Shantiniketan- Rabindranath Tagore

For me Kolkata is all about Swami Vivekanand, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Thakur/ Tagore. ( and then of course beautiful Kolkata cotton sarees!)

Though our stay in Kolkata was only for few months, I could visit residences of all these great personalities. Swami Vivekanand's and Netaji Subhachandra's residences are now converted into museum. 

Rabindranath Thakur's birth place is Jorasanko Thakur Bari and it is the same place where he took his last breath. When I went to see Jorasanko Thakur Bari, expecting that there will be a museum, realized that now it is converted to Rabindra Bharati University. 

Though it was not a holiday, the gates were closed and as a result I could not see the place. 

But I could surely see the place which was life of this great poet, writer, artist and educationist. It was Shantiniketan and today I will be writing about it. 

An application for inclusion of Santiniketan( Shantiniketan) in the world Heritage List was submitted to UNESCO by Archaeological survey of India on 20/01/2010. We were in Shantiniketan on 21st August 2010.

It is in Birbhum district of West Bengal, about 150kms from Kolkata. The road passes through rural area and the lush green fields on both sides is such a soothing sight!

Rabindranath Tagore has written about Shantiniketan and it shows how dear was Shantiniketan for him. 

Quote 

"She is our own, the darling of our hearts, Santiniketan.

Our dreams are rocked in her arms.

Her face is a fresh wonder of love every time we see her,

for she is our own, the darling of our hearts.

In the shadows of her trees we meet

in the freedom of her open sky.

Her mornings come and her evenings

bringing down heaven's kisses,

making us feel anew that she is our own, the darling of our hearts.

The stillness of her shades is stirred by the woodland whisper;

her amlaki groves are aquiver with the rapture of leaves.

She dwells in us and around us, however far we may wander.

She weaves our hearts in a song, making us one in music,

tuning our strings of love with her own fingers;

and we ever remember that she is our own, the darling of our hearts." Unquote

Initially in 1862, when Rabindranath's father saw the area, he felt that this area is so peaceful and appropriate for meditation. He built an ashram on that property and gave the name 'Shantiniketan'. 

 

In 1901, visionary Rabindranath Tagore had set up an experimental school in Shantiniketan. 

He always thought that," “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”

He wanted education to be based, not only on the examination based western system ( as British government was introducing in those days) but should also be based on traditional eastern education system as well. 

With the amalgamation of the systems, he introduced a special education system in Shantiniketan. 

The education was connected to the surroundings of the students as well as, with the global cultures. He wanted the overall personality development of the students.

 

The Banyan Tree

This is the Banyan tree under which Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore used to teach students. 

He always thought that being in four walls hampers the learning ability of students. So the classes were held in open air, amongst the trees. 

The classes are still held here under the Mango and Bakul trees. The area is aptly known as Amra Vithi and Bakul Vithi. Vithi is row, here are rows of these trees. The teacher on the platform and students on the circular steps make a circle in this classroom. 

Nature walks were part of the syllabus and children learnt many things through the natural phenomena. 

TaalDhwaj

This is the house built for first generation teacher in Shantiniketan, Tejeshchandra Sen. He loved trees and so wanted that his house should be built around this Taal tree, without cutting the tree. 

Department Of Philosophy and Religion. 

A building in Shantiniketan 

A building in Shantiniketan

A building in Shantiniketan

Kalo Bari

Kalo Bari is the building built with the mix of coal tar and mud. It has black murals on the walls. If you zoom the photo, you will be able to see it. 

A building in Shantiniketan

This is an interesting structure. Most probably, the student's art works are displayed here. 

Shantiniketan campus is nearly 20 acres and with two rivers in vicinity, it is always green. One can see lots and lots of trees and flowers, birds here in Shantiniketan. 

We all have read the poem by Rabindranath Tagore- Madhobi, the young spring flower. Since then I was curious about that flower. Finally got to see it in Shantiniketan. These are small white flowers with beautiful pleasant fragrance.

 

Madhobi Flowers

Jarul

These flowers are called Jarul in Bengali language. These are known as pride of India and this is the state flower of Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, it is known as Tamhan. 

Now let's see a special building in Shantiniketan. This is known as Sinha Sadan. It was built by the donation from Shri. Sinha and is a clock as well as bell tower. 

Sinha Sadan

In this building Rabindranath Tagor received the honorary doctorate conferred on him by Oxford University. 

In 1913, Rabindranath Tagore received The Noble Prize for literature for Gitanjali, i.e. it's English translation, 'Song offerings'!! This was the first ever noble prize received by an Indian. Not only this, he was the first Asian and first non European to receive the prize. It says, Quote "Because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West. "Unquote

After he received the Noble Prize, he established Visva Bharati college based in Shantiniketan itself. Motto of the college was 'Yatra visvam bhavatyekanidam' - where the whole world can find a nest! After his death, the college was converted into an university. 

The array of subjects offered in Visva Bharati university is very wide. It comprises of education, agriculture, social science, science, fine arts, performing arts, humanities, rural reconstruction and so on. The Kala Bhavan - arts branch of the university is considered to be one of the best in the country. 

No wonder, the list of alumni is glorious. Nandlal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij, Satyjit Ray, Amartya Sen and so on. Many students who came from other countries are also well known personalities in their respective fields.

 

Amartya Sen's House in Shantiniketan 

Srujani Shilpgram 

We couldn't go inside Srujani Shilpgram but came to know that it showcases art, handicrafts and culture of eastern and north eastern states of India. 

The open air art gallery of Kala Bhavan is wonderful. Sculptures and nature go hand in hand. 

Uttarayan is the part in Shantiniketan where there are residences of Rabindranath Tagore. The names of the residences themselves are self explanatory. Konark was the first home, which was used for poetry recitations and drama practices. Now it hosts an exhibition. 

Shyamali is the mud home which the poet dreamt of. After that he built Punashcha. When he felt suffocating in Punashcha, he built Udichi which offered a fantastic open view. Udayan is the one having combination of various architectural styles. This is the home where he stayed in his last days in Shantiniketan. From this home, he went to Kolkata for treatment and never came back. 

After his death, Rabindra Bharati museum was set in Shantiniketan. It's an amazingly wonderful collection of articles demonstrating his creativity, prizes, and vision. 

Of course, I had bought his books in the Shantiniketan shop but to my dismay, the books are now misplaced.

When we are talking about dismay, let me tell you some more things. When we went to buy books, many of the books were scattered on the floor. When asked about it, came to know that this had happened due to students demonstrations in the previous week. 

When we had visited Shantiniketan in 2010, the buildings were surely in need of maintenance. I hope it must have been done by now. 

If you read 2009 report of Birbhum, you will come to know that 1.2 million tourists visit Shantiniketan every year. in spite of these many tourists, when we had visited in 2010, there were no guide service available nor were there any Shantiniketan guided tours available inside the campus. 

I hope all these factors must have been taken care of, by now. When we are here in 2021 and even the books bought from Shantiniketan are misplaced, isn't this a sign that I should visit Shantiniketan again??!!

Till that time.. one more poem by Rabindranath Tagore.

The Last Bargain
"Come and hire me," I cried, while in the morning I was walking on the stone-paved road.
Sword in hand, the King came in his chariot.
He held my hand and said, "I will hire you with my power."
But his power counted for nought, and he went away in his chariot.
In the heat of the midday the houses stood with shut doors.
I wandered along the crooked lane.
An old man came out with his bag of gold.
He pondered and said, "I will hire you with my money."
He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.
It was evening. The garden hedge was all aflower.
The fair maid came out and said, "I will hire you with a smile."
Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went back alone into the dark.
The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke waywardly.
A child sat playing with shells.
He raised his head and seemed to know me, and said, "I hire you with nothing."
From thenceforward that bargain struck in child's play made me a free man.

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