Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore, as a world poet, was honored with the
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, and had great influence in
Indonesia, particularly prior to World War II. However, some of
his works were published after Indonesia's independence was
declared. Therefore, it is necessary to trace the relationship
between Rabindranath Tagore and Indonesian artists and thinkers
of that time as well as today.

Tagore visited Indonesia from Aug. 22, to Sept. 27, 1927. He
visited the Java and Bali islands, and met the king of Yogyakarta
and kings of Gianyar and Klungkung in Bali. It should be
remembered that Raden Mas Noto Suroto, a Javanese nobleman and
grandson of prince Paku Alam V of Yogyakarta, was himself already
widely known as a poet.

His own work, written rhythmical prose, was strongly
influenced by Tagore. Noto Suroto was so full of gratitude for
what the poet from India had come to mean to him, that he named
his eldest son after his literary and spiritual guru in Javanese,
Rawindra Noto Suroto.

The Cultural Studies Program of the School of Letters of
Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali, in corporation with the
Indian Embassy in Jakarta, organized an international seminar on
Rabindranath Tagore and Indonesia's cultural observers, to
commemorate 137th anniversary of his birth.

The seminar, held on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17, was presented to
promote cultural links between India and Indonesia. Some
prominent Indonesian scholars were invited. It was the first time
in Indonesia that a convention of Indonesian and Indian scholars
was held to discuss Tagore's ideas and evaluate their relevance
to modern times.

Rabindranath Tagore worked for one supreme cause, the union of
all sections of humanity in sympathy and understanding of truth
and love. His Visva Bharati is an international university, where
the whole world has become a single nest. Here he tried to impart
the background of internationalism and help students to realize
the true character of our interlinked humanity and a deeper
uniting of our civilizations in the west and east.

What the world needs today is universal charity. In Hungary,
near Bulton Lake, where he recuperated from his illness, he
planted a tree on Nov. 8, 1926, and wrote the following lines in
the guest book: "When I am no longer on this earth, my tree, let
the ever renewed leaves of the spring murmur to the wayfarers,
the poet did love while he lived."

DR. SOMVIR

Visiting lecturer for

School of Letters

Udayana University

Denpasar, Bali