A peek into Tagore's life

Insightful experience

On the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary, Alliance Francaise held an event showcasing his life and work. The festival was wholesome and included films and a photography exhibition which showcased the life of Tagore till his last birthday.

Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya, the curator of the photos, said that through the photographs, he wanted people to know more about Tagore. “He was one of the most successful individuals in India. He was a writer, poet, painter, musician and lent his life for the country,” he said. The exhibition was a collection of many photographs and included both public as well as personal moments from Tagore’s life.  Some of the memorable pictures included his meeting with M K Gandhi in Shantiniketan in 1920, where he called him ‘Mahatma’ for the first time. Pictures from his land in Shilaidaha, along with the peasants, showed him as a zamindar. There was also a picture of him with Rani Mahalanobis, who is known to have inherited some of his paintings.

His trips to Japan and Europe also found place in the collection. The exhibition showed the various sides of his personality — from a painter to an artist.

There were also a few paintings by him in the exhibition. “There is a doubt among people that Tagore was colour blind but many of his paintings feature the colours red and green prominently,” informed Jyotirmoy.

There was also a screening of select films based on Tagore’s life.

The first one among these was ‘Rabindranath Tagore’, a biography which showed the life of Tagore as a young child, growing to be a genius in the field of art, poetry, paintings, and educational reforms.

The film was an interesting journey about his life and was quite enjoyable.

The other movies were based on Shantiniketan and his dreams for the place. The festival was indeed a great opportunity for everyone in the City to know more about Rabindranath Tagore.