Entertainment Report :On the occasion of the 154th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) will present Tagore’s dance drama Shyama by Warda Rihab and students of IGCC at the main auditorium of Bangladesh National Museum in the city’s Shahbagh area today at 7:00pm. Tagore’s dance drama Shyama is a unique rendering of a Jataka tale on which he first wrote a narrative poem titled Parishodh. The script and the story were made into dance drama Shyama in 1939, which met with instant success. Ever since, the legacy of Shyama has continued to captivate the audience. Shyama is essentially a profound romantic tragedy with love and frustration, love and sublimation and self-centred love and retribution. The story has been artistically unfolded through melodious lyrics and dancing rhythm. Self-centred love seeking fruition through sacrifice of others end in futility and invites retribution. The message has been transmitted through dancing rhythm and marvellous melody. Warda Rihab, a Manipuri dance teacher of IGCC in Dhaka, is the dance director, dancer and set and costume designer of this performance.Warda’s students of IGCC are also performing with her. Warda Rihab is a promising Manipuri dancer of Bangladesh. She got her initial training in Manipuri dance from renowned Sharmila Banerjee, Tamanna Rahman and Belayet Hossain Khan at Chhayanaut, and later got advanced training from the renowned exponent of Manipuri dance, Guru Kalavati Devi, who was appointed as the Manipuri dance guru at the cultural centre of Indian High Commission, Dhaka. She has completed her BA and MA in Manipuri dance from Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata with ICCR scholarship and scholarship from the Chhayanaut Sangeet Biddayatan, Dhaka. She has been awarded gold medal with distinctive marks from the music and dance department of Rabindra Bharati University. Warda has given many performances in Bangladesh and abroad. She has also choreographed a number of Tagore’s dance dramas. She has got many awards and medals in India and Bangladesh.
