In 1920 the “Lautarchiv” was founded by Doegen; the archive became annexed to the sound department of the Prussian State Library. Africanist and phonetician Diedrich Westermann became director of this department. Dr Wilhelm Doegen recorded the voice of Rabindranath on 4th June 1921, in Berlin. This was the first time, probably, that the voice of Rabindranath was recorded. Two records were taken one-the lecture on “The Message of the Forest”, and the second was a song sung by Rabindranath. Santosh Kumar De wrote on these two records ” 4.6.1921 the lecture of the poet was recorded. which took 2 min 30 seconds and the song took 3 min 15 sec to play. The Servant reported on 11 Aug “… the University of Berlin took records of the poet’s voice (both speech and song) in copper plates for preservation in underground cellars for thousands of years along with his portrait and autograph.” Probably these records are still present in the underground undamaged. But the copies kept in the library were damaged in WWII. The German scientist re-discovered it and the Prime Minister of Germany was pleased to send copies to the Chancellor Acharya Jawaharlal Nehru of Viswa Bharati in 1959. Santosh De wrote that the German Consulate in Calcutta informed that there was another record of the voice of Tagore containing a recitation of Sanskrit slokas. That was also taken by Prof Wilhelm Doegen and probably that was with him… All the records were taken by Dr Wilhelm Doegen.
Lyrics:
এই কথাটি মনে রেখো, তোমাদের এই হাসিখেলায়
আমি যে গান গেয়েছিলেম জীর্ণ পাতা ঝরার বেলায়।
শুকনো ঘাসে শূন্য বলে আপন-মনে
অনাদরে অবহেলায়
আমি যে গান গেয়েছিলেম জীর্ণ পাতা ঝরার বেলায়॥
দিনের পথিক মনে রেখো, আমি চলেছিলেম রাতে
সন্ধ্যাপ্রদীপ নিয়ে হাতে।
যখন আমার ও-পার থেকে গেল ডেকে ভেসেছিলেম ভাঙা ভেলায়।
আমি যে গান গেয়েছিলেম জীর্ণ পাতা ঝরার বেলায়॥
English translation:
Remember this, amid your laughter and frolicking,
The song I sang, at a time when dead leaves were being shed,
On the withered grass in an empty wood, by myself, unloved and neglected,
The song I sang, at a time when dead leaves were being shed.
Traveller of the day, remember, I walked through the night with a lamp in my hand
When the summons came from the other shore, I floated away in my broken raft
The song I sang, at a time when dead leaves were being shed.
Some useful information:
Written in: September-October, 1921 at Santiniketan
Age of the poet: 60
Published in: Prabhini (Lyrics, 1925)
Parjaay (Category): Prem (Love)
Upa-parjaay (Sub-category): Gaan (Song)
Taal: Dadra
Raga: Khamaj
Notation: Navagitika Swarabitan: Vol. 15
Notation by: Dinendranath Tagore
Purpose of the presentation
Tagore’s music resonates with people from all walks of life. His songs are performed at cultural events, religious ceremonies and social gatherings, reflecting their enduring popularity. In an effort to bring home this treasure trove to the non-Bengali population and Bengalis around the globe, Brainware University offers a selection of Rabindra sangeet in this presentation. It is enriched with details on the songs and relevant anecdotes.
Sung By
Sri Phalguni Mookhopadhayay Chancellor, Brainware University Phalguni Mookhopadhayay is the founder-Chancellor of Brainware University, founder-Chairman and Managing-Director of Brainware Consultancy Private Limited and founder-Chairman of Webguru Infosystems Private Limited. He did his schooling at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur, and graduated with honours in Economics from St Xavier’s College, Kolkata. He completed his masters in Economics from Calcutta University and MBA from IISWBM, before joining Hindustan Lever as a management trainee. He worked as a market planner for the ABP group for nearly a decade before striking out on his own and successfully launching two private limited companies and one University. Phalguni Mookhopadhayay is a self-taught digital artist, a versatile photographer, a filmmaker and a weekend singer who has already recorded 78 songs and is now immersed in a project to popularise Tagore songs among a global audience.
