Bagyi Aung Soe, “Śāntiniketan”, Thwaythauk (May 1953), 25-29.1
25 Bolphur is a small town next to the railway linking Kolkata and New Delhi. It is 99 miles from Kolkata in the region of Bengal in India. Amongst the visitors to the town are Indians as well as artists, professors, students and famous personalities from all over the world. The place I am going to describe, Śāntiniketan, is two miles from this town. To get there, one must get off at the train station of Bolphur and continue to by coach. Famous people from all over the world have come to visit Śāntiniketan because of the ViśvaBharati University founded by the famous Bengali poet Dr Rabindranath Tagore. In Sanskrit, “santi” means peaceh and “niketan” means “place”. Śāntiniketan is well known in the world because it is where we can observe and study oriental culture. It is the ideal of India’s traditional and national art. 50 years ago, this place was like a desert. Due to the unbearable heat, there were very few trees and inhabitants. When he arrived, Dr Tagore began to grow plants. Thanks to him, Śāntiniketan is now lively and pleasant with trees and flowers. 26 Above the tree grown by Dr Tagore’s father is his memorial. Every year, we celebrate the festival of plants at Śāntiniketan to commemorate Dr Tagore’s father. It was Dr Tagore who established Viśva-Bharati University in 1901 and it has become an Indian government central university. The university celebrated its 50th anniversary the same year. There have been at least three or four Burmese in the teaching sector who had visited the university, such as Saya Zawgyi and U Ba Lwin of the National Myoma High School. 1
This translation only conveys the gist of the article, not all the nuances. Bagyi Aung Soe, “Śāntiniketan”, Thwaythauk (May 1953), 25-29.
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In 1951, the Indian ministry of education and prime minister Nehru visited Śāntiniketan. Then the Chinese cultural delegation followed. Two scientists from the USSR spent a few days there. Some of the characteristics of Śāntiniketan are: • There is no racism. • All nationalities meet like a family to exchange knowledge. • Regardless of skin colour, economic background and religion, all students at Śāntiniketan learn together. • Universal love is everywhere at Śāntiniketan • Students can get diplomas and degrees from Viśva-Bharati University • The university also offers courses in music. Most of India’s famous artists were students of the artist Dr Nandalal Bose who teaches traditional Indian painting at the famous university of Śāntiniketan. 27 (I will write an article on traditional Indian painting.) There is a research department where researchers can work. There is a school (from nursery to high school) which exists separately. Holders of the high school diploma can continue to study at Viśva-Bharati University up to the Bachelor and Master levels or to have a certificate of professional aptitude. Otherwise, holders of high school diploma can attend courses in culture according to their interests for four years. At the end of the course, the receive a degree. There is moreover a building where Chinese professors teach Chinese language and literature. The professors have completed their studies at the doctorate level. Students can also study Islam, Hinduism and Sanskrit. This is why Asians and Westerners who are interested in Eastern culture come to study at Śāntiniketan. Don’t think that the university is in a big modern building. In Fig. 1, you see a class held under a tree in open air. The professor is seated a foot from the ground surrounded by his students. There are no classrooms. In India, it is a unique place where boys and girls can study together. This system only exists at Śāntiniketan.
Bagyi Aung Soe, “Śāntiniketan”, Thwaythauk (May 1953), 25-29.
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The university’s pedagogy is unlike anything in the West. It is based on the methods of ancient Hindu and Buddhist universities. It is where we preserve and revive Indian tradition and culture. The university hours begin very early in the morning and end at sunset: … 28 … study, reading, lunch, bath and rest. The relationship between master and student is akin to that of siblings, and the university hence resembled a big family. The relationship between master and student is so close that it is possible to study very scrupulously. The professors are immensely respected by their students. Amongst the students, it is rare to find anyone smoking and drinking alcohol. There is hardly any dispute. In the dining hall, students take their meals together facing one another. Students in charge of serving the meals take care of everyone. There is no banter at meal time. It is the time when all students of the university meet joyfully. In the large dining hall, everyone from the university had the same dishes, placing each on a copper tray. After the meal, we have to bring the tray to where it will be washed. Daily meals consist of rice, potatoes, dhal curry and yoghurt. When I first arrived at the university, I had digestive issues for a week. American students wearing the dhoti (Indian clothing) in disarray, but not sandals, also eat dhal curry with the hand. After a few days, I saw them at the university hospital due to the same digestive problems as mine. The photo of Dr Tagore which you saw at the beginning of this article was taken in front of his earth (mud) hut just before he passed away. 29 Dr Tagore lived in the Uttarayan Complex. It is where his works and paraphernalia are displayed. It has since been transformed into a museum.
Bagyi Aung Soe, “Śāntiniketan”, Thwaythauk (May 1953), 25-29.
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The garden in front of this museum is filled with flowers surrounded by butterflies. There is a lake of white and pink lotus flowers. It is such a pleasant place. At the library of Śāntiniketan, we can find old books and manuscripts of oriental literature. They are presents offered to Dr Tagore on his travels throughout the world. There are in addition many translations of Tagore’s works in several languages. The university printing house prints and publishes weekly newspapers and journals, monthly periodicals and students’ books. The university often holds students’ concerts and plays. Likewise, the department of dance and music presented the Chitrangada, a dance drama directed by Dr Tagore. The department of fine arts holds [painting] exhibitions at the university museum throughout the year. Conferences and seminars on poetry, literature and politics very often take place at Śāntiniketan. In addition to these regular activities, there are cultural festivals every season according to Indian tradition. Traditional Indian culture and customs are hence ubiquitous. The students are moreover very simply dressed in a traditional way. The fabric is spun locally. Young students with beards and moustaches holding very heavy books reflect rather than drink. As for the young girls, although they do not apply make-up or wear jewellery, they look like princesses of yore. On Figs. 3 and 4 are a spring festival and a play directed by the department of dance and music. Since the students talk about philosophy and recite poems, it is sometimes boring to talk to them. Sometimes, we do not know what to hear: they sing sadly as they smile and sing joyfully as they cry. All recitals of poems! Sometimes during discussions, when they hear music playing, they stop and start to move to the rhythm of the music. We can say that they are fascinated by music. In conclusion, chillies from Śāntiniketan are sweet, and dogs there, instead of biting, sing songs of sorrow at night. Since all is calm, it is pleasant to stay there. The landscape there is more beautiful than Dagon Taya’s poem titled The Island of Tahiti. We can see cobras; we can play under the moon. The Śāntiniketan date juice is much sweeter than the coconut water from the island of Tahiti. In any case, Western culture does not exist at Śāntiniketan to influence it.
Bagyi Aung Soe, “Śāntiniketan”, Thwaythauk (May 1953), 25-29.
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It is a unique place where we preserve Indian culture and heritage in India. Bagyi Aung Soe
Translated by Khin Swe Win & Yin Ker
Bagyi Aung Soe, “Śāntiniketan”, Thwaythauk (May 1953), 25-29.
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