NCPA Presents “Celebrating Tagore” On 165th Birth Anniversary Of Rabindranath Tagore

Marking the 165th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) is presenting its annual festival, Celebrating Tagore, featuring an evening dedicated to Indian classical dance inspired by the literary and artistic legacy of the Nobel laureate.

The programme brings together Odissi, Kathak, Rabindra Nritya and Bharatanatyam, exploring Tagore’s multidisciplinary vision of performance as a seamless blend of poetry, music, and movement. The evening features acclaimed artistes Debamitra Sengupta, Keka Sinha, and Dr. Chitra Vishwanathan, each offering distinct choreographic interpretations of Tagore’s works.

The festival opens with Shyama, Tagore’s celebrated 1939 dance-drama, reimagined in the Odissi tradition by Debamitra Sengupta and troupe. The production explores the emotional complexity of its central character, a royal courtesan caught in a web of love, sacrifice, and moral conflict, brought alive through expressive abhinaya and Rabindra Sangeet.

The second presentation, Robi O Raag, by Kathak exponent Keka Sinha and the Kalapi Centre for Performing Arts, weaves together Tagore’s songs with Hindustani classical compositions. The performance highlights the lyrical and philosophical depth of Rabindra Sangeet through the vocabulary of Kathak and Rabindra Nritya.

The evening concludes with Dokkine Robindranath, a Bharatanatyam production by Dr. Chitra Vishwanathan and troupe. Drawing from Tagore’s compositions, the piece blends Carnatic music with Bharatanatyam aesthetics, enriched by influences from multiple classical dance traditions including Manipuri, Mohiniattam, and Kuchipudi.

Through these three presentations, Celebrating Tagore reflects Tagore’s enduring vision of art without boundaries, where literature, music, and movement converge to express universal themes of love, spirituality, sacrifice, and human emotion.