Rabindranath Tagore and Santiniketan

In this week’s column, we would explore how Tagore’s humane philosophy manifested itself through Santiniketan. It is pertinent here to look at, briefly, the kind of education that Tagore envisioned and that philosophy of education he later realised through the establishment of Santiniketan in India. In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Gitanjali, Tagore outlines the kind of education he envisioned.

He states; “And one thing, the one work, which came to my mind, was to teach children. It was not because I was specially fitted for this work of teaching, for I have not had myself the full benefit of a regular education. For some time I hesitated to take upon myself this task, but I felt that as I had a deep love for nature I had naturally love for children also. My object in starting this institution was to give children of men full freedom of joy, of life and of communion with nature. I myself had suffered when I was young through the impediments which were inflicted upon most boys while they attended school and I have had to go through the machine of education which crushes the joy and freedom of life for which children have such insatiable thirst. And my object was to give freedom and joy to children of men.

And so I had a few boys around me, and I taught them, and I tried to make them happy. I was their playmate. I was their companion. I shared their life, and I felt that I was the biggest child of the party. And we all grew up together in this atmosphere of freedom.

The vigour and the joy of the children, their chats and songs filled the air with a spirit of delight, which I drank every day I was there. And in the evenings during the sun-set hour I often used to sit alone watching the trees of the shadowing avenue and in the silence of the afternoon I could hear distinctly the voices of the children coming up in the air, and it seemed to me that these shouts and songs and glad voices were like fountains of life towards the blossom of infinite sky. And it symbolised, it brought before my mind the whole cry of human life all expressions of joy and aspirations of men rising from the heart of Humanity up to the sky. I could see that, and I knew that we also, the grown-up children, send up our cries of aspirations to the infinite. I felt it in my heart of hearts. ”

It was this grand vision for entire Humanity which is manifested through Santiniketan which serves as a central of excellent scholarship while instilling Tagore profound philosophy of humility and high culture in the students of Santiniketan.

Santiniketan (Visva-Bharati University)

Santiniketan, the abode of peace, is small township in West Bengal approximately 180 milometres north of Kolkata (Calcutta). The Visva-Bharati University annually attracts thousands of students, academics as well as visitors from diverse parts of the globe. It has become a major tourist attraction as Rabindranath Tagore spent much of his time there and wrote many of his masterpieces in literature.

Santiniketan was originally commenced as a school named Patha Bhavan to realise Tagore’s ideals in education. It was commenced principally on the premise that learning in a natural environment would be more enjoyable and fruitful. After Tagore was awarded Nobel Prize for literature in 1913 for Gitanjali, the school was expanded into a fully-fledged university in 1921.

By 1951, Santiniketan was one of the best know central universities of India. True to the vision of Tagore, Santiniketan attracted teachers of global repute such as C.F. Andrews and Alex Aronson and it produced outstanding personalities such as Gayatri Devi, Indira Gandhi, Satyajith Ray, Abdul Ghani Khan and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. Among the distinguished Sri Lankan students at Santiniketan are Chithrasena, Makuloluwa, Panibharatha, Lionel Edirisinghe, Wasantha Kumara and Senaratne Pathirana.

Santiniketan friends

The influence of Santiniketan does not confine to India itself or to its illustrious students who continue to enrich their cultures with the knowledge and worldview gained from Santiniketan but pervades throughout the world in general and in Asia in particular. It is obvious that Santiniketan and Tagore’s visit to Sri Lankan on several occasions, inspired, among other things, to set up Sripali College in Horana and Tagore’s society of Sri Lanka.

The recently set up Santiniketan alumni, Santiniketan Friends is carrying out the Tagore’s cultural legacy for the prosterity. The organisation is made up of outstanding personalities in the field of Performing Art and major exponents of Rabindranath Tagore’s ideals in arts and culture; Chandana Wickremasinghe is a major artiste who is famous for his innovative approach to dancing, Charith Rumayanga Perera, who is a student of Smt. Swastika Mukhopadhyay and also Associate Professor Basavi Mukerji who carries the legacy of the Indian legendary musician Dr. Prabha Atre, a young graduate of Santiniketan, is endowed with a wider tonal range and is a principal exponent of Rabindra Sangeeth and Senior lecturer of the University of Visual and Performing Arts Sujeewa Ranasinghe, Esraj maestro plays a vital role in Santiniketan Friends. Sujeewa Ranasinghe, who is a student of Prof. Sri Buddhadev Das, has made a lasting contribution to film music and in the creations is substantial. The artistes such as Thilini Rodrigo Yadav, Maduranga Samarasinghe, Madava Gunawardena, Savindra Jayawardane, Vinodini Durgabakshi, Chamila Suranga , Shailesh Yadav, Thilini Munasinghe and Asanga Perera , though we have not seen their performances, are artists who made a name for themselves in their respective areas.

Char- Adhyaya, the annual art festival by Santiniketan friends to celebrate the 150 birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore is made up of an exhibition of painting which will be held from October 15-17 at the National Arts Gallery and the cultural program on October 15 at the John de Silva Memorial Theatre. The highlights of the cultural program include Rabindra Sangeet, Sri Lankan fusion songs, Manipuri dance recitals and fusion music based on Sarod and Esraj. The repertoire of musicians participate in the program includes Sri Yaikhom Hemant Kumar, Sri Buddhadev Das, Sougata Roy Chowdhury, Subhajit Brahmachari, Manoj Murali Nayar and Smt. Swastika Mukhopadhyay.