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