'Recitation now extends to fairytales'--Rupa

Recitation is her passion and she seeks to promote this art nationally. As she says 'While 30 years ago recitation was a nascent art, today it has assumed social responsibility and counts as an art form. A responsive audience looks at the rhythm, style and emotion depicted in recitation.'

In the past, recitation merely served as filler of cultural programmes. But now independent programmes on recitation are being held. ''Nowadays we are reciting even fairytales like Thakurmar Jhuli. As in theatre, we play the characters such as the monster, prince, king, queen and witch,' says Rupa. According to her, recitation has no boundaries. Each and every field of literature can be the medium of recitation. The artistes now recite plays, letters, songs, scripts and even novels. 'This art form is derived straight from literature and captures the sorrow, joy, love, devotion and passion in the voice of the reciter,' says Rupa. ' There is no alternative to regular practice to becoming an expert in any art form,' she says.

Rupa started recitation at a very young age. As a student of Kishorimohan Girls School in Sylhet she was very much involved with the extra curricular activities. She recalled, 'The girls used to perform dance with my recitation of the famous poems like Juta Abiskar, Shamanya Khati, Biday Abhishap and Karna Kunti Shangbad. The teachers would call on me to arrange the recitation programmes of our school because of my good accent.'

After several years, when she was a student of the Dhaka University she formed a recitation group called Swanan in 1985. One year later the group included children in recitation. Currently they have two workshops a year--one for the adults and another for the children.

Rupa suggested, 'We have come a long way from the time of Kazi Shabyashachi, Shambhu Mitra, Pradip Ghosh and Partho Ghosh. Their style was totally different as compared to that of Golam Mustafa, Syed Hassan Imam or Fateh Lohani.' Rupa had to say that our style of recitation and the passion is quite different from that of Kolkata. 'The spirit and the emotion is deeply rooted in our soil.' Rupa analyses. 'Even the expression of love in a recitation is quite different.' Rupa thinks that the style of the Kolkata people is artistic while here it is more connected with reality.

Finally Rupa said that the media could play a very strong role in promoting and advancing the art of recitation.