Sorry Thakur!!!

Dear Robi Dadu,

To begin with I wish you many happy returns of the day. Hope you don't mind me calling you Dadu, the great grand father. I'm only 35 and you are almost six times my age. Who wouldn't like to have a talented, smart, handsome Dadu like you! As far as ‘Robi’ is concerned, it indeed is a diversion from your English avatar of Rabindranath Tagore but I like it that way. The short and sweet Robi brings you closer and not the anglicised ‘Tagore the Rabindranath’.

I’m not really sure whether there is any life beyond death but I assume there is and a busier one for very special personalities like you. After all we hardly give you any chance to enjoy life after a peaceful demise. 

Since my childhood, I have hardly witnessed any occasion where the distinguished guests had their own expression while delivering their speech... They always borrowed expression from you... 'Kobir bhasay...' Be it Panchanan Babu in his Robindra Jayanti speech or the so called 'intellectuals' of my generation, my Baba's generation and his Baba's generation or be it, how could I miss, our very own Didi. Didi leaves no opportunity to refer to your 'where the mind is without fear and the head is held high'... Guess she would even try to cure all the ‘Maa’ and ‘Manush’ spondylitis patients with the same quotation.  

Don't you ever get angry for such mass reference of your quotes!!! When'll they grow up to have their own 'bhasha'!!! 

Dadu, you are one of the greatest brands that not only Bengal, I would say, the world has ever produced. Anything that smells ‘Tagore’ sells like hot cakes. Keeping a collection of your works in the personal library, whether one reads them or not, uplifts the status in the society. Whether one really enjoys the traditional presentation of your songs or not, playing and displaying those CDs give orgasm to many as true flag bearer of the ‘Bangla Sanskriti’ – the Bengali Culture. Publishers, music companies, film producers, musicians even columnists are equally respectful to you as they are to Goddesses Durga, Kali or South sensation Lord Balaji. You have helped so many to make so much!!! Unfortunately, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of business they tend to portray you so BIG that hundreds of commoners like me feel at times that you are a monarch of sort who should be seen from a distance and can’t be touched or felt. 

Don't you ever feel pained, sandwiched between the hypocrisy of these self-appointed guardians of your creations and over dose of affection derived from the lazy, impotent approach to creating something new and fresh!!! 

Dadu, you showed respects and appreciated your contemporary talents. Why most of your followers are so myopic and allergic to experiments! Why can't Bengalis in this part of the border think beyond you? Be it naming a library, town hall or anything that get public attention or making a reference point! It starts with you and ends there! Isn’t it dangerous? Celebrating your works is indeed great but over-doing it is so disgusting! Isn't it you who always advocated change, experiments and innovations in most of your works? Wish you could tell these people to grow up and be original.

Look at the irony Dadu. They speak so loud about their respect for you but can't even guard a small medal that you brought to India and so much of proud along. They make us listen to the same tune sung in a most painful fashion possible zillion times a day in every crossings of Kolkata but don't even celebrate the true spirit of humanism that you championed through out your life. Instead they continue to trade the path of populism. 

Earlier it was the uncalled for ‘Dadagiri’ of Visva-Bharati who forced us to accept the boring productions of your creations and the sleepy renditions of your music. And now we have few intellectuals who cry foul whenever there is an attempt to experiment with the presentation of your music! Do they think you are their ancestral property!!! What's their problem if your rich philosophy reaches out to the Gen Next - the way they connect it to it! After all these band of youngsters are not causing any harm to the mankind by singing the song the way they want to. At least credit them for their ability to experiment.

Dadu, you were a free-spirited man. I feel sorry how they, your so called followers confined you to a temple like a God – ‘Thakur’. Guess they are so obsessed with elevating their status by associating with the brand Robi Thakur that they forget sometimes that you were a man of flesh and blood with a surname called Thakur! Do they otherwise ever reach out to God since the very approach of finding Him in a shrine is so faulty! The mistake is repeated ever and ever again. 

Sorry my beloved Dadu!!! You have to bear with this continued torture. The intensity would only increase every 25 years. Did you have a chance to watch the recent release ‘Bhooter Bhabishyat’ (Future of the Past), a wonderfully crafted Bengali satirical comedy? If not, you must watch it. You never know… You might get ideas how to secure your peace after death J

With love and due respect…

Pratik from West Bengal

*** The opinions are entirely mine and not to hurt any individual’s sentiment about Gurudev.