16 Nov, 2022: The charm of ‘Vishwarang 2022’ echoed with melodious waves of songs and music in the picturesque city of Bhopal. While the Monday morning began with Jabalpur’s Sur Parag’s Rabindra Sangeet at Rabindranath Tagore University, the evening witnessed the magic of classical music by Kaushiki Chakraborty. Vishwarang, an international festival of literature and arts, started on a musical note today. The eight-day-long mega-cultural festival embarked on its journey with the ‘Kala Utsav’.

The ceremony was formally inaugurated by offering flowers to Tagore’s statue stationed at the beautiful green campus of Rabindranath Tagore University on Monday morning. While inaugurating the festival, Vishwarang’s Director-Chancellor Santosh Choubey said, “With many colours in hand, the fourth edition of Vishwarang is being presented to you today with a new flavour in Bhopal, the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh.” He further said, “With the blessings of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Vishwarang is spreading its joy to the campus of the University.”

Along with this, Kolkata’s musicians Shubhavrat Sen and Manas Sarkar enchanted the campus by performing Gurudev’s prayer songs on Dotara, a musical instrument. Elevating the mood further, Sur Parag Art Group of Jabalpur sang Tagore’s poems full of love, nature, prayer, and patriotism.

Noted singer Taapsee Nagraj adapted Tagore’s poems into a musical composition, leaving the hall in complete awe of her spellbinding performance. Twenty artists transformed the vision of music composer & flute player Muralidhar Nagraj and the unique experiments of Sridhar Nagraj into a thrilling experience. From Tagore’s classics ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ and ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ to the national anthem ‘Jag Gana Mana,’ the musical number had all the Rabindra Sangeet’s color and fragrance that have been throbbing in the soul of the whole world for years. Art critic Vinay Upadhyay was the facilitator of the one-and-a-half-hour-long presentation.

Before the evening cultural program, Vishwarang Director, Mr Santosh Choubey, said, “Vishwarang has now become the biggest festival in the country. In its inception year, 2019, it only hosted 12 countries, but today 50 countries have joined Vishvarang.” Meanwhile, the Chief Guest of the program, Mayor Malti Rai, welcomed Kaushiki Chakraborty on behalf of the city.

Kaushiki Allures the Audience with her Mesmerizing Voice

Kaushiki Chakraborty captivated the hall with her classical singing prowess in Rabindra Bhavan during the second part of the Vishwarang Day-1. Indeed, Kaushiki is the queen of the stage. She has renewed the legacy of the Patiala Gharana with her wealth of education and practice, or as they say in Urdu, ‘Taleem and Riyaz’.

Even on the stage of ‘Vishwarang’, her voice spread the same energy as always. Murad Ali’s Sarangi, Tanmay Devachke’s Harmonium, and Yashwant Vaishnav’s Tabla blended with the voice of Kaushiki drenched the audience in the musical rain.

Kaushiki chose Bandish Hovan Lagi Saanjh as her rendition. With a winter nib in the air, the Ragas felt like warm sunshine, keeping the hall hooked to the incredible performance. The melodious tunes to Kaushiki’s voice – everything engrossed the audience’s mind and soul. Meanwhile, Murad Ali on Sarangi, Yashwant Sachdev on Tabla, Tanmay Devraj on Harmonium, and Tanishka and Santosh on Tanpura were also present.

While talking to the audience, Kaushiki Chakraborty said she was overwhelmed by the Vishwarang’s welcome. She further said that she would be more than happy to come back again at the invitation of Vishwarang or Rabindranath Tagore University.