'Oi bujhi Mahamaanav aasey.' 'Bidhi r baadhon kaatbe tumi emni shaktiman, tumi ki emni shaktiman !' 'The dawn will come from this horizon, the east, from where the Sun rises.' The Tagore dynasty has been a dynasty which has contributed a lot to enrich the Arts, Culture and Heritage of Mother India. In 1690, Job Charnok founded the city of Calcutta. In 1877, Queen Victoria became the Empress of Calcutta, the Capital City of India. The Brahmin Tagore dynasty which is pronounced as 'Thakur' in Bengali, had its roots in Kanauj. Panchanan first migrated to Bengal and then his grandson Nilmoni came to Calcutta. Nilmoni was in the Calcutta Shipping Company. Nilmoni's grandson was Dwarkanath Tagore, a man of great personality and business acumen with a royal relationship with some eminent personalities of Europe.
Raja Rammohan Roy was a very good friend of Dwarkanath. Rammohan Roy was an icon for Dwarkanath's son, Devendranath. In those days, the word, 'Humanity' was getting accepted and respected in Europe. But, in India, the Hindu society was deteriorating due to some rituals and superstitions. Rammohan Roy brought the revolution like a true 'Raja'. He modernized the education system with some positive influences of the western education. Devendranath became 'Maharshi' by completing the incomplete writings of Raja Rammohan's ideology. The Maharshi's 14th child was Rabi. The house of Jorashanko was itself a heritage building of Arts and Culture. Early school life was so boring for Rabi. Devendranath had a trip to Dalhousie Hill Station with Rabi. Rabi started writing poems from a very young age. Even his composed music had the influence of both western as well as classical music.
While looking after father's estate, common people's characters gained prominence in his short stories. In Bolpur, Maharshi Devendranath created 'Shantiniketan' for meditation. Rabi started a school in Shantiniketan with ancient Gurukul style. Even his wife, Bhavatarini Devi sold some of her jewels to raise funds for the new school. But, back to back tragedies came in Rabi's life. 'Iti Mrinalini.' He lost his wife, one daughter and one son. Like him, Bengal was also passing through a tragedy of 'Partition' due to 'Cunning Curzon'. His pen became a sword of patriotism. A Mahatma came to know about another Mahatma during Rowlatt Act Protest. To know about how to improve the education system in Shantiniketan, Rabi went to Europe along with some translated versions of his own work, 'Gitanjali'. Yeats found it too impressive to be published. In 1913, the poet got Nobel Prize and the Knighthood in 1915.
Martial law got implemented in Punjab. Dyer ordered to fire. After the Jalianwalabagh incident in 1919, the Nobel Laureate returned the Knighthood as a historical symbol of patriotic protest. He always used to preach about peace and intellectual cooperation among nations. He transformed the educational school of Shantiniketan to a University, named as 'Viswabharati'. 'Yatra Viswam Bhavatyekanidam.' Not only he was gaining popularity worldwide, also the education system of 'Viswabharati.' An education system for paintings also started in Shantiniketan where a famous painter, Nandalal Bose used to teach the young students. Many persons from foreign nations came to Shantiniketan to learn and teach. Even a Handicrafts Center started at Shurul which is just at a 2 miles distance from Shantiniketan. The poet liked to stay in small cottage type houses and used to roam from one room to the other.
With age, the word 'Creativity' was getting more creative in the poet's mind, but, this time, in the form of several types of paintings along with the poems. On his 70th Birthday, 'The Golden Book of Tagore' was published under the sponsorship of Germany's Albert Einstein, India's Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose, India's Mahatma Gandhi and other two famous Europeans. Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose has been the poet's one of the best friends for 40 long years. Mahatma Gandhi knew the revolutionary poet as a devotee of 'Peace' and 'Non Violence' like him. Art is a psychological science to define Science as a progressive modern Art. What a friendship it would have been between Albert and Rabi. But, before dying at the age of 80 years, he saw a 'Crisis in Civilization' in Europe. Hitler's cruelty brought chaos and deaths. But, the poet was optimistic about peace again. The rich heritage of Poems, Music and Verses will never perish, though, 1941 was the death year of a legend, "RABINDRANATH TAGORE".
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