I have never been a student of Visva Bharati, although I know a lot about it from those who had studied in their young days at the feet of Rabindranath Tagore. Visva Bharati comprises Shantiniketan and Sriniketan.

It is at Shantiniketan that Tagore had started his Ashram School with only a few students - Malati Choudhury, B. Gopala Reddy, G. Ramachandran, Syed Muztaba Ali and Nabakrushna Choudhuri, who was sent from the Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat, to learn Rural Reconstruction and Development at Sriniketan and Shantiniketan. Malati married Nabakrushna, and came down to Orissa to practise what she had learnt from Gurudev. Noble Laurate Amartya Sen’s mother Amita was also there, but she was much junior to Malati and her group. The Group was sometimes doing mischief.Elmherst, a British Educationist was teaching them English.

Rabindranath was an aristocrat of aristocrats. His father Maharsi Devendranath gave him good education not in any formal school or college, but by engaging private tutors. Rabindranath was teaching acting to his students by himself acting in the plays, written by him. It is a well known fact that when he was composing a poem, the tune used to come to him first making him to hum the tune, and then the lyrics used to flow from his mighty pen. His collection of poems, called Geetanjali, brought him the Noble Prize. When I sing from his Geetanjali or Geetabitan, I forget all my worries and anxieties.

Patha Bhavana, Vidya Bhavana, Kala Bhavana and Sangeeta Bhavana were and are taking care of Primary Education, Secondary Education, Arts and Crafts and Music. Today’s Visva Bharati is a Central University having any Departments from Anthropology to Zoology. Only the Medical faculty is not there. Sriniketan is having a strong Adult Education component.In the Community Development days, it had also a Social Education Organisers’ Training Centre. My wife’s uncle, the late Kulaprasad Sen’s family lives at Shantiniketan, and we visit them quite often. Kulaprasad was the elder brother of Malati Choudhury (nee Sen). Professor Satyen Bose, who was my professor at the Calcutta University, was the Vice-Chancellor of Visva Bharati during the late fifties.

Shantiniketan is also the seat of Baul culture. You must visit Shantiniketan during the Paus Mela held in December every year, to see and hear Baul Songs from hundreds of Bauls coming from all over West Bengal.. In the Bolpur Market you get beautiful leather bags, and Batik paintings and garments. All these are Shantiniketan’s contribution. Visva Bharati is really the fulfilment of Tagore’s Dream.