Shantiniketan - Abode of Peace

Rabindranath Tagore founded the serene settlement of Shantiniketan in 1921. It is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometers north of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).His aim was to establish an institution that followed the traditional Indian gurukul system of instruction where gurus would teach their disciples, while sitting on the grass under shady trees. The university also stressed the importance of community living, and specialized in all branches of the arts and humanities, with a special emphasis on Bengali culture.

Today known as the Visva Bharati University, its structure is more conventional, but certain traditions, such as open air lessons, remain sacrosanct. the place is still hallowed ground for admirers of Tagore. Shantiniketan is also a tourist attraction because Rabindranath wrote many of his literary classics here, and his house is a place of historical importance.

In the campus is the Uttarayan Complex, where the poet lived and worked for many years. Other department include Kala (Fine Arts) Bhavan, Sangeet (Music) Bhavan and China Bhavan, specializing in Chinese studies. Shantiniketan's association with contemporary Indian art is evident by the works on display by many of the country's leading artists, such as Binode Bihari Mukherjee (1904-80), Nandlal Bose (1882-1966) and Ram Kinkar Baij (1910-80). The Vichitra Museum has memorabilia from the poet's life, including his paintings, developed from the sketches he made in the margins of his written work. Excellent performances of Rabindra Sangeet (song written and set to music by Tagore) can be heard at the campus every evening. Santiniketan is also home to Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel Prize winner in Economics.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

150th birth anniversary of a Bengali polymath

Rabindranath Tagore was India’s ultimate Renaissance man and his influence is still felt in all branches of the arts, particularly in Bengal. He was born in 1861 into the rich and cultivated Tagore family. He was a versatile genius, - a poet, lyricist, novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, choreographer, actor and singer. He is the composer of "Jana Gana Mana" the national anthem of India as well as "Amar Shonar Bangla" the national anthem of Bangladesh. Following the translation of his poem "Gitanjali" into English by William Butler Yeats, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913 and became Asia’s first Nobel laureate. He was also knighted by the British government, but he returned the honour in protest against the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh. Mahatma Gandhi called him Gurudev (“Great Teacher”). Tagore died in August 1941, but his memory is still deeply revered by Bengalis and his portraits, if not his books, occupy pride of place in nearly all middleclass Bengali homes.