Thursday, May 31, 2012

Rabindranath and Sylvain Levi

Sylvain Lévi was an orientalist and indologist. Born in Paris on March 28, 1863, his book Théâtre Indien is an important work on the subject. Lévi also conducted some of the earliest analysis of Tokharian fragments discovered in Western China.
Born: March 28, 1863, Paris
Died: October 30, 1935, Paris

Rabindranath was informed that Sylvain Levi had started for India from France with his wife on 14th Oct 1921.He became anxious to see that the dream of "union of east and west",  he was keeping in his mind since long,  was going to be fulfilled. When he was in Prague he enquired  Prof Vincenc Lesney whether it would be possible for Prof. Dr. Bernard Geiger, the famous orientalist of Vienna University to become a visiting Professor in Viswa Bharati. He also asked Prof. Lesney to come to Viswa Bharati .Lesney informed on 27th Oct that both of them were eager to join work from next session.Rabindranath became pleased to learn all these things. At the same time he was sad to think that the political situation of his country was not in favour of all these ideals. He wrote all these to Brajendranath Seal in a letter on 31st Oct; " I got hurt at the news of the recently developed sense of differences in the field of education in our country. I am feeling lonely. I have to do things alone when I wanted to do it. Though it gives an opportunity to maintain its purity but without any human cooperation, ones mind becomes sad and tiredsome. And thus the poet inside takes me to task."   The same thing he wrote to Thomas Sturge Moore;  The Strenuous feeling of oppression struggling within me against the political fanaticism which has been blinding our vision, blurring our perspective of humanity was wearing me out, because it was alien to my own realm of truth. I know, as a poet, my work is not for achieving immediate results in urgent human affairs . Even my idea of the International University, growing into an obsession, is hampering mein my life's work...The spreading of the desert of heartless efficiency in the human world cannot be checked by institutions, but by all that have the sap and rythm of life in them however small they may be."