It is beyond one’s imagination how timorous last moments of life can be. A house tightly shut for several days and only Chopin played on piano flowing out, embracing the thin air of the hills of Kasauli in India. Here in this house where Marie Antoinette Gottesmann, Amrita Sher Gil’s mother,an excellent pianist by her own right, shot herself, reminding us of her daughter’s untimely accidental death at the age of twenty-nine. This house is presently owned by Sher-Gil’s nephew Vivan Sundaram who too is a well known artist. Anyone who has an inclination for paintings should visit this house which is bound to cast a lasting poignant image. (see VISUALS)
Nothing else than book
2008's Kolkata Book Fair will be held from 30th January to 10th February at Park Circus Maidan. Known as the largest book fair in Asia and attended by the largest number of visitors in the world, is still facing a tough competition from the residents of the area who are protesting the choice of site. The site is located near a large government hospital and traffic will block the streets is their main complain.
Bangladesh remembered
Where is Shilaidaha ? Its in kustia district now in Bangladesh. The Tagores had a palacial building which still exits ,being maintained as a national monument by the Government. Rabindranath often visited this place and it is here that he translated Gitanjali to English for which he won the Nobel Prize. Its not only Gitanjali that matters, the well maintained monument still attracts visitors from abroad on the occasion of Tagore's birthday. Of the innumerable pieces Tagore had produced from this estate 'Sonar Tari' is one such to remember.
Pinnacle of music
2006 celebrates 75th year of publication (published in 1931) of the book Gitabitan by Rabindranath Tagore. It has a collection of 2212 songs. Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913. The Nobel committee commented "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West". Alas, it speaks so little of Tagore. No human being in a single life can fathom his philosophy.
Oriental art
2006 also celebrates 125th birth anniversary of the most accalaimed, internationally respected art critic and connoisseur from India, Prof.Ordhendra Coomar Gangoly (1881-1974), popularly known as O.C.Gangoly. His indispensable books on Oriental art still adorn the shelves of British library, Oxford and other universities. "The art of Java", "Indian Terracotta art", "South Indian Bronzes:A historical survey of South Indian sculptures", "Indian art and heritage" are the few well known books. (see VISUALS post)
Books and Calcutta
Calcutta Book Fair begins at its new venue "Salt Lake Stadium" from Saturday. From 12.2.07 the fair is expected to be crowded. It will be an acid test for the organizers for this new site is far less centrally located than the old one at Maidan( a ground larger than the Hyde Park in London), situated at the very center of Calcutta). Visitors will have trouble reaching this new spot away from the city. The business volume may be less this time but the fair will be free from those food lovers and fashion mongers who have little love for books and throng the fair only to add to the crowd. True lovers of books as a result lose their peace of mind and get very little chance to handle books.
What's next from the house of Nandy's
"Thakurmar Jhuli" a collection of fairy tales from Bengal, India by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar will celebrate 100 years of its publication this 2007. Rabindranath Tagore wrote the introduction lines when this book was published. This household book, now literally forgotten by the readers has recently been translated into English by Rina Prithwis Nandy. She deserves to be remembered for years to come for her effort
Nothing idiotic please
Think of a no nonsense man whose birth centenary falls this 2007 and his birthday this December. Many of us will fail to recall his name and its a shame. Buddhadev Bosu (1908-1974)who turns 100 this year, the poet, writer, literateur, novelist was the foremost person who stood beside Samaresh Bosu the writer when the latter was dragged to Bankshal court at Calcutta in 1968 for writing an obscene or blue literature called "Projapati" (eng. butterfly). Its good to hear that there is a Centenary committee which has decided to produce year long literary functions encompassing his life and his works. His first short story "Rajani holo utala" ( The night turned restless) was published in 1926 in magazine 'Kallol' and soon dragged into controversy. Its often said that Tagore had to interfere at one stage to stop the hue and cry. Known for his in depth knowledge of English and Vernacular literature he will be remembered for his following books namely Rododendron Guchho, Rat Bhor Bristi, Dhushor godhuli, Sesh pandulipi. He has left behind an endless list of refined poetry in post Tagore age in Bengal. He will also be remembered for his translations of Kalidasa's Meghdoot and Baudlaire's poetry. Ripon College which had him as its principal and Jadavpur University which can boast of having Bosu who single handedly gave birth to department of comparative literature is expected to organize high quality meets to discuss his produce. National Library at Calcutta will have a week long exhibition in the first week of December 2007.
From the Tagore family
Satyendranath Tagore, the first Indian to join Indian Civil Service and Judiciary (I.C.S) in 1863, was once posted as Deputy Commissioner at Karwar in Karnataka, India. He was elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel Prize,Literature, 1913). Rabindranath stayed for some time at Karwar where he penned his first dramatic poem "Prakritir Pratisodh"(eng. Nature's Revenge). Moved by the sea beach of Karwar (read all pages 233 through 239 of this site for Rabindranath's original on Karwar) he wrote, "The sea beach of Karwar is certainly a fit place in which to realise that the beauty of Nature is not a mirage of the imagination, but reflects the joy of the Infinite and thus draws us to lose ourselves in it" (see VISUALS post)
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