Thursday, July 5, 2012

Rabindranath and Lord Lytton -1923.

Lytton [1876-1947] started off his official career by filling up various posts in the Admiralty between 1916 and 1920, before being appointed Under-Secretary of State for India, a post which he held between 1920 and 1922. He was also made a Privy Counsellor in 1919. In 1922 he was posted as Governor of Bengal, remaining there until 1927.
Victor Alexander George Robert Lytton [1876 - 1947], 3rd Governor of Bengal came to visit Santiniketan . But Bidhushekhar Sashtri and others, supporters of Non-cooperation movement launched by Gandhi, was not agreeable to remain present at the welcome address of Lord Lytton. The biographer of Rabindranath wrote;
" Lord Lytton came to Santiniketan after visiting Surul Agricultural Institution . Since some elder teachers boycotted the meeting of welcome address of  Lytton, Rabindranath requested me to take the lead in welcoming Lord Lytton. When the car of Lord Lytton stopped by the side of the house "Dehali" I welcome him and took him to "Amra Kunja". Gretchen Green wrote in her autobiography the welcome address of Lytton;
" His Excellency, the Governor of Bengal , has visted us. Great excitement, but no eyewash by order of the Poet and Elmhirst, both wanting him to see things as they are.
There was no trumphal arch, only the Boy Scouts were drawn up at the gate and the gardener stationed with an offering of vegetables. It was noon , when his excellency arrived, so Elmhirst brought him straight to the housetop for a wash-up.
Chowkaddars   stood at attention  the length of the way to Santiniketan;  the ruts in road had been hastily levelled by order of an unctuous office-seeker. The Poet received under the mango trees, the ground alpoonad in a gorgeous design . There were songs and sweets and pleasant chatter."
As because Rabindranath and Elmhirst did not go in the way of the Government's assistance , the reconstruction plan of Surul got sufficient govt. aid to its programme.