To celebrate the 20 years of literary career of the eminent poet and fiction writer Rajatsubhra Majumdar, a gorgeous cinematographic show on his poems was held recently at Mahajati Sadan, Kolkata.

Redbud Media organised the show “Tarpan- Whispering the memories”, an enchanting evening of a rich ensemble of performing arts. Around 10 poignant narratives depicted through the poetry of Majumdar came alive on stage through the medium of recitation, music and choreography.

The renowned classical and Rabindrasangeet singer Mohan Singh graced the stage after a long hiatus. The legendary Soumitra Chatterjee, budding artist Doel Barua and the poet himself were set to enthral the audience through a powerful presentation of poems. Bharatnatyam guru Rajdeep Banerjee along with his troupe lent expression to the performances through choreographed moves. The audience also enjoyed a mellifluous rendition of some of Tagore’s timeless creations by Rabindra Sangeet exponent Srabani Sen.

Majumdar’s poems have a special charm mainly for their incredible cinematographic appeal. In recent times, a short film titled Kothachhobi Kadambari based on the poem Kadambari by Majumdar, has created ripples in social media. Ever since its release this poetry based film has been well received with growing popularity.

Poetry based films are rare not only in Bengal but in world cinema as well. The poet’s imagination here has been transformed into an audio-visual medium by Barua. Kadambari has been enacted by Monica Dey in this audio-video single. How natun bouthhan (sister-in-law) inspired and influenced the literary creations of Tagore is the theme of this film. The English translation of Majumdar’s poem by Sukti Sarkar has also been well appreciated worldwide.

Audio-visual renderings of Majumdar’s poems are not new. Apart from Joy Goswami and Subodh Sarkar no other poet’s works have been explored in albums in such large scale. Author of 17 books, Majumdar’s poems have been published as albums by Sagarika: Tobu Mone Rekho with Saumitra Chattopadhyay and Ei jaoa to noi jaoa with Bratati Bandyopadhyay. Cosmic Harmony has published an album of Majumdar’s 17 romantic poems by the singer Rupankar Bagchi titled Ei Pratham.

Majumdar is also a well-known columnist. His poems are commonly recited by popular elocutionists like Partha Ghosh, Gauri Ghosh and others in Akashbani, Doordarshan and other open forums. The double albums Kabita One and Two of his poems recited by distinguished theatre personalities Rudraprasad Sengupta and Debshankar Halder and published by Atman-audio need to be acknowledged for their popularity.

Nearly all the poems of One hundred love poems by Majumdar have been included in audio or video albums. Largely published in Desh and Krittibash, these poems deeply resonate with diverse expressions and manifestations of love. Some of his lines strike out as flashes of lightning and often the rhythm patterns cast a hypnotic spell.

Majumdar is equally successful as a prose writer. His first collection of stories, Samanyo Lekha contains a foreword by author Nabanita Deb Sen. His other popular work include Notun Golpo 25. His recent mystery thriller Bhalobasai Bholabo, has been adapted for a feature film. His work has been acknowledged in Bollywood and very soon the shooting of a Hindi film based on one of his spine-chilling ghost story is scheduled to begin.

Another film version of Majumdar’s poem is on the anvil. Along with Chattopadhyay, we will find the poet himself as a cast member.