Kolkata, 9th May, 2023: Rabindranath Tagore was a poet, author, playwright, music composer, painter, philosopher and social reformer. His contribution to Bengali and Indian literature and music as well as Indian art is remarkable and brought him and the country laurels at an international level. On the occasion of 162nd birth anniversary of Kobi Guru Rabindranath Tagore, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Kolkata to attend a cultural programme organised by ‘Khola Hawa’, a socio-cultural body based in West Bengal today evening at Science City Auditorium, Kolkata.
Khola Hawa celebrated Rabindra Jayanti- An evening celebrating the festival of Music, Dance and Discussion. Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home delivered the keynote address at Science City Auditorium, Kolkata today evening. Sri Shah spoke on Kobi Guru’s influence on modern Indian thought.
The event started with the welcome song by prominent Bengali singers. Chandrima Ray recited beautiful poems by Kavi Guru Tagore. Rabindra Sangeet in the melodious voice of Ujjain Mukherjee and Somlata Acharya were highly appreciated by the audience. Dance performances by actress Rituparna Sengupta, Kohinoor Sen Barat, Tanushree Shankar and their respective troupe added to the glamour of the event. The choir consisted of some of the best young talents of Bengal and presented a mesmerizing show.
Dr. Swapan Dasgupta, President of Khola Hawa and Former MP (Rajya Sabha) spoke about the poet’s contribution to a free society. On this occasion he said, “Kobi Guru, Rabindranath Tagore has shaped the sensibilities and personality of Bengalis. His contribution in the field of literature, arts and culture of Bengal is immeasurable. We are grateful that Sri Amit Shah has accepted Khola Hawa’s invitation to attend thisbgrand celebration. The event was supported by the Ministry of Culture as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations in the country.”
The show took place in the presence of eminent personalities like Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the opposition, WBLA; Locket Chatterjee, Member of Parliament; Nishit Pramanik, MoS for Home Affairs; John Barla, MoS for Minority Affairs; Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, Member of Parliament; Dr. Subhas Sarkar, MoS for Education; Shantanu Thakur, MoS for Shipping; Agnimitra Paul, MLA and many others.
Team Khola Hawa has active members including Dr. Swapan Dasgupta, Shishir Bajoria, Dr. Sarup Prasad Ghosh, Mallika Banerjee, Biswajit Das and Shankudev Panda. The programme was concluded by the song Vande Matram.