Saturday, April 21, 2012

Rabindranath and Western India (contd-5)

On 6th April  in reply to the greetings of all sections of people in Bhavnagar, Rabindranath delivered his lecture in Hindi.This was the first time he spoke in Hindi. Though he was not well in Hindi, he delivered lectures in Gujarat in Hindi three to four times.
In Bombay, on 11th April,  he delivered his lecture to a gathering of students. This was reported in The Indian Daily News  on 13 April;
"On the invitation of the Students' Brotherhood Dr. Rabindranath Tagore delivered a public address on Sunday and received an enthusiastic reception on his first public appearance in Bombay. Sir Narayan Chandravarkar (Sir Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar (Konkani: नारायण गणेश चन्दावरकर)(December 2, 1855 - May 14, 1923) was an early Indian National Congress politician and Hindu reformer. He was regarded by some as the "leading Hindu reformer of western India), who presided on the occasion, welcomed him on behalf of the Bombay public in eulogistic terms calling him the premier poet of India and maker of modern times.The subject of his speech  was 'the mission of youth" . Dr. Tagore in his lecture expressed his wish not to come before the students who composed the audience in the capacity of a teacher who was old and revered and held at a distance but rather as one who was young in heart and had the deepest sympathy with youth. In India the students of present generation need more than anything else to be constantly reminded that they are young and that it is their duty to find out truth for themselves and to build a new age with their own lives not dwelling merely on the past. .. To remain stationary is to miss truth altogether and to reduce to beggary and make oneself dependent for knowledge and health and wealth upon the fortunate nationals who are on the road of progress. At the conclusion of the address the president presented Dr. tagore rupees five hundred for his school at Santiniketan on behalf of the gathering.
In the night Rabindranath joined a big dinner party in the house of Mrs Petit.