Mangalore: Experiencing Tagore’s Life on Sanskriti Express

Anisa Fathima
Pics: Ganesh Perla
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Nov 7: You have read him in school and college, you might have done a seminar on him. You might have even gobbled up his songs to pass your exams or read them for pure pleasure. Yet, to really know and experience the Nobel Laureate, the ‘Gurudev’ Rabindranath Tagore, you need to make a trip of Sanskriti Express.

Sanksriti Yatra, as the initiative is called, was flagged off in Kolkata earlier this year on May 9 by union minister of railways Mamata Banerjee. The whole idea germinated in the portals of the ministry of railways, and the Indian Railways has taken up the task of reinstating interest as well as pay tribute to Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary. The train has so far traversed the length and breadth of India, stopping at important stations across the country. On Friday November 5, it was the turn of Mangaloreans to be awed by the aura of the great poet, novelist, musician, educationist, philosopher, painter and pioneer of modern Indian literature. The train chugged into Mangalore Central railway station and left the city at 10 pm on Saturday November 6.

The Nobel Prize Certificate

Entering the Sanskriti Express was like entering a new world altogether. Going through the five coaches of the train was akin to walking through Tagore’s life. From his early childhood days to his last breath, the exhibition on wheels covered even minute details of his 80 years, like the scribbled manuscript of a Bengali poem, or the very interesting telegraph sent to him by Mahatma Gandhi which says, “Four score not enough may you finish five” (one ‘score’ is equal to twenty years). The exhibits on display have been donated by various organisations, individuals and also Santiniketan in Kolkata which was owned by the Tagore family and where Rabindranath established the Patha Bhavan or Visva-Bharati University as it is now called.

H K Maity, the welfare inspector of the Yatra who showed me around, says that the response to the initiative so far has been very good, with thousands of people flocking to have a glimpse of Gurudev’s life. However, according to Balagopalan, another welfare inspector from Palghat, the response in Mangalore, particularly from colleges and schools, was not up to the mark. “We expect a better response in Calicut, where the train is headed next,” he said.

Of the five coaches, the first (‘Jibon Smriti’) depicts Tagore’s personal life, including information about his immediate family members, his relationship with them and with people of eminence he had known and his tryst with Santiniketan and Sriniketan, apart from his days in England. There is also a photograph of Pratima Devi, his ‘dear daughter-in-law’ (as the caption says) who took care of him in his last days.

The second coach, fittingly called “Gitanjali’ is about his poems, especially about Gitanjali. The Song Offerings, as Gitanjali is subtitled, has been translated in a number of international languages, and it’s pure joy just to view their cover pages – in German, Pustu, Russian, French, English, Dutch, Thai, Japanese, Chinese and so many more, and of course the original in Bengali. What is even more breathtaking is the Nobel Prize certificate, all framed, and the enlarged picture of the Nobel Medallion. What disappointed me though, was that the Medallion itself was not on exhibit.

The third coach, called the ‘Muktodhara’ gives a brief idea of his achievements in other literary genres – novels, dramas, short stories and essays. From his first play (Valmiki Pratibha) which he wrote at the age of 20, to his first attempt at acting at the age of sixteen as the lead role in his brother Jyotirindranath's adaptation of Molière's ‘Le Bourgeois Gentilhomm,’ there are not only precious extracts from his works, but even the author’s own thoughts on his evolution as a poet and writer. Take this for example:

“...I discovered in my own person that verse-making was not beyond the range of an untrained mind and tottering handwriting. Since then my sole medium of expression has been words, followed at sixteen by music, which has also come to me as a surprise.”

There is also the National Anthem in its Bengali form, apart from extracts from various Bengali poems and a list of his works – eight volumes of short stories, almost two dozen plays and a eight novels in addition to a number of books on philosophy, religion, education etc.

The next coach, the Chitrarekha, is all about his paintings, portraits and sketches. An interesting one that caught my attention was one with Tagore and Helen Keller. The note attached was an extract from a letter by Keller to writer Parmenia Migel:

“Sitting beside Rabindranath Tagore and sharing his thoughts is like spending one’s days beside the Sacred River, drinking deep of honeyed wisdom.”

Tagore’s modernist paintings are no doubt a delight, and though I am no connoisseur, I was truly mesmerised by their sheer detailing, especially the painting of a woman with her hair let down. Most of the paintings depict the human face in its myriad expressions, and each of them seem to have a story to tell. As Tagore himself said of his paintings, ‘My pictures are versus in lines.’ His paintings are even displayed in museums abroad.

The last coach, ‘Sesh Katha and Smaranika’ depicts the poet’s last days, especially his struggle with illness. Tagore died on August 7, 1941, leaving behind footprints unparalleled in the Indian intellectual sphere.

The biggest crowd was in the sales section where handicrafts made in Santiniketan were sold as souvenirs. The proceeds of the sales would go back to Santiniketan. Items included bags, pens, clothes, showpieces, keychains and other trinkets, ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 5000.

Nevertheless, it was good to see people throng the exhibition. Said Vinita Noronha who came with her daughter, “I wanted my daughter to learn more about Tagore. I feel children should be encouraged to attend such exhibitions.” Maju Mohan and Saneesh, both PG students from Kerala studying in Mangalore, felt that the exhibition helped them to understand more about Tagore. ‘We had read his Gitanjali in school, so we were curious to know more about him. The exhibition is very good.”

However, there were some things about the exhibition which could have been improved upon. For instance, some of the information about Tagore and his works were only in Bengali, like his timeline, and manuscripts of scribbled Bengali poems with no information in English. The manuscripts themselves were in the form of mounted wall portraits. In fact that was the other disappointment – there were only photos and portraits but not actual souvenirs from his life, like Gitanjali in its original form, which I personally would have loved to see.

All in all, it was truly an intellectual treat to be on Sanskriti Express and experience India’s greatest literary legend up close. The Indian Railways ought to be congratulated on taking this wonderful initiative, and what’s more, the ministry even plans to bring out similar exhibition trains on Mother Teresa and Swami Vivekananda as well in the near future.