Wooday P Krishna (2nd from left), Additional Chief Secretary Uma Mahadevan, and senior retired IAS officers Chiranjiv Singh and Adhip Chaudhuri at the book launch on Friday.
Credit: DH PHOTO/ASHWIN BM
Bengaluru: A reprint of JM Kumarappa's 1928 doctoral thesis 'Rabindranath Tagore–India’s Schoolmaster' was launched at the Bangalore International Centre on Friday, revisiting Tagore’s educational philosophy.
Speaking at the launch, educationist Wooday P Krishna, with personal ties to the Brahmo Samaj and the Bengal Renaissance, highlighted how Tagore’s ideas on social reform and modern education shaped his family’s history.
He recalled Tagore’s 1924 lecture in Bengaluru, where he described Raja Ram Mohan Roy as a “universal man”, and noted the city’s tributes to Tagore, from Ravindra Kalakshetra to RT Nagar being named after him. He called the book a timely “revival of a vision” for an Indianised education that cultivates the soul and frees the mind.
Senior retired IAS officer Chiranjiv Singh said that Tagore’s opposition to narrow nationalism and organised religion remains acutely relevant. He shared anecdotes on Tagore’s nearly 3,000 songs and poems, and his forward-thinking educational model at Shantiniketan, which welcomed international teachers and embraced modernist art movements.
Singh said the book’s release is a vital opportunity to “rediscover what he stood for and what he practised”.
The event also featured Additional Chief Secretary Uma Mahadevan and senior retired IAS officer Adhip Chaudhuri.