Tagore Fest July 10th and 11th

By Sarah Cook

A few hours ago, I had no idea who Tagore was. Or, actually what Tagore was. I guessed (correctly) that it was a noun. However, turns out it's not a food or a place (my first two guesses). It's the name of one of the most versatile and prolific intellectuals of the 20th century, Rabindranath Tagore . He was a poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher, visual artist, social activist, and still managed to maintain a kick ass beard. All of these (okay probably not the beard) made him one of the most important influences on Bengali and Indian culture ever.
This guy was Asia's first Nobel laureate, wrote about 2,230 songs, spent time with Gandhi and Einstein, and rejected knighthood from the British crown in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. This incredible life inspired the Tagore Society of Houston to form in 1974. Since then, they have worked to spread Tagore's teachings to all ages, faiths and backgrounds.
To spread awareness about Tagore and his message of “a Borderless World”, The Tagore Society of Houston will throw Barnali '09, their Second Annual Tagore Fest on July 10th and 11th . The festival will host well known artists and musicians from Bangladesh and India. Rezwana Chowdhury, a Rabindra Sangeet singer who is immensely popular in Bangladesh, will be the featured musician. She will provide her own interpretations of some of Tagore's most popular songs. Jhinook Mukherjee, Bhoomi and Rathna Kuma will also provide artistic interpretations of Tagore's work. To showcase local talent, the festival will also include Rathna Kumar and the Anjali School of Dance and an Art Music Recital of Tagore Poems by Prof. Karim Al-Zand from Rice University. There will also be an Arts and Craft show to showcase paintings, photographs and articrafts by local artists. If that's not enough to get you there, there's a delicious food fest both nights.
The festival will take place at Durga Bari Auditorium, located at 13944 Schiller Road. Tickets for the show are $25/per person for each day, $40/per person for both days, $100+ /per person for VIP seating on both days. Students tickets are $15/day.For details contact: Raja Banga: 281-627-2533, Partha Sen: 713-839-1904, Surajit Dasgupta: 281-265-4105. Or visit www.tagoresociety.org for event updates.