Sign up For a Trip to Tagore’s Abode – Shantiniketan!

Brilliant bazaar hues dotted with cosy bookstores and intimate cafés, sparkling brooks snaking through verdant forests and the melody of Tagore’s soul wafting through the air – Shantiniketan is your ideal getaway for a laidback experience stitched together with the threads of a rich culture.

Let’s tune in to this charming university town.

Brief History

Founded by Rabindranath Tagore’s father, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, Shantiniketan was originally designed as an ideal retirement abode crafted for meditation and reflection. After Rabindranath Tagore was honoured with the Nobel Prize, he invested the funds to develop a modern university on the lines of the ancient Indian system of open gurukuls. Today, this university town is a cultural hotspot in Bengal with a myriad of festivities lined up for students and tourists alike and is famous the world over as the famous bard’s abode of peace!

University Deets

Started by Rabindranath Tagore as Patha Bhavan with just five students, the Visva-Bharati University at Shantiniketan today counts itself among the top universities of the country.

Tee off your trip from the Uttarayan complex comprising – Udyan, Konark, Shyamali, Punashe and Udichi, five abodes emblematic of the Nobel laureate’s life journey in five phases. Pale yellow and white walls merge chirpily with the red floors to showcase the inimitable style of architecture famous of this region.

Look out for the vintage painting of Tagore with a printing machine right outside the Uttarayan complex, the classic car used by the poet which finds a parking space in the garage, the well-knitted garden boasting of a variety of plants while every nook and corner brims with artwork – some by stalwarts, some by students.

Rabindra Bhaban Museum exhibits a collection of memorabilia that reflect the poet’s life– his passport (it’s not in booklet form like we have now, rather just a letter), personal effects, gifts from foreign countries, the poet’s paints and colours and of course, a replica of the Nobel medallion he won (the original one was stolen in an infamous robbery).

Be on the alert to soak in the famous portraits adorning the galleries here, they are masterpieces of art. Oh! And of course, a documentation of Tagore’s famous meetings with the eminent personalities of his day – Einstein, Netaji, Freud, Gandhi and more.

Chhatimtala and the Kaanch Mandir are the revered prayer halls in Shantiniketan. While Chhatimtala is the original prayer room of the Maharshi, Kaanch Mandir is the one used by Rabindranath Tagore.

#MMTCameraMoment: Visit Kaanch Mandir in the evening, when the lit candles create a beautiful dance of light and shadow creating a splendid framework just perfect for your picture collection!

Tagore’s Ashram is historically significant for being an original Debendranath Tagore building, as well as being the famous address where Tagore composed some of his masterpieces.

The cultural ambience of Shantiniketan gets a spicy flavour with the Cheena Bhavan and Nippon Bhavan – designed to foster relations with the rich eastern cultures of China and Japan respectively. Keep an eye out for the beautiful Kala Bhavan – the exterior artwork is perfectly in sync with the study of arts in this quarter.

#MMTRecommends that the best way to soak in the magnetic ambience of the campus is by walking – you can admire the postcard worthy buildings, experience an open-air classroom (they also have a bell at hand to give genuine classroom feels) and maybe, even be an audience to the Rabindrasangeet and Hindusthani classical music practised here!

Mela Specials

Khoai Mela is the weekly fair held every Saturday. Starting early evening and up till about 7pm, you can shop for trinkets, handcrafted jewellery, Shantiniketan souvenirs, paraphernalia and much more. Just make sure to carry a shopping bag, we bet you’ll pile up on the magnificent things on display at the fair.

The famous Poush Mela (annual harvest festival) started as a fair to symbolise the acceptance of the Brahmo creed by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore and today has become a landmark festival for the whole world. Indulge in popular Bengali Folk Music, tribal sports, soothing Rabindrasangeet performances and of course, loads of shopping at the more than 1500 stalls that spring up during the festival.

Time: End of December every year

Basanta Utsav renders a colourful welcome to the vivacious spring season with a lot of abirs (colourfil powder) adding colour to the surroundings, dance performances by the students, foot-tapping Baul songs and a plethora of cultural activities. Be a part of this festival for the sheer enthusiasm it generates and the elegance with which it plays out!

Time: March every year

#NatureLoversAlert

Deer Park: Minutes from the town of Shantiniketan lies the Ballavpur Wildlife Sanctuary, popularly known as Deer Park. Spend a leisurely afternoon strolling in the park while herds of deer play along and the myriad species of birds dot the trees. Now, that’s a true-blue nature experience, we’d say!

Kopai River:

An inspiration to many of Tagore’s works, the river meanders through the heartlands of Bolpur with its banks resonating with melodious Baul music by the locals. Embark on a Kopai experience in the early evening hours – the music and the ambience will touch your soul.

Accommodation:

Being a popular tourist hub, Shantiniketan buzzes with homestays, quaint hotels and guesthouses. We’ve collected some of the best ones for you.Choose your convenient option here

How to go?

Nearest airport: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport

Nearby Railway Stations: Bolpur and Prantik

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