[The 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of Japan-India Diplomatic Relations]
Melodies Eternally New—Songs of Tagore and the Tabla

  • Date: Friday, May 11, 2012, 7:00 pm
  • Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
  • Language: Bengali, Hindi and Japanese (with English translation)
  • Admission: 3,000 yen (Discounted Rate: 1,500 yen)
    *Discount rates are applicable for IHJ members.
  • *Supported by the Embassy of India and the Japan Foundation

Program Part I:
Tagore Songs from Gitanjali in Bengalese and Hindu, with narration in Japanese and accompanied with classical Indian Bharata Natyam dance.

Performers: Tannishtah Roy Chowdhaury, Keiko Chattopadhyay, Sudipta Roy Chowdhaury, Emi Mayuri, Rashmi Gupta, Samudra Duttag Gupta and others


Rabindranath Tagore

Program Part II:
A selection of improvised music for tabla and santour (hammer dulcimer), with explanations and examples of various drumming patterns.

Performers: Arif Khan (tabla), Miyashita Setsuo (santour)

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Japan‑Indian relations, the IHJ will present an evening of Indian music in two parts: Part I featuring the songs of Rabindranath Tagore and Part II featuring Arif Khan on the tabla. Tagore was a well known poet, educator and Nobel Literature Prize laureate who set much of his own poetry to music, and his songs are still widely sung throughout India and Bangladesh. The IHJ will present local Indian and Japanese musicians singing a selection of songs fromTagore’s representative work, Gitanjali, in both Bengali and Hindi, with narration in Japanese and accompanied with classical Indian dance. The second half of the program will feature the young tabla percussionist Arif Khan from Calcutta. Khan is the 34th descendant in a line of esteemed tabla players from a lineage that stretches over 850 years. Khan will demonstrate various musical patterns on the tabla and perform with santour player Miyashita Setsuo.