A WALK THROUGH RABINDRA SADAN- THE CULTURE MY FRIEND IS BLOWING IN THE WIND

I shall spend my day with no work to do, playing the flute the whole day in the nature’s lap, I shall spend my day with no work to do—“ আজ বিনা কাজে বাজিয়ে বাঁশি কাটবে সকল বেলা “ – What do we do now if we ever feel this way ! In this world of concrete when it is even difficult to have a glance of the clear blue sky, the city of Kolkata gives us an open lush green land to glance at the sky and to spend a day of leisure at what we call popularly as Rabindra Sadan Area. Though addressed to by that name it actually comprises of six such places that also makes it the Cultural Epicenter of Kolkata. It is here that we can try-say, a bit on the Dylan tone, CULTURE MY FRIEND IS BLOWING IN THE WIND. A place, which is never abandoned, is thronged by all kind of people ranging from the age group of six to sixty. It is located at the AJC Bose Road and Cathedral Road Junction and is the south-east point of the Kolkata Maidan, popularly referred to as GORER MATH. The place is also circled by other places of interest like the Victoria Memorial, M.P Birla Planetarium, St. Pauls Cathedral, Mohor Kunja etc. With easy connectivity through the metropolitan’s metro rail service, via the Rabindra Sadan Station, the place becomes easily accessible to all from all parts of Kolkata. Let’s first understand the reason behind the name. Just opposite to the campus of the Rabindra Sadan area is the famous Calcutta Club. This was once inhabited by Satyendranath Tagore, the second son of Debendranath Tagore and the elder brother of one of the greatest poets of India and the world Kabi Guru Rabindranath Tagore. It was in this place that Tagore had one staged his play, RAJARANI, along with his wife Mrinalini Debi, her only stage performance. Since then the legacy is being carried over. And it was only in 1961 when the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, laid the foundation stone and named it after the great son of Kolkata. The following are the places that are present in the compound and some are out of the compound but still regarded as family.

·         Sisir Mancha:

When one enters the Rabindra Sadan Area, one first comes across a small auditorium named after great theatre personality Sri. Sisir Bhaduri called SISIR MANCHA. It is an auditorium with the best of facilities accommodating nearly 1000 people but with no balcony seating facility. Used by many sprouting enthusiasts of culture and art mostly Sisir Mancha also hosts parts of KIFF and Kolkata Short Film Festival and Kolkata Children’s Film Festival.

·         Gaganendra PradarshanShala:

      To the right of Sisir Mancha lies an Art Gallery, though small in size, but a host to some of the best art and photo exhibitions of the city. Named after a great painter and cartoonist of all times, Gangendranath Tagore, who also happens to be the nephew of Rabindranath Tagore, Gaganendra Prashanshala carries forward the importance and legacy of visual art.

·         Nandan:

Walking past Sisir Mancha and Gaganendra PrdarshanShala comes to the famous and aesthetically architechtured government sponsored film and culture centre of Kolkata. The famous logo of the complex was designed by Academy Oscar Winning Film Director Satyajit Ray who also inaugurated it in 1985 after its foundation stone being laid in 1980 by the former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Sri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. Initially starting with two auditoriums for film screening, Nandan now has three fantastic screens. Nandan is the main and primary host to mostly all the film festivals of Kolkata including Kolkata International Film Festival. Nandan happened to be a place very close to the heart of Sri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya who happened to spend most of his evening in a room allotted to him there by the then Government. He was often visited by great poets and actors like Sunil Gangopadhyay, Soumitra Chatterjee and others for both official and personal discussions(Adda). Despite all of its benefits, Nandan, has also not been out of controversies. Many are of opinion that due to government governance, many modern visioned and controversial films are shunned entry due to political pressure. Nandan had barred the screening of great cinematic works such as Suman Mukhopadhyay's ‘HERBERT’ based on a novel by maverick poet and writer NABARUN BHATTACHARYA, son of eminent writer Mahasweta Debi, Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘AREKTI PREMER GOLPO’ , a film revolving around homosexuality starring the greatest director of recent times Rituparno Ghosh and yatra actor Chapal Bhaduri. When in 2010 Moinak Biswas’s (associate professor at Jadavpur University) ‘Sthaniyo Sangbad’ was banned, he commented saying, “Since all these films, including mine, had a censor certificate, it wasn’t Nandan's role to play super censor.” Despite everything, Nandan is a place of common interest and excitement for the young and old alike.

·         Rabindra Sadan Stage:

To the left of Nandan stands Rabindra Sadan. The first laying stone for constructing Rabindra Sadan of Kolkata was done by the late Prime Minister of India, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru on 8th May 1961, birth centenary anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.It was in the October of the same year that it was opened to the public. Now regarded as one of the best auditoriums in Kolkata, it the place where one gets to see the best of the productions by the best of the theatre groups of Kolkata and India. It also stages innovative shows of music, dance and poetry. During the months of May, the birth month of Tagore, the West Bengal Govt runs a month long festival in the auditorium and the areas adjoining to celebrate the works of the noted poet. It also hosts a part of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) and the Kolkata Internation Children’s Film Festival, Sangeet Mela and many other governments organised events. Last respects to many great Bengali’s like Satyajit Roy, Rituparno Ghosh and lately KalikaPrasad Bhattacharya and many other great children of Kolkata have been paid at Rabindra Sadan.

·         Academy of Fine Arts And Academy Auditorium:

One of the exquisites beauties of her and a very close associate to Rabindranath Tagore was Lady Ranu, the wife of famous industrialist Sir Biren Mookerjee. It was in 1933 that Lady Ranu formally established the Academy of Fine Arts in a verandah leased in the Indian Museum. In 1950 with the help of the then Chief Minister of West Bengal Sri B.C Roy and the Prime Minister of India Sri Jawaharlal Nehru, Lady Ranu, the academy shifted its base to its present location, a much bigger place, in Cathedral Road, just adjacent to the St Paul’s Cathedral. It contains a painting of great painters Jamini Roy, Gaganendranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore and many more. It hosts multiple exhibitions of art, sculptures, graffiti and photographs by eminently established personalities and also new growing buds in its NORTH, SOUTH and CENTRAL Gallery. The textile museum of the academy has an excellent display of  Dakhai, Patola, Jamdani, and Benarasi silk items. Glances of some of the most wondrous Persian carpets are at the carpet museum of the Academy of Fine Arts.  The Studio and Sketching club of the Academy of Fine Arts is another must-visit place. Painting and sculpturing classes are regularly held within the academy. Adjacent to the Gallery is a fantastic and considered to be the most classic of all theatre stages in Kolkata is the Academy Auditorium. It stages productions of famous group theatres like Nandikar, Bohurupee, Charbak, Bratyajan, NayaNatua, etc. Every year Nandikar hosts an annual theatre festival from 16^th to 23^rd December. One can experience theatre from across many different states and cultures of India during this time. One gets enriched both culturally and philosophically attending shows here. A vivid picture of Kolkata’s association to Art and Culture is felt after a visit to this place. Youngsters and even mid aged are found talking hearts out of the many lush fields of in the campus biting either on Aloo Roll or Egg Devils or Chicken Chops from the Academy Canteen and cutting on Lemon Tea specially honked as LEBU CHAA .

LET US KNOW IF YOU ENJOYED A WALK THROUGH THE CULTURAL HUB OF KOLKATA.