Last weekend (4/27-4/28) I went to Shantiniketan, the village founded by Rabindranath Tagore. I had never heard of Tagore before arriving in Kolkata, but it became very obvious very quickly that I should learn about him, as he shows up EVERYWHERE. Tagore was a poet and songwriter (as well as a painter and playwright and essayist and novelist..quite a renaissance man) from Kolkata. He is universally known throughout Kolkata and Bengal. His poems are printed on the walls of the metro, and the Bengali songs the children in the nursery sing are all from Tagore. I wish I could read his work in Bengali, but since I can't I've settled for English translations. In 1913 he won the Nobel Prize for literature, the first Indian to win a Nobel prize. He is the pride and joy of Bengal. In the middle of his life he established a community, and later a university, at Shantiniketan, a small village outside of Kolkata. I went to go check it out.
I took the express train on Saturday morning from Howrah Station and two and half hours later ended up in Shantiniketan. Once out of the train station I hailed a cycle rickshaw and went to the tourist lodge, where I was able to get a room for the night (with an air conditioner!). In the afternoon I went to Tagore's house and museum, where I learned a lot about his life and work. Many of his poems are about nature, and walking around Shantiniketan it is clear where he his inspiration came from. Removed from the chaos and noise of the city, Tagore's house is in a peaceful, quite enclave. I also got to walk around the grounds of Visva-Bharati, the university Tagore founded. While I was exploring, storm clouds gathered and then, of all things, a HAIL storm began. I've never seen anything like it. One minute it was 95 degrees, and the next tiny pieces of ice were pouring out the sky. It turned out to be a blessing, however, as it brought the temperature down for the rest of my trip.
After exploring Tagore's legacy, I went to the haat, which is a market of handicrafts. There I found beautiful earrings and necklaces, as well as bags and scarves featuring the "kanta" stitch, which is unique to West Bengal. And it was so cheap! I went in prepared to bargain, but when the women gave me three pairs of handmade earrings and said 50 rupees total (that's $1) I immediately conceded. At sunset, I returned back to the tourist lodge where I spent a comfortable evening before returning to Kolkata the next day.
I took the express train on Saturday morning from Howrah Station and two and half hours later ended up in Shantiniketan. Once out of the train station I hailed a cycle rickshaw and went to the tourist lodge, where I was able to get a room for the night (with an air conditioner!). In the afternoon I went to Tagore's house and museum, where I learned a lot about his life and work. Many of his poems are about nature, and walking around Shantiniketan it is clear where he his inspiration came from. Removed from the chaos and noise of the city, Tagore's house is in a peaceful, quite enclave. I also got to walk around the grounds of Visva-Bharati, the university Tagore founded. While I was exploring, storm clouds gathered and then, of all things, a HAIL storm began. I've never seen anything like it. One minute it was 95 degrees, and the next tiny pieces of ice were pouring out the sky. It turned out to be a blessing, however, as it brought the temperature down for the rest of my trip.
After exploring Tagore's legacy, I went to the haat, which is a market of handicrafts. There I found beautiful earrings and necklaces, as well as bags and scarves featuring the "kanta" stitch, which is unique to West Bengal. And it was so cheap! I went in prepared to bargain, but when the women gave me three pairs of handmade earrings and said 50 rupees total (that's $1) I immediately conceded. At sunset, I returned back to the tourist lodge where I spent a comfortable evening before returning to Kolkata the next day.
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