Making style statement with Tagore kitsch

T-shirts, coffee mugs carrying lines from Tagore`s writings are popular picks for Bengali youngsters.

New Delhi: T-shirts, coffee mugs and posters carrying lines from Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore`s writings or prints of his paintings are popular picks for Bengali youngsters across India who want to stay connected to culture and make a style statement at the same time. A poet, novelist, playwright and painter, Tagore`s creativity knew no bounds and even today his genius reaches out to the young in new, kitschy ways as his 150th birth anniversary dawns May 9.

Sumit Sen, a law student in Kolkata, told reporters: "I feel proud to wear a T-shirt with Tagore`s paintings imprinted on them. It not only stands out in a crowd of T-shirts with banal one-liners in English, it also democratises Tagore." "He reaches out much more easily among ordinary people like me who are not part of the cultural elite," he added. Kolkata-based designer Abhishek Dutta says he has grown up with Tagore`s literature and poems, something done by every Bengali kid who resides in West Bengal. "Any Bengali who has grown up in Kolkata can`t skip his songs, literature. I remember during childhood we used to have an entire day dedicated to Tagore`s birthday," Dutta said from Kolkata. "His work, especially his one liners, have been used a lot on T-shirts, mugs, table mats. A lot of his sketches have also been used." Pali Sachdev, another Kolkata-based designer, is contemplating the idea of churning out a collection based on Tagore`s work. "His work is genuinely timeless and I feel that a lot more can be done to showcase some of it. It has been on my mind for a long time," Sachdev from label Monapali told reporters over phone from Kolkata. Some much quoted lines of Tagore are: "We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility"; "Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark"; "God seeks comrades and claims love, the Devil seeks slaves and claims obedience"; "God respects me when I work, but god loves me when I sing". Pune-based mediaperson Biswadip Mitra said: "I find it easier to express my feelings through Tagore, be it his songs like `Anondodhara Bohichhe Bhubane` and `Tumi Rawbe Nirawbe`, or the lines in Tagore`s famous novel `Shesher Kobita`." Mitra says he prefers using Tagore`s poems on greeting cards. "I prefer sending greeting cards carrying Tagore`s poems or songs or his paintings, rather than the regular Westernised stuff one gets in the chain stores. For me, Tagore`s creations are one of the best ways to stay connected to my roots and with the people I love. "Customised kitsch with Tagore`s creations on them is always wonderful," he said. But Dutta feels youngsters who make a style statement using his kitch should also try to dig deeper into his works. "Today`s youngsters say they are proud of Tagore, but the problem is that most of them don`t have insight into his literature, life or anything." Jabalpur-based artist Sajan Kurien Mathew feels while using Tagore`s lines one should give importance to quality. "Using Tagore`s paintings or lines from his songs and poems on mugs and T-shirts or as posters isn`t bad. But, I think, if these prints are not done properly, then the excellence of Tagore`s creations will be lost. And that will be an insult to the great man," said Mathew. Kolkata-based sculptor Tapas Sarkar feels the same. "Art has become commercial no doubt, but there must be a limit to everything. One may argue that by imprinting a few lines from Tagore`s songs and poems or imprinting his paintings on a T-shirt, younger people can be made aware of the immense talents of Gurudev," said Sarkar. "But I fear it might trivialise his creations. Rabindranath cannot be branded that way. He`s beyond any branding," he added. IANS