My time in Bolpur, home to the legendary Shantiniketan was spent like an idyllic hour at an opera. Thanks to the efforts of my friend I had procured a room, nay a cottage on the bank of a lake with a deer park on the other shore. Nirvana !!!
My journey in a passenger local was an exciting ride, the sights and smells of an India that is missing from our cities. I spent 3 hours savouring local delicacies courtesy the vendors and downing cups of lemon tea that is the local speciality. By the time I landed in Bolpur and my forest getaway I was well and truly disconnected from ... well ... everything. Bolpur, timeless and ethereal has a charm that eludes our travels to places like Dubai and Bangkok. As if the view of the lake was not seductive enough, morning brought with it a species of Siberian birds, gracefully feeding on the fish and resuming a nirvanic asana on lotus stalks post feeding. I was watching the whole exercise open mouthed while my morning coffee lying untouched.
My lunch at a roadside eatery was the condition on which my trip was planned by my friend. There was a list of eateries to visit and a list of items to try. My meal on a leaf, rice with vegetables and a cold sprite was .... surreally simple yet divine. Of course as a Mumbaikar my tryst with street food can fill pages. But this was different. I was not grabbing a bite to rush off somewhere. I felt like I had come from nowhere and had nowhere to go. Then came my trip around the Shantiniketan grounds.
Bari after beautiful bari .... divinely simple sculptures by legendary artists, artifacts and relics from Tagore's life ..all added up to an afternoon I will never forget. Most stirring of all was to read the poem that Tagore dedicated to his muse, the love of his life Kadambari ... his pole star and light. Their tragic romance will be, has to be discussed for it's sheer prosaic drama and tragedy. All of which added up in creating the Tagore we all grew to love and admire. The genius who won the hearts of many around the world had his own broken into pieces. But then, if it weren't for tragedy where would all the great artists be ?
A collection of Shantiniketan images ...
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