Centre for South Asian Studies

Description

About Rabindranath Tagore William Radice has written, ‘He wrote so much, he did so much, he created so much. He was truly global.’ (2012) Rabindranath’s output was phenomenal.  In any reassessment of Rabindranath’s contribution to nation building in India and his cultural ambassadorial role in facilitating cooperation between the East and the West, the consideration of his upbringing and his familial influence in times when Bengal/India was witnessing an awakening and his own national and international encounters and friendships become relevant for a full understanding of the Renaissance man. In his time, Rabindranath was the voice of India’s conscience and political leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. in spite of differences, revered the Poet’s position and sought his approval and blessings. The Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 saw Rabindranath thrown on to the world stage, leading to many invitations to give lectures and talks and to meetings in different countries across the globe and Rabindranath took this opportunity to spread a message of mutual respect between nations. His own institutions at Santiniketan and Sriniketan were established to build a ‘nest’ where the world could meet. The ‘nest’ was a metaphor for intellectual and cultural exchange and cooperation. Yet Rabindranath’s reputation in the world has seen varying tides of reception and rejection and even near oblivion.  This paper will assess the reasons for the fluctuating opinions while reaffiring Rabindranath’s legacy.