Monday, February 27, 2012

Rabindranath in America 2nd times -San Francisco (contd-11)

Rabindranath read the essay, "The  Cult of Nationalism" in the Ball Room of St. Francis Hotel at the night of 2nd Oct. The news paper, Examiner wrote on 3rd Oct under the headline, "Redfern mason'Tagore proves a  tonic force / woman scorns 'Highbrow Stuff', but audience is Keenly Alive to Philosophy", The paper wrote in applause; his words, now tender with supplication, now burning with protest, or acid with irony rang with  a scriptural music. .. Whatever they thought of his indictment of our civilization, the audience listened with rapt attention" and "when he concluded the audience continued to sit for a few moments, as though unwilling to break the spell of the incisive logic."
Ernest J. Hopkins wrote in the paper, Bulletin ,   on 3rd Oct, under the headline, "Tagore like prophet, sings the Doom of Fluttonous nations"  , "His discourse was elaborately worded  -- a masterpiece of English style, caste in long flowing senences interspersed  by tares aphorisms and beatified by a wealth of poetic metaphor, andit was noticeable that the metaphorical riches were drawn principally from the fundamental things of social life, from agriculture, from home from the animal world.", He also said in a critical note, "Tagore's trajedy on his lecture tour is that the creed, which he utters is a practical program of life will be accepted principally as an intellectual feat."
Rabindranath passed the day, 3rd Oct,  in a busy schedule. Pearson wrote in his diary, "from 2 pm to 4 pm he had meet interviews with five persons.In the night he gave a lecture the Audience of Japanese people. Here he read the essay, "The Spirit of Japan".
He attended a dinner thrown in his honour by the members of Bohemian Club at 6 pm.Bulletin  gave the report in detail,
" As a compliment to the famous East Indian poet and philosopher, the entire red room of the club will be transformed into an East indian palace. Anadee Joulin, the wellknown artist , whose oriental pictures won him fame, is in charge of the decorating , and is using all his art and knowledge of the Far East, learned through his long residence there, its making the room into a proper setting for so distinguished a guest . The room, with its background of red walls and carpet, will be hung with magnificient Oriental draperies and rugs. The lighting will be from gorgeous brass hanging lanterns. In the centre of the room will be a horseshoe-shaped table, trimmed with lotus flowers, the beautiful blossoms of the far east.  A special menu has been ordered that will appear as the Hindu-taste. During dinner there will be Hindu music, played by musicians in the picturesque costumes of East India."
Examiner   has just recapitu;ated the whole thing.