Bengal, post the heinous crime in August 2024, some may find it difficult to believe it, was once upon a time the intellectual hub and conscience of the rest of India. Exactly like Maharashtra. Great thinkers, revolutionaries, artists, mention the best of the human spirit, and the erstwhile Bengal, like Maharashtra, would come up with very many supremely brilliant personages.
Two tower over all the rest though. Yes, I am referring to Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore. They indeed are the best of Bengal. Rabindranath, especially, is the perfect example of the concept called the Renaissance Man. His is the most appreciable contribution to countless fields of human endeavour.
Truly an intellectual giant he was. As it is his birth anniversary today, this tribute to him. What exactly is the day incidentally? May 7 or 8 or 9? Hardly matters though as he was/is of all times. His mystical-quasi-religious/philosophical poems from the Nobel Prize winning "Geetanjali" are the first signpost for most IWE (Indian Writing in English) students.
Personally, I like him more as a short story writer and as a novelist. Of course, a very touching memory for me is that for an article on him in "Kirloskar", I had translated a poem of his which presented death as the bridegroom whom the soul ardently awaits. Aai loved that poem, despite me translation. No wonder! Tagore WAS a master of meanings and melodies. Hence the title of our blog, which is a take-off on the Bangla Desh anthem that he composed!
Pratima@ Want some proof of Tagore's greatness? Watch "Teen Kanya" , a brilliant film, based on Tagore's short stories, and directed by another great Bengali, Satyajit Ray.
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