By Hindustan Times
As Kolkata Knight Riders’ cheerleaders gear as much as groove to Tagore songs in saris on the upcoming Indian Premier League, the Nobel laureate’s own land, Santiniketan, isn't happy about it. People within the West Bengal town, where Rabindranath wrote most of his literary classics, have slammed the
usage of his poetic pieces for entertainment.
“I am confused, amazed and wondering as to how Rabindranath Tagore’s songs will fit into this sort of commercial sporting event. Cricket, especially IPL, is all about frenzy and madness. I don’t think that is the proper platform to make use of his songs,” says Professor Samit Roy of Santiniketan’s world-famous Visva-Bharati University, which was envisioned by Tagore.
Professor Indrani Mukhopadhyay, principal of Sangeet Bhavan, Visva-Bharati, says, “I’m sceptical about their presentation. I'M HOPING they don’t do anything vulgar and even tamper with the tunes because Tagore songs don't seem to be for party dancing.” Dr Tarak Sengupta, vice-president of Sangeet Bhavan, adds: “I hope those cheerleaders don’t do anything that insults Tagore.”
KKR officials are however, upbeat. Venky Mysore, CEO of KKR, says, “This time, we just desired to add an overly local flavour (to the cheerleading). Playing Tagore songs is solely another step on this effort to maintain everything Bengali, and (the team’s owner, actor) Shah Rukh (Khan) was very passionate about this.”
