Aguner Poroshmoni | Kamalini Mukherji | Guest Artists and Members of Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Set against the backdrop of the tragic rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata, India, this song is an invocation for the purification of the soul, both personal and collective. Performed by female musicians from around the world, it blends the deep anger and outrage felt during the protests with a prayer for resilience and change. Using a beloved Rabindranath Tagore composition, the project seeks to transcend one horrific incident to speak against the global culture of rape and violence and calls for a safer, more just world for women everywhere.
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Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali Indian polymath and the first non-European Nobel laureate in literature, renowned for his contributions to music, poetry, literature, art, and social reform

Original Bengali lyrics by Rabindranath Tagore (the song was written and composed by Tagore on 28 August 1914):

আগুনের পরশমণি ছোঁয়াও প্রাণে।
এ জীবন পুণ্য করো দহন-দানে ॥
আমার এই দেহখানি তুলে ধরো,
তোমার ওই দেবালয়ের প্রদীপ করো--
নিশিদিন আলোক-শিখা জ্বলুক গানে ॥
আঁধারের গায়ে গায়ে পরশ তব
সারা রাত ফোটাক তারা নব নব।
নয়নের দৃষ্টি হতে ঘুচবে কালো,
যেখানে পড়বে সেথায় দেখবে আলো—
ব্যথা মোর উঠবে জ্বলে ঊর্ধ্ব পানে ॥

Transliteration:
āgunēr pôrōśmōni chm̐ōāō prānē
ē jibôn pun'nō kôrō dôhōn-dānē
āmār ē'i dēhōkhāni tulē dhôrō
tōmār ō'i dēbālôẏēr prōdīp kôrō
niśidin ālōk-śikhā jōluk gānē
ām̐dhārēr gāẏē gāẏē pôrōś tôbō
śārā rāt phōṭāk tārā nôbō nôbō
naẏōnēr driśṭi hōtē ghucbē kālō
jēkhānē pōṛbē śēthāẏ dēkhbē ālō
bathā mōr uṭhbē jōlē ūrdhō pānē

English translation:
Touch my soul with the flame of fire.
Let this life be cleansed by that flame.
Lift this body of mine,
And make it a lamp of your shrine –
May this flame of light burn in eternal song!
May your gentle touch of the darkness
Make new stars bloom through the night.
The veil of darkness lifted from the eyes,
May there be light wherever the gaze falls –
And my pain will ascend in a blaze.

German translation:
Berühre mein Herz mit dem Prüfstein aus Feuer
Lass dieses Leben glückbringend werden im Feuerbade.
Erhebe meinen Leib
Mache ihn zu einer Butterlampe in deinem Tempel
Tag und Nacht möge die Flamme aufleuchten in einem Lied.
Im Dunkel spüre ich deine Berührung
In der Nacht leuchten immer neue Sterne auf.
Vom Licht meiner Augen schwindet die Dunkelheit,
wohin der Blick fällt, dort sehe ich Licht;
mein Schmerz möge nach oben aufbrennen.
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The artists:
Kamalini Mukherji | Vocals | kamalinimukherji.com | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamalin...

Valentina Bellanova | Ney-ist | valentinabellanova.com

Asya Fateyeva | Saxophonist | asyafateyeva.com

Shabnam Parvaresh | Clarinetist | shabnamparvaresh.com

Alissa Margulis | Violinist | alissamargulis.com

Akari Azuma | Violinist (audio recording) | Member of the 2nd violins of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Cathy Heidt | Violinist (video recording) | Member of the 2nd violins of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Judith Bach | Violinist (audio recording) | Member of the violas of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Hannah Freienstein | Violoncellist | concerto-koeln.de

Lin Chen | Percussionist | lin-chen-percussion.com

Mahan Mirarab | mahanmirarab.com
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Production Credits:
Arrangement: Mahan Mirarab
English translation: Kamalini Mukherji
German translation: Lars-Christian Koch
Direction: Alex Kla, Kamalini Mukherji
Camera: Alex Kla, Juan Carlos Martinez C., Benjamin Westhoff
Edit: Alex Kla
Production manager: Nils Szczepanski
Audio recording: Amir Nasr, Micha Lorenz
Music production: Amir Nasr
Production assistant: Carolin Steffen-Maaß, Nicolai von Glehn Pulyaev
Curation assistant: Yalda Yazdani
Make-up artist: Sylvia Dürnhöfer
Helping hands: Heike Maus, Dorothee Pahnke, Adriana von Glehn, Christoph Tebruck
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Special Thanks to
Gerhard Stäbler and Kunsu Shim for providing the EarPort showcasing "PhotoGrafiken" by Markus Bydolek for indoor scenes.
The City of Duisburg for the use of the Garden of Memories (Garten der Erinnerung) designed by Dani Karavan for outdoor scenes.
Souvik Majumdar
Suddhaseel Sen
Yudhajit Basu
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This project is made possible by funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of Marxloh Music Circus of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, a project of the federal funding program "Exzellente Orchesterlandschaft Deutschland".