Friends:

Today is Rabindranath Tagore's 141st birthday. On this occasion,
South Asian League of Artists in America (SALAAM) organized a
cultural event in New York City. I also had a chance to read a short
essay there. I thought it'd be appropriate to share it with you.

Best regards to all,

Partha

_______________

Tagore, if he lived today…

By Partha Banerjee
May 7, 2002

I ran into Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore the other day on a busy
Kolkata street. It was Jorasanko, the neighborhood where he was born
in his legendary family house—the ThakurbaRi. Of course, the area is
now one of the dirtiest in Kolkata, or for that matter, in India.
But that's beside the point.

I didn't anticipate I'd be able to strike up a conversation with
him. But somehow I managed to do it. For the next few minutes, he
put up with my insolence, and graciously answered all the stupid
questions and comments I had for him. I report that memorable
experience to you.

Partha: Gurudev, Sir, how do you feel about revisiting Kolkata,
Bengal and India after so many years?

Tagore: Pitiful, child, pitiful. Everything's falling apart. Look at
this place, Jorasanko. I had a hard time find my own house. It's
completely hidden behind some dilapidated apartment buildings and
street temples. Nobody would know there's this piece of history
sitting here, let alone there's a university running therein.

Partha: Yes, I know. The first time I came here, I was lost. I asked
a local shop owner where the ThakurbaRi is, he sort of gave me a
blank look. Anyway, how do you find the state of affair in the world
in general?

Tagore: Well, you know, so much time has passed since 1941, when I
left. I left when the World War II was still very much on. I
didn't see the 1942 August movement; luckily I wasn't around when they
dropped the atomic bomb on civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
in '45; I didn't get to see the Indian independence and the
bloody partition of Bengal and Punjab; I didn't witness the Vietnam
war…

Partha: How would you take the partition?

Tagore: Awful, simply awful. You know, in 1905, then British
governor general Lord Curzon had partitioned Bengal. But Bengalis
along with other Indians fought so hard against it…both Muslims
and Hindus…they finally gave in and reunited Bengal. But in '47?
Alas, Gandhi with all his promises for an undivided India…I'm just
glad I didn't have to see that. It would've been too much for me to
handle.

Partha: How was your relationship with Gandhi? Leftists in India
often say you were too much of a Gandhi-ite. Even Subhas Bose wrote
you a strong letter about it…

Tagore: I respected Gandhi, sure. I thought he gave the Indian mass
a voice, a national movement however way his actions may have been
interpreted. But that doesn't mean I either disrespected the Bagha
Jatin, Surya Sen, Subhas Bose or Ghadar groups in Bangla or Punjab
or I ever supported Gandhi's irrational behaviors. In fact, I argued
with Gandhi many times on his nationalist policies. I was never much
of a believer of nationalism, as you know.

Partha: Yes, we are very aware of your internationalistic political
and social philosophies. But both the right wing and a section of
the left have always showed their unhappiness about you.

Tagore: Yes, I know. But they're so wrong about me. As far as the
right, the Brahmo school of religion my family championed since the
days of Raja Rammohan always has been the eyesore of the right. The
celebrated Bengal Ranaissance was founded on the principle of social
anti-establishment, which seriously irked the right. But I don't
ever get to understand this group of Indian left at all. I just
don't.

Partha: Perhaps they haven't read you comprehensively?

Tagore: That could be it. All my life, my family, my school Vishva
Bharati at Shantiniketan, have fought for the modernistic,
humanistic beliefs, beliefs that would definitely be called left-
progressive these days. Anti-imperialism, liberation of women,
abolishing the caste system, emancipating the child, equal rights,
human rights for the underprivileged, the oppressed, socially and
economically empowering the peasant, the laborer…and most of all,
our iconoclastic mission...

Partha: Yes, we know about your work in Sriniketan as well. The self-
help centers, the vocational training for the weavers and all that.

Tagore: In my limited way, I tried. It was a limited success
considering we were working under a colonial British rule at that
time. But Shantiniketan and Sriniketan were models people could
build on…they didn't do it…my son Rathindra was also not
really up to it…sadly so…when he ran the school…the school is still
there…but it's more like a tourist attraction nowadays…alas!

Partha: Gurudev, how come common Bengalis or Indians, let alone the
British, Americans or Germans don't know about all this?

Tagore: Because I never consciously advertised our work, things we
did together at Vishva Bharati. And then, you know about the
bourgoise middle class…they'll only use whatever suits them…my songs
for example…Geetanjali...even there they didn't learn all of it…only
appropriated a small fragment of it and named it Rabindrasangeet…
they didn't much appreciate my short stories, novels…Gora,
Chaturanga, etc. How many people have read Gora in the first place?
And wasn't Chaturanga a revolutionary literary piece? What about
Streer Patra? After the Kallols, a whole generation of Bengalis grew
up without knowing the rich literary and artistic heritage we left
behind for them. Very unfortunate, indeed.

Partha: What do you think about the Kallols then?

Tagore: Oh, those kids did do marvelous creation. I mean, after
Nazrul Islam and Sarat Chandra and Bibhuti who really championed the
ideas Bengali liberals stood for in our time, a whole bunch of very
talented and serious poets, artists, writers sprang up. Manik,
Tarashankar, Buddhadev, Premen, then there was our Sudhindranath who
married this pretty Gujrati girl Rajeshwari…then there was
Jibanananda…oh it was a fascinating time…I knew all about it…I was
proud of them.

Partha: And then there was this whole host of painters, filmmakers
and playwrights.

Tagore: Yes, true. Satyajit, our Sukumar's son…what a genius he was!
Sambhu and Tripti…the whole IPTA group…Badal, Khaled, Tapas,
Bijan…I knew about them…they were sort of starting off when I left…
unfortunately, Indians have not really appreciated their contribution fully.

Partha: And what about the Bengalis in Bangladesh?

Tagore: Oh yes, I must say if there is any ray of hope today as far
as saving and promoting art, literature, the language of Bengali in
general, those people are doing their best. They are doing it as a
nation, unlike the elite in Kolkata...Sankha, Sunil, Nabaneeta,
Joy... I know…I lived a long time in Selaidaha by the Padma…I even
ran our family zamindari there…those East Bengalis will die for
their cause…they'll truly do it.

Partha: The liberation struggle of 1971 is an example of that.

Tagore: Yes, indeed. And how many in the West know what they went
through? What have YOU done to let the world know what exactly
happened? Did you do your part, my boy?

Partha: No, Gurudev, I haven't done much. We are too busy with our
material life, the day-to-day world is simply too overwhelming these
days.

Tagore: Pooh, that's just an excuse. It has always been like that.
People find time to do things they believe in…they live for it…they
die for it. Look at Vietnam, look at Bangladesh, look at those poor
Arabs in Palestine today…and then don't forget the thousands of
young boys and girls who gave their lives to bring about the
political freedom of India…the struggle all over the world against
colonialism, aggression, war…

Partha: Just before you left us in August of 1941, you wrote a piece
in June that talked about the Western powers and their repression
worldwide…

Tagore: Yes, Sabhyataar Sankat…the crisis of civilization…yes, I
came to this conclusion through my many years of experience that the
Western materialism, and NOT the West in general, is hollow and
without any spirituality…regardless of what the organized Church
preaches…and when they impose their way of life on others by force,
it creates havoc, disasters; whether it's the Bengal famine of 1942-43
or the present bombing on Afghanistan…it all comes from the same
mindset…racism, a complex of superiority, arrogance…it was a rude
awakening on my part when I finally realized what the Western
materialism…you call it capitalism now…is up to. Africa and Africans
they took in as slaves to America, Australia are just some examples.
Look at the nations that they did not colonize. They are in a much
better shape, at least from a moral point of view. Sadly, India is
not one of them.

Partha: What is your advice for us? Is there any hope?

Tagore: I have said it many times. Know yourself, find inner
strength. Enlighten, empower. Then work collaboratively. Bring up a
new generation of young people worldwide who'd think differently,
act differently. And if they ever find that strength in themselves,
they'll be able to conquer the world. Not by force, but by ideas, by
compassion, love, respect. Our sacred texts have called upon the
people of the world as children of the immortal, Amritaswa Putrah…we
must carry on that message…you must carry on that message…you must…

Gurudev's image slowly dissolved. I woke up only to realize it was a
dream. But what a dream it was! A conversation with that great man!
A wake-up call from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore himself!