"Growing up in Kolkata meant that Tagore was imbibed in every strand of my existence - be it songs playing on my grandparent's radio, poems being recited at local cultural festivals, or characters being used as adjectives in everyday conversation."
Rabindranath Tagore, the noble laureate from #India who has lived through his work in the heart of the people around the world. He was a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter - honestly makes me question what didn't dip his fingers into. Only did he reshape #Bengaliliterature and music but also emerged as a pioneer in #ContextualModernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I remember studying this poems, short stories as a kid in Bengali and was pleasantly surprised to read this collection of poems in my Modernism class in my uni's 2nd year!
#RabindranathTagore became the sole pride of #Bengalis and became a part of everyday life and this year was the #100years of the university he established. It was more a celebration of his institution of his social reform, his lifestyle, his philosophies and of the person himself. I got the brilliant opportunity through #EssexIndianCharity to write for their magazine issue celebrating Tagore! So grateful for this opportunity and their continued efforts.
The magazine issue of Essex Indians Charity for their Generation Next Festival.
From the moment I was asked to write about him, the legacy of his greatness dawned on me and made every piece of my writing insignificant. However, I realised that the only aspect I could write about was my own personal experience - ones the world cannot judge with parameters of excellence.
I reflected back on what Tagore meant to me, not to my Indian genes or to my mother-tongue Bengali, but to ME... as a twenty-year-old growing up in Kolkata, where my mother tongue was my second language in school.
I took the train to work in the morning and sat staring at the world pass by... millions of commuter getting in and out and going on about their day. I started contemplating what I actually knew of him - what did he mean to me? did his work shape the person I am? if yes, how? did I actually like him? or was it a unconscious societal construction in my mind?
My piece of writing in the magazine: Unknown Familiarity
In this context, you, my reader, might or might not know Tagore and your experiences might be similar to mine or might be completely different - which is what I appreciate! I wanted to take this opportunity to embrace the differences. If you have never heard of him, my post was the beginning of your journey with him and if you have, this was just another point in the long voyage of Tagore's marvel.
For me, Tagore's work isn't just another piece of art that I appreciate but it is a piece of my childhood, it is an experience, an emotion - and that makes me realise there is no right way to appreciate him. Yes, I haven't all of this novels in Bengali nor can I recite one of his poetry by heart right now, but I can hum the tune of his songs which played 10 years ago in a taxi ride home from school. I can recall the excitement of my father when he talks about his new favourite #rabindrik song and I can recall my mum choreographing a new dance performance in Tagore's style.
Last but not the least, the first that comes to my mind when i think of Tagore is this big farmed picture of him in our house hanging high up. As a kid, i never knew why that need to be there, who he is and why was he so important to stare down at me when I am struggling with homework. I was equally confused because one would expect pictures of thakur (god)in a typical Indian household but here, I am sitting under a different Thakur (Tagore.)
Random trivia: If you didn't know Rabindranath's surname is actually Thakur in Bengali but was anglicised to Tagaore. Now, Thankur also means 'god' and thus, my attempt of creating a pun in the previous paragraph!
So, in the confusion and fragmented experiences with Tagore, i grew up - with him, around him and in some ways, for him. Yes, i am insignificant for his work but i am least one who grew up and got to experience education and art as Tagore wanted. He was in every speck of my time in Kolkata as a kid and now, he is here with me in the UK - in my memories, in the songs on my Spotify playlist, in the films in recommend to my fellow classmates, in the books I studied in uni, in every discussion that we have revolving around #Bangaliana (being a bengali) and in every mention of nostalgia, childhood and home...
Love,
~ K.