And perhaps no other work of literature more appropriately reflected this journey than Tagore’s musical drama ‘Valmiki Pratibha’, which traces the transformation of Ratnakar from a dreaded dacoit to a holy sage, Valmiki, the creator of Ramayana. The story of Valmiki symbolizes the propensity for both good and evil in the human psyche and the tremendous ability of the human will to crush the demonic self with penitence. That, in a nutshell is what ‘correction’ in the correctional homes is really all about. Alokananda Roy also thought of some novel experiments while finalizing the concept. For the first time this classic ‘geeti natya’ of kabiguru was conceived as ‘nritya natya’. The Director also used ‘Chhau’ dance in the production for the first time ever. The results have been spectacular. The public shows of ‘Valmiki Pratibha’ are drawing huge crowds at different venues including university and colleges. The unprecedented response to the open air performance of the dance drama at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan on the eve of Vasantotsava this year, March 10, 2009 has become a talking point all over India and abroad.