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| Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore: Statue outside Amar Kutir |
While the ancestral house of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore is in the heart of Kolkata city at a place called Jorasanko Thakurbari, his karmabhoomi would be a place 150 Km away called Bhubandanga, now known as Santiniketan.
Though better known as a Nobel laureate, who wrote the famous poetry collection called Gitanjali, the mission of his life seems to have been to create a classic Gurukul/ University where education would be imparted in the Indian traditional way. His dream was realized with the creation of the Vishwa Bharati University on the land purchased by his illustrious father Debendranath Tagore from the local Zamindar for a token amount of Rs 1.
Because of the aura associated with the founder’s personality and that of its other notable students like Amartya Sen, Viswabharati is a very visible source of Bengali pride and is considered by many as the fountainhead of the local art and culture.
Our decision to visit was also, to a large extent, influenced by the fact that the place is located in Birbhum district which is home to some exquisite craftsmanship called Kantha work. The place is in fact a dream shopping destination for people with a taste for this variety of hand embroidery on cotton as well as silk.
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| The Gitanali Museum, Railway Station, Bolpur |
The best place to start the visit is actually located just outside the Bolpur
railway station. Misleadingly called a Rail museum, it's actually a
wonderful curtain raiser to the RNT experience. Spread over two floors, it's
surprisingly well kempt and highlights his entire life story. The piece de resistance on the ground floor
is the actual saloon carriage belonging to RNT.
The lofty dream of RNT was to create a world University with a focus on arts and literature. His quest for funds to fulfill this dream led him to travel all over the world. Attracting good faculty and convincing them to stay, in this back of beyond place, was equally tough. During these voyages, he was exposed to diverse cultures from which he imbibed the crafts , traditions and music. Thus was born the unique riffs of Rabindra Sangeet and the Bangla version of Japanese Bandhani prints called Shibori which is taught to the University students and produced by the local artisans now.
In the early sixties, RNTs son who was managing the Viswabharati realized that it was just not possible to administer a university without Govt support.Today it's a Central University under UGC with the usual departments like sciences and maths and its overall trajectory dictated by political appointees. One of the recent , not so popular, dictat is that casual visitors are no longer granted access to the actual University departments.
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| Chatim Tree of enlightenment |
Even today there's a primary/secondary school where classes are held under a
tree. This is visible from the road. So also is the famous Chatim (Alstonia
scholaris) tree, sitting under which Debendranath Tagore had his moment of
enlightenment guiding him to settle here.
The Rabindra Bhavana Museum is housed in one of the actual residences of the Tagore family. There are rare pictures of the Bhubandanga village when it was bought by RNTs father and its transformation to the lush green campus of today, which is redolent of the Auroville story near Pondicherry.
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| Rabindra Bhavana Museum |
Coming from a well to do family, RNT appears to have had many phases in
his life. Each is represented by a unique look, which has been adequately
photographed. The classic image with flowing robes did not appear till rather
late in his 80 year lifetime, apparently influenced by his visit to Japan/China.
There are multiple references to his “muses” and other women with whom he had
intense discussions and exchange of ideas. He had an interest in music and in
fact wrote a book on the subject. Though not a singer, he was very willing to fuse elements of
Carnatic/ Hindustani and Western Classical music in his musical experiments. His
interest in painting became manifest in his sxties making him a truly
multifaceted personality.
What is brought out vividly after a visit to the Geetanjali wing of the museum,
is the fact that for poetry to flow, a significant emotional upheaval is
necessary. In the instant case, successive deaths of children/relatives brought
about the situation wherein RNT gave up any thoughts of revolutionary pursuits
and penned down the poetry / prose/ song that got published as the collection
called Gitanjali originally written in Bangla.
How or why it was considered for the Nobel Prize, is a decidedly curious story.
Including the fact that the English translation made by the famous English author
William Butler Yeats, which was presented to the Swedish academy for
consideration, automatically disqualified it since translations are not
considered for Nobel awards!
We
have generally been brought up on a historical narrative of India being a land
exploited by the imperialists with hunger and squalor all around. However a
visit to Shantiniketan gives us a fascinating insight into the world of the
wealthy/intelligentsia of pre-independence India who could pursue their dreams.
Travel tips
1. Shantiniketan/Bolpur is 4 hrs
by road or train from Kolkata. It is ony 1 hr by road from Panagarh mil stn.
2. An NCC unit is located at Shantiniketan
3. A days sightseeing by 4 seater
battery Toto for 1200 is adequate to visit the relevant places with enough time
for shopping and traditional Bengali lunch.
4. Entry is not normally permitted to the University departments.
5. Tourists can visit the Rabindra Bhavana Museum and the adjoining Uttarayan complex which has five buildings.
6. One may consider wearing sandals on the
trip since footwear needs to be removed outside every building.
Shopping tips
1. Sonajhuri Haat operates on Saturdays and Sundays where local artisans come to sell their wares.Seems to be open on all days in Pujo season.
2. Amar Kutir is a cooperative unit that sells products by local artisans like leather goods, kantha stitch sarees, kurtas, stoles, dupattas, bamboo crafts, batik, gents shirts etc at an unbelievably reasonable price. Also has a place for traditional Bengali lunch.
3. Karukriti emporium is on the main road about 2 Km from Bolpur railway station. Has an affordable and unique range of products. Actually the best one stop shop. 9064414202
4. A person who sources Kantha work from nearby villages also lives near Santinketan and is worth a look. 9732505116
