August 7 is the death anniversary of renowned poet and philosopher Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Keeping in mind his close association with the Kumaon region of this hill state, it will be apt to recall his days spent here. It is a matter of great pride that this distinguished writer and poet wrote verses of his magnum opus Gitanjali while he was on one of his visits to this hill region.
When Gurudev came to the hills of Kumaon in the year 1903 and remained there till June, he was at Ramgar. He stayed in a cottage amid apple orchards and pines from where one gets a breathtaking panoramic view of the Himalayas from Chaukhamba to the Nepal Himalayan ranges. The place left him spell bound and became a great favourite with him. The house where Gurudev lived at Ramgarh was on a high ridge and is now known as “Tagore Top”. It is situated at a height of 8,500 feet above sea level. His love affair with the hills of Kumaon is well-known . He came back to these hills again and again. His last holiday in Kumaon was in Almora, four years before his death in 1941.
In the summer of 1937, Tagore spent a very creative time at Almora where he stayed at a bungalow which is now known as “Tagore House” or Tagore Bhavan, located in the cantonment area of Almora. It now houses the cantonment board office.
In May and June 1937, Tagore stayed here and wrote his poems “Sejuti”, “Akaash Pradeep” and “Nobojaatok” besides his book on science “Bishwa Porichoy”. He also made some sketches with local colours. A bronze inscription which has the face of the great poet and philosopher can be seen at the Tagore House.
The day Gurudev came to Almora in 1937, the famous poet of Kumaon — Gaur Da — recited a poem at a huge public reception organised at the Ramsay Inter College. In the poem, Gaur Da said that two suns had arisen in the skies that day-one was the natural sun and the other Tagore.
However, this was not Gurudev’s first visit to Kumaon. In the summer of the year 1903, he came here as a grief-stricken father, with two of his children, trying to find solace in the serene Himalayas in Kumaon. He was both father and mother to his children in his lonely retreat in the pines.
His wife Mrinalini had passed away in 1902 and his twelve- year-old daughter Renuka had contracted tuberculosis In early May in 1903, he had left for the Kumoan hills with Renuka and his younger son, Samindranath. He stayed in Ramgarh near Nainital till August and wrote the series of poems “Shishu” (The Child) that became known as “The Crescent Moon” in order to entertain the motherless children. He took the two children back to Calcutta and in mid-September 1903, Renuka died. later, even Sami died (1907).
But Tagore could never forget the peaceful ambience of the Kumaon Himalyas and kept returning to their echoing silence to experience tranquility which inspired him greatly. He wrote some verses of “Gitanjali” while he was in Kumaon in 1903. And it was here that the idea of Visva Bharati first came to his mind. It is believed that he had even thought of setting up an ashram in the Himalayas.
The influence of Tagore on the culture and literature of Kumaon can also be seen as a result of his several visits to the hill region and also due to the fact that some of the writers of those days visited or studied at Santiniketan.
The great writer from Kumaon, Gaura Pant Shivani ,along with her older siblings, was sent to Santiniketan and studied there for almost a decade until she graduated in 1943. She was strongly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and the Bengali culture and this is evident in her works like Krishnakali. When Tagore came to Almora, he always visited Shivani’s family.
Many of the Kumaoni stories and also the works of Mrinal Pandey and Ira Pandey,daughters of Shivani, have a flavour which is reminiscent of Bengali culture and literature. The simplicity of lifestyle and the highly idealistic thinking, along with the love for traveling can be seen in Bengali and Kumaoni cultures and works of writing. Shivani’s women characters remind one of those in Tagore’s and Sarat Chandra’s novels.
On this day, Uttarakhand remembers this great writer, philosopher and poet who found serenity in times of happiness as well as grief in the arms of the mighty Himalayas. Some of his immortal poems /songs were inspired by the timeless magic of these hills.