Emancipating Tagore

The copyright for the works of Rabindranath Tagore was handed over to Vishwa Bharati after Tagore’s death. Vishwa Bharati behaved in a draconian manner and took particular pleasure in letting people know who the boss was when it came to rendering Tagore’s work. Gate-keeping, it was argued, is essential to ensure that the works of the great philosopher-poet were not culturally defaced. Every artiste who wished to publish her rendering of Tagore had to first get a clearance from Vishwa Bharti and people who did not bother towing the line of the gatekeeper found them stranded on the wrong side of the fence. Several artists faced economic crises as fallout but they stoically stood by what Tagore said – “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”. One such artist, Debabrata Biswas, who besides converting to Christianity also refused to bend backwards to Vishwa Bharati sunk into sheer poverty and Hemant Kumar – another legend – stepped in and arranged a public facilitation to raise money for him.

Tagore’s copyright went away in 2001 (after a suspicious 10 year extension). Nothing thereafter has suggested that people are now creating Tagore re-mixes or overlaying heavy percussion atop a soothing song so it can be played at the local sinful discotheque. If at all things have improved. His written works, for which people earlier had to get on a wait-list to buy, are available off the shelf (in fact I have it all on a CD-ROM). People are experimenting with his music, creating compilations and private recordings are now widely available. Tagore’s work is being translated into other Indian languages making him the true Vishwa-Kobi (Poet of the World) that he wanted to be. Economic freedom has emancipated a cultural bondage that was wrongfully thrust on a public-good. His book of songs “Geetabitan” celebrated 75 years of its first edition last week. Today you can get a song sung by Rabindranath Tagore himself followed by one rendered by a Malayali by name Manoj Murali Nair in the same album. Like the poet himself said “Vishwa veena rabe, vishwa jana mohiche” (people of the world are mesmerized by the music of the world)…