Rabindranath Tagore to China (Penang-1) contd-10

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the eighth most populous. It is composed of two parts – Penang Island, where the seat of government is, and Seberang Perai (formerly, and occasionally Province Wellesley) on the Malay Peninsula.
Rabindranath reached Penang City in the morning of 30th Mar.The paper Straits Echoe informed on 31st March;
" Handbill informing the arrival of Rabindranath was distributed among the public yesterday  evening. As a result the port became packed up with the people to see Rabindranath. Before the ship touched the port Advocate and Member of Legislative Council, P.K.Nambyar, went by a steamer with some imported persons to welcome Rabindranath..
The Straits Echoe informed on 31 March ;
" A party of Indian Musicians played weird airs on their sharp-pitched instruments......After the great poet had stepped on to the gangway there was a rush to offer the usual floral tribute...with great difficulty that he was got into a car and home away... The distinguished guest was driven to the residence of the Hon. Mr. P.K.Nambyar in Farquhar street, where large crowds beseiged him throughout the day.'
Rabindranath took rest for the whole day and his associates went to see a Chinese Budhist temple on the top of a hill. Rabindranath wrote a letter to Pratima ; " I often think of Puppe (adopted child of Pratima). But I don't think that she has become anxious in my absence.Many a person will be available  to make her listen the song " Mane na mana".
In the lecture of University Institute Rabindranath expressed his experience about Malaya;
" I have traveled many countries but in Malaya I witnessed a wonderful thing which has given  me pleasure. That is -- this is just a ferry where people from different places such as China, Japan, Java, Sumatra, Australia etc  assemble to move from this place to that. Here people from different nation assembled, still no one felt any enmity ..Many working class people from China came to Malaya and occupied most of the places of Malaya. The local people was reluctant to labour.The people came from India are mostly from Madras and some of them are Shikhs.Those who have come from China are from South China.they have gradually gathered wealth, purchased land and secured big rubber plantation......"
It was decided that the ship would start at 6 PM from Penang , and they would have reached the port at 5.30 AM next day but the ship would start at 10 PM. So, Rabindranath was taken by a car to see different places of Penang.They took their dinner in the house of Mr. Nambyar and started for the next port Sweetenham. 

Rabindranath Tagore to China (Rangoon-3)-contd-9

The Sahitya Sammilani of the domiciled Bengalees organised a Welcome ceremony of Rabindranath Tagore in Suneiram Hall on 25th March presided by the editor of Rangoon Mail, Nripendra Chandra Bandyopadhyay. Moyajjem Ali read the felicitation paper of Rabindranath The biographer of Rabindranath wrote;
" In the background   the head Teacher, Mohit Kumar Mukhopadhyay of a local Bengalee school named Bengal Academy and the litterateur Sudhir Kumar Choudhury was actively participating in  construction of felicitation paper and arrangement of Welcome ceremony. They also arranged a dance programme performed by a Burmese lady."  Mohit Kumar was his elder brother and Sudhir Kumar , husband of Sita Devi (daughter of Ramananda) Viswabharati wrote on the dance programme of the Burmese lady in the Sahitya Sammilani;
"provided the best entertainment for the poet by organising a classical Burmese dance party to the accompaniment of Burmese orchestra dominated by a dainty Burmese Girl interpreting the delicate dance rhythms of Burma, which fascinated the poet and provoked the celebrated artist Nandalal Bose to draw a series of quick sketches while the dance was going on."
Rabindranath wrote to Ranu;
" day before yesterday in the evening I witnessed a dance programme of a Burmese girl. Her dance was very sweet. it was as if the gentle breeze was blowing over the leaves sometimes from the east and sometimes from the south which was making it emotional."
Kalidas Nag took the note of the lecture delivered by Rabindranath at the ceremony of Sahitya Sammilani.
The arrival of Rabindranath created eagerness among the residents of Rangoon about Viswabharati. To convert this eagerness into monitory benefit Elmhirst wanted to form a branch of Viswabharati Sammilani. With this object he wrote to Rathindranath to send immediately with Sudhir Kumar or Mohit Kumar the forms of ordinary members and life members and also the rules and regulations of Viswabharati Sammilani.   

Rabindranath Tagore to China ( Rangoon-2) - contd - 8

In the evening of 24th March at 5.30 PM in the biggest community hall Jubilee Hall of the city Rabindranath was greeted in a citizens welcome ceremony in the presence of  5500 persons which was presided by U.Tuk Kyi, MLA and was offered a felicitation paper. Some lines  of the felicitation was as follows;
" We greet you in the name of that universal culture which you have promoted with admirable devotion and singleness of aim. We greet you in the name of Human Brotherhood, the inculcation of which in East and West has been with you a consuming passion. We greet you as a votary of Truth sensed through beauty. We greet you as one representing the rebirth of Asia, as one who has thrown across the chasm of ignorance and misunderstanding a bridge of future comprehension between Asia and Eur-America. We greet you as the lineal descendant of philosopher-seers of Ancient India, who at the dawn of civilization proclaimed the Unity of Life and knew Humanity for one family transcending barriers of race and clime."
In reply to the Welcome address Rabindranath gave long speech ; He said;
" Every great nation have contributed something which happened to be the world's treasure. In ancient time India established a relation with the rest of the world which was not based upon their trade or extension of their territory. That was based on some great ideals. In the glorified past of the nation the messengers of the religious and cultural field of India went to distant places and informed them that they had brought something which would help them to tie their friendship for ever.  the great contribution of Hindu Philosophy is the strength of the unity."
Elmhirst wrote to Rabindranath on 26th March;
" The local Gujrathi people wanted to utilize the occasion politically."

Rabindranath Tagore to China (Rangoon-1) - contd- 7

Tagore and Burma
Tagore visited Burma three times during the colonial period. He visited Shwedagon Pagoda on May 5, 1916, and Indians in Rangoon celebrated his birthday on May 8 that year at Jubilee Hall in Rangoon. He attended the “Bengali Literature Conference” held in Rangoon on March 24, 1924, and stayed in Rangoon for four days. An inscription engraved in both Burmese and English marks his visit to a building at No. 392-396 Merchant Street, Rangoon, on the east wall of “Guardian Magazine.” He also visited Burma from October 22-24, 1927, for the Dewali Festival.
During his first visit, he noted that Indians were a majority and Burmese were a minority in Rangoon. He wrote, “Burma did not look like Burma when I reached there. Rangoon just exists on a map and it’s as if it didn’t really exist on the ground. In other words, the city does not look like a tree growing from the ground, it looks like a bubble drifting in the water.”
Admirers of Tagore’s literature established the “Burma- Tagore Association” in 1952. Burmese writer Paragu translated at least five books by Tagore. Many of his poems and stories were translated by other writers including Maung Phyu, Zaw Gyi, Min Thu Wun, Mya Than Tint, Myint Soe Hlaing and Hein Latt.

The well-known works of Tagore in Burmese are Gitanjali, Gardener, Stray Birds, and Picking Fruits and Sitra.
On 24th March, 1924, in the morning at about 8 AM before the ship touched the shore and could anchor, some important members of reception committee came to the ship by a steamer and accorded welcome to Rabindranath. The ship having reached the shore a renowned businessman J.A.K.Jamal garlanded Rabindranath and a Burmese lady offered a bunch of flowers to him to welcome him. Then they fetched Rabidranath to a beautiful house at Bigonded Street.The Governor of Burma Sir Harcourt Butler greeted them to offer a lunch. The diary of Kalidas Nag noted that the invitation of the Governor of Burma and the Chinese Community, by this time, reached the ship by wire on 22 nd March..

Rabindranath Tagore to China (contd-6)

The associates of Rabindranath had a responsibility that they had to report daily about Rabindranath enroute their journey. Elmhirst was the Secretary of Rabindranath- he frequently sent report about Rabindranath to Rathindranath. The report and the paper cutting sent by Elmmhirst was printed in the Bulletin of Santiniketan in subsequent two issues. Moreover he had another duty. he had to take down the note of the lecture delivered by Rabindranath and print those reports.According to the routine of work of his associates Kshitimohan Sen informed on 23rd March that Rabindsranath had undertaken the responsibility of writing the lecture notes of China.. He wrote that the first lecture note was to some extent lengthy. He had to edit the first one and make the second note. Kalidas Nag took notes in his dairy  which contained many detailed information.this was subsequently published in the book, "Kabir Sange Eksodin"
It was in the habit Rabindranath to describe informations of his journey  in letters written to different persons. 

Rabindranath Tagore to China - 1924 (contd-5)

The Communist Party of China was established in 1921. But the intellectuals and the young generation came across with the English translation just after its publication i.e. in 1913 and the Chinese translation of the English version was started in 1915 and  within 1922, most of Rabindranath's lyrics, drama, novel, essays were translated - in some cases more than once. Rabindranath's writings had extended influence on Chinese literature specially on poems.  Sisir Kumar Das and Taan Oen in their book " Bitarkita Atithi" had discussed thoroughly about these translations and influence of Tagore on those translations.
But from the end of nineteenth century the Marxian thought and its programme of action had spread throughout China in such a way that no other ideas and thoughts were not acceptable to them and other thoughts and ideas were reproachable . The same thing happened in the case of Rabinderanath. Those who were in favour of Rabindranath's writings, began to condeemn after getting Marxian thoughts.
The report Elmhirst supplied in this country after coming from China explained fully so that the socio-political situation made Rabindranath hesitant in writing lecture notes for China. This hesitation was expressed in the letter written by Rabindranath to Romand Rollaind;

"...I myself have a kind of civil war constantly going on in my own nature between my personality at a creative artist who necessarily must be solitary and that as an idealist who must realise himself through works of a complex character needing a large field of collaboration with a large body of men....I suppose a proper rhythm is possible to be attained in which both may be harmonised, and my work in the heart of the crowd may find its grace through the touch of breath that comes from the solitude of the creative mind...I earnestly hope that I shall be rescued in time before I die. In the mean time I go to China, in what capacity I donot know. Is it as a poet, or as a bearer of good advice and sound common sense ?"    

Rabindramnath Tagore to China - 1924 (contd-4)

The information given by Hsu Chi-mo (pic-lt)was not exaggerated. The crisis of China at that time was the contradiction between the two contradictory ideals .The exploitation by different foreign powers completely devastated the political, economical, and cultural life of China. The contradiction between the ideals of communism  implemented in Soviet Russia  influenced the youths and the intellectuals and the old traditional values of  distorted China followed by a section of older people. This contradiction had rightly explained in the book written,
" Bitarkita Atithi" by Sisir Kumar Das (pic-rt) and Taan Oen. According to them ;
" When Rabindranath went to China, the country was involved in a tempestuous weather determined to a change. A few years ago, an unprecedented revolution had started in Language and Literature. For the last five to seven years the elites wanted a radical change in language, idea in religion, style of writing, social system, and politics. A few years ago in 1919 a historical incident took place on 4th May in China.
 (The May Fourth Movement (traditional Chinese: 五四運動; simplified Chinese: 五四运动; pinyin: Wǔsì Yùndòng) was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem. These demonstrations sparked national protests and marked the upsurge of Chinese nationalism, a shift towards political mobilization and away from cultural activities, and a move towards populist base rather than intellectual elites.

The broader use of the term "May Fourth Movement" often refers to the period during 1915-1921 more often called the New Culture Movement.)

The Communist Party of China was established in 1921. Both the Rightist and the Leftist Party of China wanted a change in Social and Political systems in China and to accelerate this   a section of people wanted a rapid transformation to industrialisation. With the help of technical development the old ideas of religion to be totally iradicated..... The new society of China got its lesson either from Japan or from Europe and America.They observed that Japan got its military strength from technical development ( China too experienced its military strength) and became equal in status with Europe by economic development. Observing the days of japan, the intellectuals of China decided to develop technical knowledge and with the help of technical development they can fight out the inertia of spiritualism. In western philosophy the thinking of John Due and Bertrand Russel inspired a  section of people who wanted to a change in the administration dominated by  Confucious thought. On the other hand, another section inspired by the ideals of Russian Revolution and Marxian thoughts wanted to do the same thing.Since 4th May movement many cultural organisations developed who were translating the foreign literatures ( Rabindra-sahitya was one among them).At the same time a political upliftment took place due to the influence of  Marxian thought."