Monday, September 17, 2012

Rabindranath Tagore in China - Peking (contd - 1)

After coming to Peking Rabindranath and his party get their accommodation in the Grand Hotel of Peking. Kshitimohan wrote his wife Kiranbala ;
" We have come to Peking on 23rd April and got our accommodation in the biggest hotel. we stayed there from 23rd to 25th April and on 26th April myself, Nanda Babu and Kalidas Babu left the Peking Hotel. Now we three are staying the house of a business man of Ceylon, Mr. Lethumal.Gurudev and Elmhirst left the hotel on 28th April and took rent of some rooms in a peaceful hotel. Fresh Euopean meals were available there. "
Rabindranath was taking rest in the hotel. Excepting some interview he had no work.
On 25th April, Rabindranath offered a lunch by Anglo-American Association in Grand Hotel des agons Lits at 12.30 PM. Rabindranath delivered his first lecture here addressing the public. The meeting was presided by the President of the Association, Sir Francis Aglen but he had given the responsibility of introducing Rabindranath to his previously known Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman. In reply to the introduction given by Dr. Jacob Rabindranath narrated his experience as a founder of an Institution and as a trans later of his poems and lyrics in English. He said  when he had gone to England he had in contact with some greatman of England and got their friendship.and " when I dropped in Japan on the way to America in 1916, I realized for the first time...the terrible suffering with which the whole world was afflicted . I saw in Japan the war trophies taken from China publicly exhibited ...I felt humiliatied in my own mind at this primitive and brutal perpetuation of the defeat of an enemy... Nationalism, therefore, seemed to me to be pure barbarism, based on pride, greed and lust for power, with wealth dominating the disease, and I shuddered when I saw the result." Having gone to Europe he received enough greetings after the WWI and he felt, " the nations of the West were looking for for some new ideal from the east which would reconstruct their civilisation on a better basis."  He created Viswabharati University with this ideal.