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Mainstream, Vol 62 No 40, October 5, 2024

Rabindranath Tagore and the need for civilisational dialogue | Archishman Raju

Saturday 5 October 2024

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In a letter to Rabindranath Tagore in anticipation of his visit to China, the Chinese poet Xu Zhimo wrote “Your influence suggests the very return of spring: as sudden and as marvelous. Our youths, newly emancipated, like the tender buds on the stem, need but the embrace of the southern breeze and the kiss of the morning dew to set them aflower, and you have supplied it.” Xu Zhimo was one of several literary figures in China who were deeply moved by Tagore’s poetry and their interaction with Tagore was part of a civilizational dialogue that took place between India and China as a result of Tagore’s visit in 1924.

Tagore met and invited Tan Yun Shan, a native of Hunnan to come to India in 1927. Tan Yun Shan played a remarkable role in the shaping of India-China relations, setting up Cheena Bhavan in Shantiniketan with Tagore.

His son Tan Chung continued his work and produced a remarkable amount of scholarship on India and China. His youngest daughter Chameli Ramachandran was born in Shantiniketan in 1940 and given her name by Tagore himself. She took up Chinese ink and brush as a medium for her art and developed a unique style of painting reflecting both her Chinese and Indian heritage.

Chameli Ramachandran was honoured with the Gandhi Shanti Doot Award by Gandhi Global Family this past Monday, 23rd September in Gandhi Peace Foundation to mark this landmark visit of Tagore 100 years later. The honour was given for her own work but was also an honour given in recognition of the contribution of her whole family towards understanding and peace between India and China.

This honour was part of a 2-day event which explored the significance of Tagore’s visit in light of our present day situation. The first day saw presentations by Manoranjan Mohanty, former professor at Delhi University and distinguished China scholar. Prof. Mohanty spoke of his own experience meeting Tan Chung and taking up the cause of civilizational dialogue. He talked about his experience meeting Tan Chung and how he got interested in India-China relations. He talked about the importance of Tagore’s mysticism which must be combined with a material outlook. He said we have to see the unity of the whole world consisting of different civilizations. Prof. Mohanty said Tagore was an anti-imperialist but also a mystic and it is important that we understand this mysticism. He emphasized the people must have their own channels of interaction.

His talk was followed by Ram Mohan Rai, general secretary of Gandhi Global Family and former associate of Nirmala Deshpande. Mr. Rai talked about his experience in the 1970s and the hopeful possibility then of a peaceful, socialist, secular and democratic South Asia. He then spoke of how the CIA and imperialist forced had worked to destabilize South Asia. He talked about his association with Nirmala Deshpande who used to believe that she was a Chinese woman in her previous birth. Nirmala Deshpande wrote a novel Chingling that was written about the experience of a Chinese woman who joins Vinoba Bhave’s movement.

The event was then addressed by Syeda Hamid, former member of the Planning Commission. Ms. Hamid quoted lines from Tagore’s talks in China and spoke of the importance of India and China having two young populations and the need for peace.

Finally, the event was addressed by Saaed Naqvi, well-known journalist who spoke of how Rabindranath Tagore was a renaissance man and talked about the cultural connections in Asia that included Persia. He spoke of Tagore’s trip to Iran and how he paid his respects to the poets of Iran.

The event also had a cultural performance where members of the organization Support for Enlightenment Foundation performed Rabindra Sangeet and also a dramatic rendition of Tagore’s poetry.

The second day of the event was organized by the Institute of Chinese Studies in partnership with Gandhi Global Family, India International Center, Visvabharati University, and Intercivilizational Dialogue Project. The event included a photo exhibition, an international conference and a cultural program.

The photo exhibition included photos of Tagore’s trip to China and photos of Tan Yun Shan. It was inaugurated by a lamp lighting by K. N. Shrivastava, director India International Centre and Alka Acharya, honorary director of Institute of Chinese Studies.
?This was followed by the international conference. The conference convened by Sabaree Mitra, professor at JNU included Manoranjan Mohanty, well known author Uday Narayan Singh, renowned Tagore scholar Uma Dasgupta, JNU Professor Mridula Mukherjee, former Ambassador Vinod Khanna, Manabendra Mukhopadhyay from Visva-Bharati and renowned Tagore scholar Samik Bandhopadhyaya from Kolkata.

Further, there were four Chinese delegates to the conference. Prof. Wei Liming from Peking University, Prof. Huang Rong from Shenzhen University, Xiao Xingzheng from Xiamen University and Huang Yinghong from O. P. Jindal Global University.

The discussion was on Tagore’s 1924 trip as a landmark cultural event, the legacy of Tan Yun Shan, Tagore’s philosophy and ideas of nationalism and humanism. The Chinese delegates spoke of how beloved Tagore is in China and the activities they are doing to teach Chinese students about Tagore and his ideas. Prof. Xiao spoke of how he was trying to do Chinese poetry in Tagore’s style and had translated Gitanjali into Chinese. Prof. Wei Liming spoke of her activities in promoting Tagore’s spirit in Peking University. Prof. Huang Rong spoke of the legacy of Tan Yun Shan.

This was followed by a cultural program where students and faculty of JNU performed Rabindra Sangit including songs that showed Tagore’s connection to the Indian Freedom Struggle and his love for Asia.

Students from JNU performed a play by Rabindranath Tagore, Postmaster translated into Chinese. Finally, students from Visva-Bharati performed both Rabindra Sangit and Rabindra Nritya for a wonderful evening celebrating Tagore’s cultural vision.

The conference was a beginning in the kind of cultural and scholarly exchange between countries that is becoming all the more urgent in our time. Evidently, the relationship between India and China will become important not only for the two countries themselves but for the world as a whole and the need for civilizational exchange in a spirit of peace and understanding is the urgent need of the moment.

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