Tagore’s ‘Last Poem’ remembered

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Scores of community members from different backgrounds and residents of Dubai and Sharjah have attended the special screening of prominent poet, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s contribution to the Russian-language song, Poslednyaya Poema or the ‘Last Poem’ at India Consulate General in Dubai.

The evening was organised by the Consulate General of India in Dubai, in collaboration with Dubai-based AMC Media at the Consulate Auditorium. This event was organised as part of India@75 ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, celebrating 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements.

This documentary narrates the story of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s contribution to the Russian-language song, Poslednyaya Poema or the ‘Last Poem’, which stayed inconspicuous for many years until Suvra Chakraborty discovered during his visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This documentary is the story of how a timeless song evolved for years to a totem of culture and universalism, with its main protagonist Suvra Chakraborty’s relentless pursuit to find the genesis of the soulful creation being the focal theme.

Also featuring Uzbek national cultural icon Farrukh Zokirov, one of the first performers of the song in the erstwhile Soviet Union, the song is also a profound testimony to the fact that music has got the pivotal power to transcend the barriers of languages, cultures, regions, countries, and continents.

The event was attended by members of the diplomatic community in Dubai, representatives from Indian University in Dubai and members of Indian community in Dubai and Northern Emirates.