabindra Sangeet and Charith Perera

It is noteworthy that Agra Gharana has produced highly gifted musicians such as Mohan Singh khangura, Pundit D.T Joshi (Khangura’s teacher) and Fayaz Khan. He studied Rabindra Sangeet under Moloy Chatterji and Swasthika Mukharji. Though he majored in classical Indian music (vocal), he focused his studies on Rabindra Sangeet since it had been introduced to Sri Lanka when Sri Palee College was established in Horana and the revival of music and arts following Rabindranath Tagore’s historic visit to Sri Lanka. Besides his degree, Charith followed a special course in Rabindra Sangeet which further improved his knowledge and practice of the genre.

In this week’s column, we explore the genre of music known as Rabindra Sangeet and introduce Charith Perera, a principal exponent of Rabindra Sangeet in Sri Lanka. Rabindra Sangeet also known as Rabindra songs are basically made up of songs written by Rabindranath Tagore.

This genre of music is intrinsically linked to rich Bengali culture and is popular in both West Bengal and Bangladesh. Prominent among the principal sources of Rabindra Sangeet are Indian classical music and folk music sources. In total, Tagore wrote 2,230 songs.

Gitabitan, the collection of songs Tagore wrote is made up of six major sections known as Puja (worship), Prem (love), Prakriti (Nature) and Bichitra (Diverse), swadesh(patriotism) and aanushthanik (celebration). Rabindra Sangeet stands out for its vivid realisation of Bengali culture, its strongest influence. Each and every song is considered as culture treasure in Bengal and Bangladesh.

Dealing with myriad of themes, Rabindra Sangeet is immensely popular and constitutes a basis for Bengali cultural ethos and it is that songs are born out of 500 years of Bengali literary and cultural legacy. What is significant is that Tagore had vividly captured diverse voices from poorest boatman on Ganges to the richest landlord. It is their trials and tribulations that Tagore codified in his songs. The sublime beauty and sheer depth of Tagore’s songs prompted filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak,Mrinal Sen, Nitin Bose, Tapan Sinha and Kumar Shahani to use them in their films. Tagore’s songs were also used in British and European movies to capture specific moments and settings. Ritwik Ghatak used Rabindra Sangeet in his films such as Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-capped Star) and Subarnarekha to depict pastoral post-partition Bengal.

In Sangit chinta, Tagore stated, “‘In regard to music, I claim to be something of a musician myself. I have composed many songs which have defied the canons of orthodox propriety and good people are disgusted at the impudence of a man who is audacious only because he is untrained. But I persist, and God forgives me because I do not know what I do. Possibly that is the best way of doing things in the sphere of art. For I find that people blame, but also sing my songs, even if not always correctly. Please do not think I am vain. I can judge myself objectively and can openly express admiration for my own work, because I am modest. I do not hesitate to say that my songs have found their place in the heart of my land, along with her flowers that are never exhausted, and that the folk of the future, in days of joys or sorrow or festival, will have to sing them. This too is the work of a revolutionist.”

Principal exponent

Although he studied music at Asoka Vidyalaya and Lumbini Vidyalaya, Charith Perera got the opportunity to study Rabindra Sangeet only after he entered the Visva-Bharati University or Shanthiniketan on a scholarship granted by the ICCR in Colombo. One of the teachers who strongly influenced Charith’s career in music is Sandya Bulathsinghala.

Among other things, it was at Shanthiniketan that Charith discovered the sheer aesthetic beauty and depth of North Indian classical music. He came under the influence of legendary teachers of North Indian music including his teacher, Mohan Singh Khangura, who is a leading figure in Agra Gharana (School of Music),Manojith Mallik and Basavi Mukharji. Charith also studied classical music under Devanjan Chatterji , son of legendary Alok Chatterji.

It is noteworthy that Agra Gharana has produced highly gifted musicians such as Mohan Singh Khangura, Pundit D.T Joshi (Khangura’s teacher) and Fayaz Khan. He studied Rabindra Sangeet under Moloy Chatterji and Swasthika Mukharji. Though he majored in classical Indian music (vocal), he focused his studies on Rabindra Sangeet since it had been introduced to Sri Lanka when Sri Palee College was established in Horana and the revival of music and arts following Rabindranath Tagore’s historic visit to Sri Lanka. Besides his degree, Charith followed a special course in Rabindra Sangeet which further improved his knowledge and practice of the genre.

One of the important facets of Rabindra Sangeet is that it has contributed to the creation of indigenous music culture in Sri Lanka. Musicians such as Sunil Shantha and Ananda Samarakoon who studied at Shantiniketan were highly influenced by Rabindra Sangeet and they applied the motif of Rabindra Sangeet in their creations.

Composition

What Charith intends is to formally introduce Rabindra Sangeet and Bengali system of Music (Vanga Sangeetaya) which is a rich source of music to be drawn on. After mastering Rabindra Sangeet, Charith realised it should be introduced in a methodical manner, offering minute details of the songs such as time of composition, meanings and when and where they were originally sung. Apart from North Indian and South Indian music, one of the major sub-genres of music tradition is Rabindra Sangeet. Since the genre was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who wrote the national anthem of India, it is highly respected in India and the time is ripe for the authorities to consider Rabindra Sangeet to be introduced to music curriculum both at school and at University levels.

Charith Perera embarks on a mission to popularise Bengali music or Vanga Sangeetaya through Rabindra Sangeet. Charith hopes to make Sinhala lyrics for music compositions in Rabindra Sangeet, capturing the Bengali meaning of the original song. He has noticed that there are instances where Rabindra Sangeet music compositions have been used in Sri Lanka for songs with altering meanings of the original song. As he had studied classical North Indian music (vocal) under the tutellage of Prof. Mohan Singh Khangura, Moloy Chatterji and Swasthika Mukharji, he looks forward to pursue a career in North Indian classical music while promoting the genre of Rabindra Sangeet. He is one of the few Sri Lankan gifted vocalists with wider tonal rage.