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Rabindrasangeet (Bangla: রবীন্দ্রসংগীত Robindroshongeet) refers to complete body of songs (approximmately 2230) and lyrical poetry written and composed by Bengali Nobel-laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore. The term refers to both the genre and the individual songs themselves.

These songs are regarded as cultural treasures of Bengal in both Bangladesh and West Bengal (India). The Rabindrasangeet, which deal with varied themes are immensely popular and form a foundation for the Bengali ethos that is comparable to, perhaps even greater than, that which Shakespeare has on the English-speaking world.It is said that his songs are the outcome of 500 years of literary & cultural churning that the Bengali community has gone through.

In his book Caste and Outcaste, Dhan Gopal Mukerji has said that these songs transcend the mundane to the aesthetic and express all ranges and categories of human emotion. The poet had given a voice to all -- big or small, rich or poor. The poorest boatman on the Ganges as well as the rich landlord find expression to their emotional trials and tribulation in the songs of Tagore.

Rabindrasangeet has evolved into a distinctive school of music. Practitioners of this genre are known to be fiercely protective of tradionalist practice. Novel interpretations and variations have drawn severe censure in both West Bengal and Bangladesh. And like Beethoven's symphonies or Vilayat Khan's sitar, Rabindrasangeet demands an educated, intelligent & cultured audience to appreciate the lyrical beauty of his compositions.

He was among the first to recognize that cinema should have its own language. In 1929 he wrote, “The beauty and grandeur of this form in motion has to be developed in such a way that it becomes self-sufficient without the use of words.” The inherent beauty & depth of tagore's songs have persuaded a number of filmmakers to use Tagore’s songs in their films including Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Nitin Bose, Tapan Sinha and Kumar Shahani.His songs were also used in British, European & Australian movies just to capture the mood of a cinematic situation & to reveal a delicate interplay of relationships.

Ritwik Ghatak said of Tagore, “That man has culled all my feelings from long before my birth…I read him and find that...I have nothing new to say.” In his Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-capped Star) and Subarnarekha, Ghatak uses Rabindrasangeet to express the poignancy of post-Partition Bengal.

Two of the songs written by Tagore are the national anthems of India and Bangladesh. These are:

• Bangladesh: Amar Shonar Bangla
• India: Jana Gana Mana

Here is a good collection of free to download Rabindrasangeet. Most of them are quite good as far as technical quality is concerned. [1]

Some of the well-known singers of Rabindrasangeet are:

• Pankaj Kumar Mullick also known as the First Man of Rabindrasangeet.
• Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay
• Debabrata Biswas also known as the Second Man of Rabindrasangeet & unarguably the most popular among male voices.
• Subinoy Roy[2] .
• Kanika Bandyopadhyay her original name was "Anima" but Tagore had renamed her "Kanika" and Abanindranath Tagore used to call her Mohar by which name she is known to many of her dedicated listeners.
• Suchitra Mitra
• Rajeshwari Dutta was originally from Punjab. She was married to a well-known Bengali poet, Sudhindranath Dutta. She made her mark in the classical-based tappa and other compositions
• Argha Sen
• Ashoketaru Bandyopadhyay
• Beethin Bandopadhyay
• Banani Ghosh
• Debabrata Biswas
• Dwijen Mukhopadhay
• Chinmay Chattopadhyay
• Gita Ghatak
• Iffatara Khan
• Mita Huq
• Neelima Sen
• Promita Mollik
• Purba Dam
• Ritu Guha
• Rajeswari Dutta
• Rezwana Chowdhury Banya
• Roma Mondal
• Rono Gohathakurota
• Sadi Mohammad
• Sagar Sen
• Sumitra Sen
• Sanghamitramitra Gupta
• Susil Mullick
• Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta [3]
• swapan Gupta[4]

Some of the well-known teachers of Rabindrasangeet (barring Tagore himself) are:

• Dinendra Nath Tagore
• Shantideb Ghosh
• Ashoketaru Bandyopadhyay
• Dwijen Mukhopadhay
• Shailaja Ranjan Majumdar
• Maya Sen
• Suchitra Mitra
• Kanika Bandyopadhyay
• Rezwana Chowdhury Banya
• Subinoy Roy
• Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta

[5]

• Rabindrasangeet

His Music Rabindrasangeet. Easy Space. Retrieved on January 7, 2007.