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| Rabindranath Tagore India's Gentle Torch-Bearer Amar Chitra Katha vol 548 Image from Indian Epics ACK Guides |
Today, I read an Amar Chitra Katha comic book. Have you heard of Amar Chitra Katha? I hadn't either, but they are incredibly famous in India, and generations have now been able to enjoy them. There are more than 400 titles, in more than 20 different languages, that retell stories from the great Indian epics, mythology, history, folklore, and fables in comic book format. It was originally created by Anant Pai, beginning in 1967.
Rabindranath Tagore: India's Gentle Torch-Bearer
- Born May 7, 1861 at Jorasanko Mansion in Calcutta. The 2nd youngest child of Maharishi Debendranath Tagore. His father was rarely home.
- His parents were away or busy, so many different people took over as caretakers to occupy little Rabi.
- A cousin took Rabi and taught his to write poetry. Rabi was barely 8 years old when he wrote his first poem.
- Rabi was a sensitive, imaginative boy who often missed school to spend time in nature. His parents arranged for a local uncle-type to come to the house every evening to teach the boys English.
- The house of the Tagores was a virtual university: a meeting ground for poets, scholars, musicians and men of science and philosophy.
- When Rabi was twelve, his father returned home from a long pilgrimage in the Himalayas. He had the boys dressed in the sacred thread, shaved heads and gold rings in their ears. The boys went for a 3 day retreat: they were taught to chant in correct accents, relevant sections from the Upanishads, and were taught to meditate.
- Rabi was serious regarding meditation and was often moved to tears of bliss at the end of a session.
- Around this time, his father invited him to journey with him to the Himalayas
- At 17 years old, Rabindranath went to England for higher studies, but returned after 17 months. He now began to devote much of his time to writing and acting. "Valmiki Pratibha" was a musical play that was produced during this time period.
- 4 months after the wedding, Rabi's beloved sister-in-law, Kadambari Devi, died. The songs he composed in the months that followed this were intense with feeling.
- 1890 -- "Let us walk from Calcutta to Peshawar. It will enrich our store of experience."
- Rabi's father heard of this and wanted to provide Rabi with a chance to travel, but wanted it to be combined with business.
- Rabi settled at Shilaidha in Kushthia, in the very lap of nature, to take over running of the place for his father. His family estates were scattered and entailed a good deal of traveling by boat.
- During this time period, Rabi soaked in all of the songs and tunes of the rural, local people: rowers, sowers, peasants. "It is only unsophisticated music like this that millions can appreciate. It throbs with the joy of life."
- "Though he did write a great deal during this period, his proximity to the illiterate peasant folk turned his mind to other spheres. 'I feel for my countrymen, when will they get rid of their superstitions and fears? When will they know a better life?'"
- Shanti Niketan: Rabi built and Ashram to educate boys and teachers on the model of an Ashram in natural surroundings, Rabi even taught there. "Children are born with a natural curiosity, which, if properly encouraged, makes the learning experience a pleasure."
- He wanted to make learning a pleasure, but the response was poor.
- His liberal views antagonised the Brahma Samajists. "He has too much sympathy with Orthodox Hindu views" "He is a Brahmo! Our children will not study in the school of a Brahmo!" His school is neither recognized by Calcutta University nor by the Government. What good is an education that won't help our children get jobs?
- 1902-1907 Rabindranath's wife, father, daughter Renuka and son Samindra died. Holy crap!
- 1905: Bengal was partitioned by the British on communal lines. There were a lot of protests. He gave a speech to inspire students all of the country "Down with British Imperialism!"
- During this time, he wrote the National Anthem of Bangladesh (My Golden Bengal, I Love You)
- He was a staunch supporter of Widow Remarriage, and in 1910 he married his son to a widow, Pratima Devi.
- His many works won him admirers from abroad. Rothenstein, the famous English Painter, suggested that his translate his "Gitanjali" into english. W.B. Yeats praised the translation.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for Gitanjali from Sweden. He was the first Asian to receive the prize. The funds from the prize were enough to continue funding Shanti Niketan.- The King knighted him in Calcutta. Long Live Sir Rabindranath Tagore!
- The Calcutta University conferred a D.Litt on him.
- He renunciated his title of Knighthood (which was declined, but he stopped using it) when in 1919 a brutal massacre by the British (@ Jallianwala Baug in the Punjab) compelled him to write a letter to the Viceroy of India protesting the barbarous attack. \
- He left Calcutta to go stand by Mahatma Gandhi in solidarity during his fast. "The government was forced to agree to the Mahatma's demand for a common electorate between caste Hindus and Harijans." Mahatma Gandhi broke his fast by sipping lime juice while Tagore sung his favorite songs from the Gitanjali.
- Rabindranath had attained world fame, and Shanti Niketan became a center of pilgrimage for Indians and for foreigners. $$$ poured in: royalties from the English editions of his books, the education given at Shanti Niketan was recognized and it was considered a great privilege to be able to study there. (During some difficult early years, his wife offered up her bangles and adornments to be sold to keep the school going.) Jawaharlal Nehru (1st Prime Minister of India) was one of the many that were impressed by Tagore's educational methods.
- Indira (Jawahar) was admitted as a student at the ashram.
- Tagore lived to be 80 years old. He is called the Father of Modern Bengali Lit. Perhaps his most enduring contribution is his collection of songs, which will be sung for ages to come.
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| Personal Photo of page 20 from Amar Chitra Katha's Rabindranath Tagore: India's Gentle Torch-Bearer October 2016 |
I could write about his wife giving up her bangles and baubles to sustain the school/ashram of Shanti Niketan. I could also write about his love of nature, his journey to the Himalayas with his father, or his work of Gitanjali.
I think it would be interesting for him to receive the gold piece of jewelry for my StoryBook when he gets married and eventually gives it to his wife. Though, later, she returns it to him, in the collection she says "It's not mine, it's yours anyways" to sell. Except, for some reason, there's this one piece that he's not quite able to sell. His later works and translations reveal the true nature of the reincarnating piece of gold, and his figures out the problem with it, which is why he is able to live so long -- until 80 years old!
