Translating Tagore

“I find the Urdu translation of this song very sensitive. I rarely write romantic songs but I almost cried while reading the translation. I have been unfortunate not to have known Tagore’s work all these years,” says the pop star in an e-mail from Pakistan. Sheraz has been roped in by Rathikant Basu,chairperson of South Asian TV,to work on a Rabindrasangeet album in Urdu,the first such endeavour by a Pakistani musician. He will also perform songs from this album on a concert tour that begins next month. While the translations have been done by Delhi-based lyricist Indira Verma and Delhi-based Urdu poet Dr Rehman Musawwir,the music has been arranged by Kolkata-based film composer Debajyoti Mishra.

Sheraz performs extensively in Bangladesh and India,especially Kolkata,and has a steady following among Bollywood fans,due to his work in Vikram Bhatt films. His tantalising number,Bheege hont tere,from the Mallika Sherawat-starrer Murder was also a huge hit. But singing Rabindrasangeet in Urdu has Sheraz particularly excited. “I am working hard to pay tribute to Tagore,a man who enriched the culture of India as a nation,” he says.

Even as he tries to get the lyrics and emotions right for the songs,Sheraz is poring over books on Tagore. “I am currently studying the life of Tagore so that I can develop a better connection with the audience. He was an institution in himself,” says Sheraz,who will also have Shubha Mudgal singing a couple of tracks on the album,which will release at the end of May.

Tagore’s musical compositions have haunted both traditionalists and new-generation musicians,and many experts are against experiments with this distinctive genre. Purists frown upon jazzed-up interpretations,dismissing these as ‘distortions’. So is Sheraz stirring up the hornet’s nest by singing these songs in Urdu. “Bengal believes in love,peace and emotions. It’s a bit early to say how people are going to take the Urdu version of Tagore songs. All I can say is that I have been dedicated wholeheartedly to the project,” says Sheraz.

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