Monday, March 12, 2012

Rabindranath's 56th Birthday Celebrated at Shantiniketan,1917

Rabindranath came back to Shantiniketan on 30th April. This year Rabindranath's 56th Birth Day on 8th May, 1917 was celebrated in Shantiniketan gorgeously. Many guestsfrom Calcutta came to Shantiniketan on the 23rd Baishakh (6th May). Ramananda came with his family.Sukumar Roy with his family, Kalidas Nag, Rathindranath, Pratima Devi came in the same train. Kalidas wrote;
" We in a group started by the morning train at 11.20 A.M to Bolpur.Having reached Bolpur in the afternoon it was found that the Poet was waiting in the room of Dinu Babu. Everyone was offered good food. The students of the Asram  arranged a meeting of "Bangal" sabha where the students made jokes, sarcasm, songs etc -- wonderful -- Sukumar was a man of Maimansingh he became the Bangal-President.
For the entertainment of the guests, Rabindranath read the essay "The Nation" ,and the English translation of  Prakritir Pratisodh and Bisarjan . Some sung a few new songs. In the evening, the teachers and the students staged an act of the drama Benisanghar in Sanskrit. Sukumar and his party acted "Sabdakalpadrum" from his own writings. Today Gurusaday Dutta, magistrate of Midnapore district, and his wife Sarojnalini had come to visit  Asram. Many guests came to the Asram in the evening train from Calcutta.
On 25th baisakh (8 May,1917), early in the morning, Baitalik song was heard."Amar mukher katha tomar nam diye dao dhuye".The mango garden was decorated with flowers and leaves with paintings on the floors and the walls. Sita Devi wrote, "Rabindranath entered the hall calmly. A stage was prepared for him to sit made of earth and decorated with lotus leaves and flowers.[Kalidas Nag said that the stage was prepared by Pandit Bidhusekhar Shastri as per Vedic system] A few boys of the asram sung a vedic song under the direction of Dinendranath. Kshimohan Babu read some hymns from Upanishad and Nepal Babu explain its meaning. Pandit Bidhusekhar Shastri and Bhimrao Shastri read some slokas and explained them.Three boys garlanded Rabindranath and offered strings of grass-bound. Lastly Rabidranath delivered a speech which was noted down by Kalidas Nag.
" I bowed down my head and accepted the blessings offered to me on my head in my birth day. But this blessings were offered to me not because that I am a poet -- those who love me and like my existence are offering this invaluable gift to me -- their heartiest greetings have overflowed on me and drenched me thoroughly -- which give me a new life.. Today I have come to the end of my life and am seeing the aim of my life, I remember the love I have in my boyhood -- I remember the first introductio with this trees, leaves, birds and animals - with this earth -- that is not an acknowledgement with senses but with inner sense of the life -- the matter which becomes lively....."
In the night "Achalayatan" was staged.for two hours which was magnificient.