Dakshinee is one of the music academies in Kolkata. It primarily focuses on teaching and promoting the

Rabindrasangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' (; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Indian and also the first no ...

History

Suvo Guha Thakurta was a devotee of

. He wanted to spread it among

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

masses which were then confined primarily to

Santiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: Help:IPA/Bengali, �antiniketɔn is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendra ...

. On the advice of Shailaranjan Majumdar, he founded Dakshinee on 8 May 1948.

Early days

Dakshinee started with only 12 students. By 1955 it had 600 students. Between 1962 and 1972 the student strength was over 1500.

Sections

Since inception it has had four functioning sections: *Rabindrasangeet *Nrityakala Kendra (Dance School) *Drama *Cultural *Publication

Activities

*Dakshinee organised Triennial Tagore Music Conference from 1951 – 1960 with the assistance of

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

. *Dakshinee celebrated the Tagore Centenary in 1961.

Publications

*Rabindrasangeeter Dhara – Suvo Guha Thakurta wrote the book titled "Rabindrasangeeter Dhara" in 1950, about Tagore's compositions. In this book he classified Rabindrasangeet into 17 streams or 'Parjyay', as opposed to only 4 streams or 'Parjay' in 'Geetabitan'. This classification helps to understand Rabindrasangeet and the philosophy behind it by analysing the intertwined poetry, the legacy of Hindustani classical music as well as Rabindranath's original creations. This book is part of the academic curriculum of Dakshinee. *Subarno Joyonti Barsha (Shahitya Patra) *Rabindra Janma Satabarshiki *Rajat Joyonti Utsab In 2008, Dakshinee proposed to publish a special edition on the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.

Location

This institute was earlier started at 132,

Rashbehari Avenue Rashbehari Avenue (known as Main Sewer Road or Ballygunge Avenue till 1929) is one of the most prestigious and important east–west avenues of Kolkata, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It ...

. In 1955, it was moved to Dakshinee Bhawan, 1

Deshapriya Park Deshapriyo Park is a playground of South Kolkata, having Rashbehari Avenue on one side and Sarat Bose Road on another side. Different games like Cricket, Football, Tennis etc. are regularly played here by professional and amateur players and loca ...

(West) where it has remained.

Affiliated institutes

*Nupur in London (''Currently withdrawn'') *Rabishikha in North London *Dakshinayan in South London *Robiprobash in Toronto *Kahlar in Washington, D.C. (''Currently withdrawn'') *Uttarayan in New Delhi *Srijon in Mumbai

Notable teachers

Suchitra Mitra Suchitra Mitra (19 September 1924 – 3 January 2011) was an Indian singer, composer, artist exponent of Rabindra Sangeet or the songs of Bengal's poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore, professor, and the first woman Sheriff of Kolkata. As an aca ...

Subinoy Roy Subinoy Roy (8 November 1921 – 9 January 2004) was an Indian singer, considered one of the best-known exponents of the Rabindra Sangeet. Early life Subinoy Roy was born to Bimalangshu Prakash Roy and Sukhamoyee Devi at Kolkata. His father wa ...

*Sudeb Guha Thakurta *Kamala Basu *Sunil Kumar Roy *Subhas Choudhury *Ashoktaru Bandhapadhay * Rano Guha Thakurta

Prominent students

*Ritu Guha * Rano Guha Thakurta *

Saheb Chatterjee Shaheb Chatterjee or Saheb Chatterjee () is a Bengali Indian male actor and singer of Tollywood Bangla and Bengali television. Background Shaheb Chatterjee, also known as Shaheb Chattopadhyay, is a famous Bengali Indian male actor and ...

*Krishna Guha Thakurta *

Srikanta Acharya Srikanta Acharya is an Indian singer-songwriter and music director. Acharya primarily sings contemporary Bengali songs and is one of the most prominent exponents of Rabindra Sangeet. Early life Srikanta Acharya was born in Kolkata Kol ...

*Debasish Roy Chowdhury *Prabuddha Raha *Shekhar Gupta *

Shreya Guhathakurta Shreya Guhathakurta (শ্রেয়া গুহঠাকুরতা) (3 February 1975) is an Indian Rabindra Sangeet singer. Early life Shreya Guhathakurta was born into a family of renowned musicians. Her orientation with music started ...

* Kamalini Mukherji

Controversies

Although the institute professes to teach

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

's ideals through his music, it has been alleged that Dakshinee believes in instilling a sense of fear among the rank and file of its students, an idea that is contrary to Tagore's own views on any kind of learning. Dakshinee follows its own discrete notation, disregarding the notation accepted and printed by the bishwa-bharati.

References

External links

Dakshinee's official site
{{authority control Music schools in India Bengali music Universities and colleges in Kolkata Educational institutions established in 1948 1948 establishments in West Bengal Rabindranath Tagore