Patriot from Bengal

A. DEVA RAJU

Born on May 7, 1861 Rabindranath Tagore was a rare and great personality. He was a scholar, freedom fighter, writer and painter, but above all, a humble man. Gitanjali won him the Nobel Prize.

Rabindranath Tagore was a great and rare personality, whose contributions in the field of Indian literature was immense. He was a versatile man. A scholar, freedom fighter, writer and painter but above all, a humble man.

Born on May 7, 1861 to Debendranath Tagore and Sharada Devi at Jorasanko in West Bengal, Rabindranath did not like going to school. At the age of 12, Rabindranath was admitted to the St. Xavier's School. Here also Rabindranath showed no interest. Noticing this disinclination his parents arranged for teachers at home. He was asked to translate Shakespeare's "Macbeth" into Bengali. Rabindranath translated the play in a few months and it was appreciated.

His father was a man of great faith. He led a simple and principled life, and because of this he was called "Maharshi". His father taught him about the stars, the planets and many other fascinating things, besides Sanskrit and English.

Rabindranath's intense curiosity to read was such that he had improved his knowledge by reading books of all kinds. When Rabindranath was 15 years old, his poem Banaphul was published for the first time in the magazine Jnanankur. He wrote poems and articles describing the beauty of nature, love and music. He contributed to Bharati a journal, started by his brothers.

Rabindranath went to England with his brother when he was 17, where he enrolled in the University of London. Henry Morley, a teacher at the University read an essay by Rabindranath on the improper attitude and conduct of the British in India. Morley was impressed by the high standard of Rabindranath's writing.

In 1883, Rabindranath married Mrinalini Devi. Rabindranath had three daughters Bela, Rani and Meera, and two sons Ratindra and Samindra. He liked Bela best and in his story Kabuliwala he portrayed a character similar to Bela.

In 1890, he went to stay in Shelaida, a village on the banks of the river Padma, where he had ancestral property. Rabindranath was impressed by the simple lifestyle of the villagers.

Tagore believed that to develop the minds of the people, education was necessary. So, he established a Gurukul at Shantiniketan, which was inaugurated on December 22, 1901. His wife died at this time and six months later so did his daughter Rani. In 1905, Maharshi passed away, leaving Rabindranath bereft. Two years later his son Samindra died of cholera. Despite his grief, Tagore concentrated his efforts in running and organising the school, Shantiniketan. The aim of this school was to make education an inseparable part of people's lives.

The school grew and art, painting, music, dance and other subjects were part of the syllabus. There were no barriers between students and teachers. All lived a simple life without material comforts.

In 1912, he translated some of his poems. A few months later he left for England. In London, Rabindranath's friend, a famous artist, Sir William Rothenstein read his translated poems. He was so impressed that he took them to W.B.Yeats. Yeats realised the value of Tagore's poems. He said, "The whole of western civilisation is waiting for a poet like Rabindranath Tagore." Through Yeats many came to meet Rabindranath and read his works. One among them was C.F. Andrews. He had been a teacher at St. Stephen's college in Delhi, but left to join Shantiniketan.

Andrews was moved when he saw the poor and the exploited people in India. He decided to help them and solve their problems. He sacrificed most of his time and energy for this cause. and spent the rest of his life with Rabindranath. He introduced Rabindranath to his friends, Willie Pearson and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Both of them remained lifelong companions of Tagore. Rabindranath gave Gandhiji the title of "Mahatma".

Gitanjali was published in 1912. He won the Nobel Prize for this book in 1913. This achievement was not only the first in India but also in Asia.

In 1918, Pearson was accused of anti-British activities and sent back to England. His daughter Bela who had grown to be very close to him also died. But putting aside his sorrows, he completely involved himself in his activities. He wanted to start an international university, Visva-Bharati, where scholars from all over the world could come together. The foundation stone of the university was laid in December 1918.

Tagore tried to bring together the culture, science and arts of other countries and India in the teaching at his university. Here the students learnt the teachings of all religions of the world. The aim of this institution was to achieve world peace and universal brotherhood. Rabindranath Tagore visited innumerable countries and invited many distinguished people to his university. On December 23, 1921 Tagore dedicated Visva Bharati to the people of his country.

He began painting when he was nearly 60 years old. He had written more than 80 books and composed nearly 1,000 songs. His songs were sung not only by Bengalis but also by people of different regions. "Jana Gana Mana" was popular throughout the country. Tagore never thought that this would be the National Anthem.

Mahatma Gandhi and Tagore had a special relationship. In 1936, when Tagore was 75 years old, the funds, for the institution were inadequate. In order to generate funds Tagore decided to produce and perform his play "Chitrangada" at different places. He travelled to Calcutta, Patna, Allahabad, Lahore and Delhi. Gandhiji was moved and collected Rs. 60,000 with the help of his followers and donated it to Tagore's institution.

In 1940, Tagore gave Gandhiji a letter in which he had appealed to Gandhiji to accept the responsibility of preserving Visva Bharati. Gandhiji assured him that he would do everything possible. He kept his promise and Visva Bharati was made a central university.Tagore's reputation as a writer was established in the United States and in England after the publication of Gitanjali: Song Offerings, in which Tagore tried to find inner calm. The poems appeared in 1912 with an introduction by William Butler Yates.

Though he knew his end was nearing, he was never afraid of death and in fact he would say often "I am living, only because I love this land." He breathed his last on August 7, 1941.

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