A Visit to My Dream Land

By Iffat Imam

He had a habit of changing houses frequently. One of these named Shyamoli was made of clay. I was amazed to see a full size portrait of Tagore. It seemed as if the great poet was greeting us in his house.

Being an earnest fan of Rabindranath Tagore visiting Shantiniketan had been a long cherished desire for me. My dream suddenly came true due to the 90th Foundation Day of the Sakhawat Memorial School which I had the privilege to join as an associate member of the alumni. In this regard I am thankful to Mrs. Sultana Zaman who made it possible for those of us who were not connected to their association, to accompany them. The event took place from 12th to 13th of January 2002. Our programme was to spend five days in Kolkata and three days in Shantiniketan.

We started our journey very early on the winter morning of 11th January. I was amazed to mark the zeal and excitement of the alumni, who were in their 70s and 80s. Its hard to believe unless you watched them yourselves that such elderly women could be so vivacious as if in total defiance of age. Again another thing which struck me was the fact that the younger individuals in our team were defeated in spirit and exuberance by the aged ones. A few of the alumni were accompanied by their daughters and grand daughters. The daughters were supposed to take care of their mothers. But the younger generation found it difficult to keep pace with the excitement and incredible mental strength of the old veterns.

This experience touched me very deeply since I lost my mother on the 28th of March, 1999, on the night preceding the Eid-ul-Azha. My mother was also a very lively and sociable person, whose memories haunt me all the time. I accompanied her to Kolkata for her angiogram in 1993 but when I visited the same city this time she was no more. Had she been alive she would perhaps love to be part of this team even as an adjunct member for the sheer thrill of the tour.

"Her absence grieved me very much when I went shopping with my team fellows who were buying saris for their mothers and especially when a shop keeper suddenly asked me," Didi, aren't you going to buy one for your mother? Hence, being with these elderly ladies made me feel very good because at least briefly they provided me with the motherly affection which I had been missing for so long.

When our bus reached the Salt Lake bus station at 8 pm, we were over-whelmed to see the members of 'Sahmannita' who came to receive the alumni with lovely flowers besides the video and TV cameras for media coverage. They asked the alumni to say a few words about the upcoming event. Prof. Husna Banu a present day artist of Bangladesh Radio and a few others answered their question. At 11 pm that night this reception was shown on TV in Kolkata. On the first day 12th January, decked up in our jamdanis, we reached the school by their tourist bus. There we were received by the present school girls and their teachers. I was stunned to see the sensitively of the little ones who were helping many of the older ladies to get down from the bus. This get-to-gather was very enchanting indeed. The former students then went about searching for relics that had lasted through so many years as reminders of their glorious past. I was touched to see the happiness in their faces when they found an old tree, a black stone and a name plate that belonged to their times.

Enjoying a moment of camraderie with former Sakhawat students. (From left to right: Kulsum Huda, Iffat Imam, Firoza Khatun and Latifa Akhand).

The programme lasted for two days. These days were marked with an atmosphere of celebration. The most memorable events on the first day were the speeches of the education minister Sri Kanti Biswas, old students S M Kusumika Banerji and Prof. Latifa Akhand of Bangladesh. A function was also arranged in which the former students enchanted the audience by singing, dancing and acting with unusual vigour and enthusiasm.

Today most of the former students are successful educationists, social workers and writers. After visiting a 'Moitri Mela' in their school campus they took us for sight seeing. We were taken to the beautiful Millenium Park where they had arranged our lunch. On the last night of the programme a dinner was held at the 'Kolkata Club'. Before the start of the dinner, the alumni emotionally recalled their old days, reliving a pleasant past. Prof. Kazi Madina and Monju Majid recited from Nazrul's poem. Poet Saima Chowdhury wrote a poem on this event and she herself read it out. Firoja Khatun sang in a chorus 'Hey Khoda Doyamoy Rahman, O Rahim'. It was written by her father poet Golum Mustafa. Prof. Husna Banu Khanam sang a Tagore song, 'Amar hiyar majhe lukia chiley'. I also joined her. Another song was sung by S M Ratnabali, who was one of the organisers. She was always with us to make our tour enjoyable.

We started for 'Shantiniketan' by train on the 14th of January. It's difficult to express clearly how delighted I was when the train stopped at the Belpur station. I was crooning with 'Ami Kamon Koria Janabo', my mind was filled with joy as I was going to visit the place about which I had read and heard so much and which I had longed to visit someday. At Shantiniketon, we stayed at the 'Park Guest House" near the Deer Park. We moved about by rickshaws over the uneven roads of red sand and watched dhopas washing clothes and girls riding bicycles, a scene which is so unusual in our own country. The shady environment became all the more romantic by the presence of birds such as storks as and doves. We also visited a country fair which was held on the roadside of "Shambati' The things available in the fair were made by the students of Art college, Amar Kutir co-operative society and also by the local people.

On the first night, a soiree of Baul songs was arranged for us. Three Bauls clad in orange cloth rendered one song after another. All of us were moved by words. The second day, we visited several houses all of which belonged to Rabindranath Tagore. He had a habit of changing houses frequently. One of these named Shyamoli was made of clay. I was amazed to see a full size portrait of Tagore. It seemed as if the great poet was greeting us in his house. No one is allowed to take cameras along. I enjoyed myself a lot inside the museum and I realized that seeing is believing. On the last night a soiree of Rabindra Sangeet was arranged. A brother and sister team Monoj and Manisha, students of Shantiniketan sang. The people I met there asked me about Rezwana Chowdhury Bannya and Papia Sarwar and wanted to know whether I knew them. I felt extremely delighted to know that these two talented artists of Bangladesh, are considered with great respect in India. Their cassettes are available at Shubarna Rekha book shop.

I was also quite thrilled to know that well known persons like Amartya Sen's mother, Protibha Basu, Kanika Bannerjee's sister Bithika all lived reside in Shantiniketan. It's unfortunate that there are no living descendants of Tagore in the great domain which he built himself.

On the last day of our sojourn, we all went to attend the Mandira which is held every Wednesday morning at 'Kanch Ghar'. We all had to wear white saris and sat on the Mondir's floor. The Ashram's boys and girls sang spiritual songs. No worship of Goddess is allowed there. People from all religions can come here to listen to the recitation. The theme of the recitation was very appealing. I realised why Moitree Devi always rushed to Shantiniketan to hear some consoling word from Rabindranath whenever she was upset. Rabindranath had a great power of absorbing his own sorrow and consoling others.

The artistic black house was really amazing. In the field I saw some statue made by 'Ram Kingkor' who was a Santal artist and was brought to Shantiniketan by Rabindranath Tagore.

The guest house, in which we stayed had a beautiful and comfortable environment around it. There was a swing hanging from the tree. Suddenly one of our most lively members Prof. Latifa Akhand took a fancy to it and went for a swing. As she swayed back and forth, her enthusiasm made me realize that aging can never hinder the youthfulness of one's mind.

This short visit touched me so much that I was truly sad while leaving the station. As I boarded the train I was stunned to see a poor man earning money by singing Tagore songs. The words were --

'Asha jawar pother dhare'
A pothe ami je gechi bar bar'

I was happy when I returned home, the trip was really exciting. The pleasant memories of this great experience will indeed be a treasure I will cherish for the rest of my life..

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Source: http://dailystarnews.com/magazine/2002/05/01/reflections.htm