Kolkata: A unique storytelling festival — focusing on Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s works — will take off on May 20 in the City of Joy.
The three-day fest will pack in performances by artistes like Bijoylakshmi Barman, Pramita Mallik and theatre director, Usha Ganguly.
The festival, titled Qisssa@Quisssa will be curated by Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee and Paramita Saha and presented at a lifestyle store in south Kolkata, QISSAA.
Three iconic arts personalities will come together on May 20 to create the magic of imagery and imagination through works of Rabindranath Tagore.
On the first day of the festival, Bijoylakshmi Barman will visit various Tagorean texts in Bengali. On Day Two, thespian Usha Ganguly shall spin her yarn through Hindi translations of the bard’s works.
“It is difficult to find good Hindi translations of Tagore’s stories. I have performed his plays in Hindi but this time, I am going to read his story, titled, Shasti(Punishment) in Hindi. I feel that modern, crisp, Hindi translations of Tagore’s works are the need of the day”, Ganguly told Millennium Post.
Inaugurating of the festival will be ace singer Lopapudra Mitra. Mitra shall inaugurate the festival and present Bijoylakshmi Barman. She specializes in “Kabyogeeti,” which is a new genre of storytelling integrated with music.
Says Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee, curator of the event, “Tagore is my muse. When I read his works, I can visualize the story, the imagery is so vivid”. Chatterjee has been using space other than the proscenium theatre for showcasing his works.
On May 21, actress Ekavali Khanna shall present Usha Ganguly.
Ekavali is an accomplished actress in regional films and Bollywood and she specializes in the artistry of words and thetare.
On May 22nd, Jayshree Singh, a prominent name in the scene of Indian rock music shall talk about musical integration of storytelling and present Pramita Mallick, an exponent of Rabindrasangeet. She will read from chosen texts of Tagore in English.
The venue, Qissaa, is the brainchild of educationist Vibha Mitra and has a rare collection of colours and textures from India.
A designer collection of jamdanis, balucharis, Dhakais, tangails, Phulia, tussar, as well the kantha, batik, katan, moonga, kotas are exhibited at the store.