Rabisarani

Sukeshi Devi, wife of the poet's nephew Kritindranath, dies of influenza in Santiniketan.

Poet writes to Amal Home, mourning Ajitkumar's death.

There have been numerous invitations from different personalities and institutions in South India since his recent visit there. So accompanied by son-in-law Nagendranath and painter Surendranath Kar poet embarks on an extensive tour.

Prof. Radhakrishnan, Vice-chancellor of Mysore University has already written to him assuring him - "…and the visit may be arranged in such a manner as to suit your own convenience and inclination."

Poet reaches Bangalore (now Bengaluru) via Madras (now Chennai), crowds of admirers getting him at almost each station.

Fine Arts exhibition inaugurated.

Felicitated at a grand reception organised by Bangalore Amateur Dramatic Association, presented a fine silver casket containing the address.

Poet reads The Message of the Forest.

At the same venue he reads The Centre of Indian Culture in which he for the first time expounds the ideal underpinning Viswa-Bharati.

Organised by students of different colleges and schools. In merry humour Rabindranath addresses them - "There are men who are old, old not in the tenth century after Christ or tenth century before Christ, but in the 20th I mean; and some who are 57 like myself, but in reality not older than 27."

Speaks on Education in General at Rangacharlu Memorial Hall, Mysore.

Felicitated by students of Maharaja College and other institutions. They also donate Rs. 500/- for the Santiniketan vidyalaya.

Visits Maharani College in the evening and reads The Trial.

Mysore University fails to please or impress the poet who writes - "There is absolutely nothing of our own in it, it's an imitation-every inch of it."

Rabindranath at the hill resort.

Given a civic reception in Coimbatore.

Arrives in Palakkad to a great ovation.

Civic reception at Pentland Gardens in the evening. A sandalwood casket inlaid with ivory containing the address presented to the poet.

Citizens donate Rs. 1008/- for Santiniketan vidyalaya.

Felicitated by students of Palakkad at Banol Mission Hall.

Arrives in Salem at night.

In conversation with the local elite, talks about litrature and politics informally. In his opinion the repressive Rowlatt Bill is no law at all. Reads the English translation of Gandharir Avedan.

Big civic reception at the local Electric Theatre in the afternoon. Poet reads The Centre of Indian Culture. Later at another function he reads an English translation of Karnakuntisamvad.

Arrives at Trichi Fort station to a rousing reception.

Civic reception at Laviey Hall in the evening. In his reply poet reads The Message of the Forest.

Arrives here the next day.

Welcomed at the local college. Reads The Spirituality in the Popular Religion of India.

In Tanjore. Visits Union Club and Havlock Library; reads The message of the Forest at a local theatre. Sees a performance of Sakuntala staged by Sudarshan Sabha.

Back in Trichinapalli he reads The Centre of Indian Culture before the women members of the Hindu Religious Union and witnesses the performance of a play staged in aid of Santiniketan. Leaves for Madurai at night.

Reads The Message of the Forest before a mammoth audience at the local American Missionary College.

Down with influenza.

Takes a week's rest.

Reads his second lecture The Spirit of Popular Religion at the assembly hall of American College.

Visits Union Club. In the evening he delivers his last lecture on Education in India. Proceeds from the lecture donated to Santiniketan.

Leaves for Madanapalli.

His friend J.A. Cousins, principal of Woods College, welcomes him and he stays at the college.

Having learnt from Cousins that the students are organising a relief fund in aid of the disaster-hit people of the adjacent regions, he offers "to deliver a special lecture in Madanapalle, in aid of the relief fund." He also hands over a bank order he's just received from Japan.

It is most probably at this meeting that he sings Janaganamana and translates into English under the title The Morning Song of India.

Arrives in Bangalore.

Postpones the Madras visit (now Chennai) for the time being chiefly because the conservative Brahmins of the city are very vocal in their criticism of his advocacy of V.J.Patel's Bill on inter-caste marriage in his letter recently printed in the Modern Review.

Writes a long letter to The New India setting out his views.

Reads The Spirit of Popular Religion in India at the local Mythic Society.

Arrives in Madras.

Delivers his address The Centre of Indian Culture as the Chancellor of National University at Gokhale Hall in Armenian Street, Madras.

Lectures on The Message of the Forest.

Lectures on The Spirit of Popular Religion in India.

Visits Presidncy College, is welcomed by principal Allan, female students of Queen Mary College and others. Reads The Autumn Festival.

Visits Law College with Andrews. Presented with an address by the students.

Visits other educational institutions too.

Sudden illness. Doctors advise rest. Poet nevertheless leaves for Kolkata.

Back in Kolkata.

At this Vichitra session Rabindranath gives an account of his tour in south India.

Before a massive and distinguished audience gathered at the theatre he reads The Centre of Indian Culture. The proceeds donated to the Vidyalaya.

Back in Santiniketan.

Goes to see a circus with the students of the school.

Reads The Centre of Indian Cultue to the inmates of the asram.

Reads The message of the Forest to the inmates.

Arrives in the city accompanied by Dinendranath and Andrews on the way to Benaras.

Reads The Message of the Forest at Basu Vignyan Mandir at Jagadish Chandra's invitation.

Arrives in Benaras. He is now the guest of Ranu's father, Phanibhusan Adhikari from 29th March to 6th April, 1919. He'd promised Ranu that he'd stay with them when he would next come to Benaras. Thus a promise is kept.

Agitation against the Rowlatt Act (Bill passed on 18th March) at its height in the country. At Gandhiji's call a countrywide hartal is observed on 6th April. He writes to the poet asking him to support the movement (5th April). The poet's declaration of support is conveyed in a letter writen to Gandhi and published in The Indian daily News (16th April). In this historic letter Rabindranath addresses Gandhi as "Mahatmaji" and also offers the salutary warning - "Power in all its forms is irrational - it is like the horse that drags the carriage blindfolded." Many lives were lost in police firing during clashes between the police and the agitators in Delhi, Amritsar, Lahore, Kolkata and the government unleashed brutal repression.

Things come to a crisis in Punjab. Alarmed by the unity of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus achieved in the struggle, the colonial government resorts to increasingly barbarous measures to quell the movement. The Jalianwallabagh massacre (379 killed, 1200 wonded) occurs on 13th April, 1919. Gujranwallah is bombed and people machinegunned. Martial law is imposed on Punjab, the press is gagged. News is scarce at first but continues to trickle out and soon the country is appalled.

At a reception the Bengali students of Benaras Hindu University present an address to him.

Felicitated at the Benaras branch of Bangiya Sahitya Parishad.

Returns to Santiniketan.

Prayers held in the temple at Santiniketan on the first day of the Bengali new year. Rabindanath speaks on the occasion.

A monthly magazine for people connected with the Santiniketan asram begins publication in April.

Andrews was in Delhi to gather news, writes to Rabindranath, returns to Santiniketan for consultations, goes back to Delhi, travels to Bombay to meet Gandhi and accompanies the latter to Ahmedabad. But the British authorities do not permit him to visit Punjab. Frustrated, he returns to Santiniketan.

By now enough horrifying details of British bestiality, sadistic violence and racist arrogance have reached him and filled him with unbearable agony which is rendered all the more unbearable by the craven silence of the political class and its failure to protest.

Starts writing this series of socio-political commentary.

A letter written to Ranu who's holidaying in Simla with her family at this time gives a glimpse of his agony -- "Now that you are in Punjab, perhaps you get some news of Punjab's misery. The heat of this misery has burnt the ribs in my breast…"

Sends Andrews to Gandhiji with a proposal that both of them would go to Delhi and try to enter Punjab, court arrest while doing so and thus register their protest. Andews comes back carrying Gandhi's reply that he does not want to embarrass the government now. Poet also consults Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das but draws a blank. This is briefly the chain of events which forms the background of and inevitably culminates in his decision to renounce his knighthood in protest against the unspeakable brutalities perpetrated by the government in Punjab.

Sits up all night to write his very famous letter resigning the knighthood in protest against the Punjab atrocities. It states -- "The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in their incongruous context of humiliation…" It is dated 31st May, 1919 and addressed to the Viceroy.

It creates a sensation even beyond the shores of India and the Anglo-Indian press is up in arms against him. By this time poet has started penning the poems later collected in Lipika.

Goes to see the ailing Ramendrasundar.

Jagadish Chandra Bose writes a three word letter to Rabindranath after hearing the news of renouncing the Knighthood by the poet in protest against Jallianwala Bagh killings.

Ramendrasundar passes away in Kolkata at the age of fifty-five.

Gandhiji considers the step taken by the poet "premature" and says so in a letter written to S.Shastri.

A session of the club held. Poet reads poems.

Writes the song-- Ami jwalba na more.

Back in Santiniketan.

He's busy writing the pieces later collected in Lipika.

His long association with Rolland (1868-1944, French writer, Nobel laureate) now begins. Ideologically they have a great deal in common and these deep affinities bring them close to each other in the post-War situation. Romain Rolland invites him to lend his support to and join an international movement against the horrors of war and aggression. Rolland, Henri Barbusse and others are striving to organise a global peace movement to prevent war and bloodshed and have circulated worldwide a manifesto 'Declaration of Independence of the Spirit' which has been signed by many famous personalities from different countries. They've sent the manifesto to the poet, too.

In his reply to Rolland, Rabindranath lends unstinted support. Rolland will write back in August, 1919.

Visva-Bharati starts functioning in real earnest.

Poet delivers an address on the occasion briefly mentioning the basic tenets of the vision underlying the new University.

Melbourne University writes to him extending an invitation; invitations from other Australian universities also arrive, poet keen to go, but later he will shelve his plans for a visit to Australia for various reasons.

In Vidyar Jachai (Santiniketan, June-July issue) he echoes his familiar critique of the prevailing education system--"Now the question is increasingly arising as to why we have not yet been able to express original views powerfully on any subject in spite of our very long apprenticeship in the English school. The reason is: we have borrowed our intelligence too, from the same place from where we borrowed our learning in the first place."

A variety of developmental, infrastructural activities in progress in Santiniketan for the University.

Meeting held in the memory of Ramendrasundar Trivedi at University Institute hall. Poet attends, but doesn't speak due to indisposition.

Back in Santiniketan.

Nandalal Basu arrives in Santiniketan as teacher of painting after summer vacation. Surendranath kar has already joined. Thus a small beginning is made for Kalabhaban.

Similarly a small beginning is made for Sangeetbhaban, also.

The play is performed by the students and teachers of Santiniketan,as usual. Rabindranath plays the role of the Sannyasi.

Puja vacation commences in Santiniketan.

Writes to Ranu from Santiniketan that he's going to Shillong.

Accompanied by son and daughter-in-law, poet leaves Kolkata for Shillong.

Stays at Brookside.

In Guahati, enjoys his host Gyanabhiram Barua's hospitality.

In Vidyasamabaya (Santiniketan, Sept-Nov issue) he analyses the imperative of combining the best of east and west in educaton -- an imperative he's already pursuing at his University -- "Therefore, in our schools of knowledge we will have to make room for European learning as an integral part alongside Vedic, Puranic, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim and Persian streams of learning in our combined scheme of study."

Civic reception at Jubilee Park.

Reception at Curzon Hall.

Goes to Syllet via Lumding, arrives.

Almost 5000 men and women gather at Town Hallfor the civic reception given to the poet. In reply Rabindranath delivers a lecture later printed in the Prabashi (Poush issue) under the title Bangalir Sadhana.

Felicitated by 4000 students at Srihatta Colege Hostel.

Witneses Manipuri dance performed by Manipuri children. Fascinated, he will soon introduce it in Santiniketan.

Arrives in Agartala -- his sixth visit here.

Visits Umakanta Academy School.

Meets Maharaja Virendrakishore Manikya who secretly donates Rs 5000/- for the proposed hospital at Santiniketan.

The maharaja also agrees to send two experts to Santiniketan to teach Manipuri dance. Kumar Buddhimanta Singh will before long come down to Santiniketan in this connection.

Returns to Kolkata.

Arrives in Santiniketan.

Nandalal Basu suddenly leaves Santiniketan for The Indian Society of Oriental Art, Kolkata. Rabindranath is rather bitter about it.

Poet shifts to his new residence called Uttarayan.

Busy with work at Vidyalaya -- taking classes, planning lessons.

Asitkumar Haldar soon fills the gap created by Nandalal's departure.

Poush festival is celebrated with flourish. Rabindranath delivers four lectures today.

Annual meeting of Brahmacharyasram and Visva-Bharati. Dr. Chunilal Basu presides.

35th annual session in Amritsar. Motilal Nehru presides. Poet composes three English hymns or prayers for the session.

• Light thy signal father, for us…

  ---

• Yet I can never believe that you are lost to us…

  ---

• If it is thy will let us rush…

  ---