Due to some political reason Radhakishore, Maharaja of Tripura, could not get his second son admitted into the school at Shantiniketan but he helped the school financiaally. Rabindranath replied, in a letter, that he had received with thanks the sum of Rs. 50/- and said that he could feel the love and passion he (Radhakishore) had sent along with this small amount. The love and affection which he had bestowed upon him would stored in the deepest corner of his heart. This he remembered not as a gift from one of the king but from a close friend.TAGORE’S IMMORTAL TIES WITH TRIPURA
Bikach Choudhury
Though lulled to a sequestered life in the backyard of an ancient tribal kingdom, Tripura goes down in the pages of history as a little place almost religiously devoted to fine experiments in arts, crafts and literature. The rulers of this ancient State were not merely patrons of art and culture but a number of them were great exponents in different creative fields. Even the reputed journals of the West mention eloquently their work of art, photography, literature and music. Tripura’s modern era began with Maharaja Birchandra (1862-96) who was a superb painter, an excellent photographer, a great composer of music, a profound scholar of Vaishnav literature and obviously a great connoisseur of all creative activities.
This sagacious ruler created a stir in the literary world by conferring upon young Rabindranath Tagore the honour of the ‘best poet" in 1882. The poet was hardly 21 years old then and he had to his credit only one book of verses - Bhagna Hriday - (The Broken Heart). Birchandra, having read ‘Bhagna Hriday’, was so moved that he immediately sent his minister all the way from Agartala to Jorasanko, home of the Tagores at Calcutta just to convey the message that he discerned in the young poet the promise of a great future. Tagore was taken by surprise.
Tagore very respectfully mentioned the great event in his autobiography Jiban Smriti and paid great tributes to Birchandra on a number of occasions during his sojourns to Tripura.
This was the beginning of an unforgettable tie between the ruling house of an obscure land and a great poet who dominated the literary world. This historic bond lasted for over sixty years till the last days of Tagore. He became the friend, philosopher and guide to the four generations of Tripura rulers.
The elderly Birchandra was quick enough to befriend the young poet. Tagore went to Kurseong twice during 1894 and 1896. On both the occasions he invited Tagore to be his guest of honour and the poet gladly obliged. Those were meetings between two great minds that provided a rare opportunity to both of them to know each other more intimately. Tagore was then hardly thirty-three years old and Birchandra almost double his age. Naturally, the young poet felt shy to open up himself. But in all literary discussions he was treated as an equal. Tagore often recalled the sweet memories of those golden days that he spent together with Birchandra (pic-2) at Kurseong.
Birchandra was quite pained at the ruthless criticism that Tagore’s literary works drew from the critics of that time. He wanted to buy a printing press and invest one lakh rupees, a princely sum in those days, so that decorated editions of Tagore’s works could be published without any hitch from any quarters. But as ill luck would have it, while returning from Kurseong, Birchandra died in Calcutta in 1896. Tagore was naturally very upset. He thought his ties with the Tripura royal family would abruptly come to an end. But it was not be.
There waited more surprises for Rabindranath from this land of eternal love. Birchandra’s worthy son, Radhakishore, lost no time in extending even warmer invitation to Tagore to take his seat of affection in Tripura left void by the death of his illustrious father. Radhakishore ascended the throne in 1897 and died in 1909. During these twelve years, Tagore visited Tripura as many as five times. On innumerable occasions, Radhakishore sought Tagore’s help in rescuing himself from very complicated problems of statecraft which he faced. Tagore’s advice was sought in all matters right from the appointment of ministers, drafting of state budget, framing of code of conduct for the officers of the royal court and general approach towards dealing with erring officials. Leaving aside literature, Tagore lavishly showered his hitherto unknown skills in all these prosaic areas of statecraft. The erstwhile Tripura royal family still preserves the rare historic documents written in Tagore’s own handwriting where he has shown his remarkable ingenuity in matters of public finance, state policy, principle of education and other such matters. Radhakishore virtually became dependent on Tagore in all the areas of day-to-day administration. This naturally irked the officials of the royal court. But Tagore, even at the cost of burning his fingers, did not leave his trusted friend at large.
This short-association of Tagore with Radhakishore(pic-1) had lasting impact on Tripura’s ties with greater Bengal. The benevolent Maharaja contributed liberally in various literary, cultural and scientific endeavors of Bengal. Tagore once approached Radhakishore for financial grant for the scientific research work of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose who was in dire financial state at that time in England. Radhakishore himself was in a very tight financial condition as the palace at Agartala had been struck by a severe earthquake and was to be re-built. besides, the marriage of prince Birendrakishore was on hand. But the ever-generous Radhakishore did not fail to rise to the occasion. He wrote to Tagore that he was prepared to deprive his would-be daughter-in-law from a piece or two of jewelleries for he was sure that in return of that Jagadish Babu would decorate mother India in a much befitting manner. He kept his promise and granted a huge sum of rupees fifty thousand in those days with the only stipulation that his name should not be made public.
Radhakishore also sanctioned an annual grant of Rupees One thousand for Tagore’s Viswa Bharati which was continued for nearly fifty years till the death of the last ruler, Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore.
Radhakishore’s son, Birendra Kishore, also inherited the rare artistic acumen of his grandfather, Birchandra. He was a great painter and a musician, too. Like his forefathers, he extended liberal financial grants to Viswa Bharati. It was during his time that Tripura’s relationship with Tagore acquired a cultural dimension. In 1939, Birchandra’s great-grandson - Maharaj Bir Bikram Kishore, visited Shantiniketan.He deputed Rajkumar Buddhimanta Singh from Tripura as a Manipuri dance teacher at Shantiniketan. Buddhimanta was followed by a number of other talented experts in Manipuri dance from Tripura. They made remarkable contributions in providing the floral foundation of effusive softness, style and grace to Rabindra Nritya.
Following the footsteps of his ancestors, Tripura’s last ruler, Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore, always paid the highest respect to Gurudeb Rabindranath Tagore. It was his privilege to confer on Tagore the honorific title "Bharat Bhaskar" just three months before the death of the great poet. Tagore’s 80th birth anniversary was celebrated at the royal Durbar of Tripura with all solemnity. An emissary was sent to Shantiniketan to formally confer on Tagore this last tribute of Tripura. The ailing poet was so moved by this generous royal gesture that he made no secret of his feelings,"Such a free and disinterested bond of friendship between an immature poet whose fame was yet uncertain and one enjoying royal distinction is unprecedented in the history of any literature. The distinction that this royal family has conferred on me has illumined today the last limits of my life’s span".
During his last visit to Agartala in 1926, while addressing a public meeting Tagore had another occasion to pay his tributes to Tripura. In response to the genuine love showered on him by the Kishore Sahitya Samaj of Agartala, Tagore in his inimitable words said, "Gone too are those days, I had the good fortune to receive great honour; it has been my privilege to receive honour even at the hand of kings in the West. But the tribute I received from a prince of my own country is to me, personally speaking, of much greater value. That is why my relation with this State of Tripura is not just that of a guest for a day. That relation is indeed wedded to the memories of the father and the grandfather of the present king".
Pic-1
