www.thestatesman.net

Romit Bagchi

SILIGURI, May 7: With politically instigated rancour threatening to dry up the deeper springs of fellow feeling and understanding, it is highly exalting to recollect Rabindranath Tagore’s profound attachment with the Darjeeling Hills and particularly with the tranquil splendour of Mongpu near Kalimpong. He seemed to be enamoured by the transcendental charm of the Darjeeling Himalayas and the simplicity of the Hill populace, mostly people of the Nepali origin. The Darjeeling Himalayas beckoned him with a mesmerising appeal when his sensitive mind got restless and fatigued with the ‘mud and squalor’ of the mundane everyday existence. He sought refuge amidst the austere silence and the wide, compelling ecstasy and peace surrounding the eternally mystifying Himalayas. By his own admission, he turned to the Himalayas when the Ineffable’s timeless call overwhelmed him, compelling him to leave behind the stone load of the striving world for some time.

As per records, Tagore ascended to the Darjeeling hills 11 times. Four times, he came to Mongpu. However, fate intervened when the physically indisposed poet attempted to come to the picturesque spot for the fifth time in 1940, ignoring his physicians’ counsel. He could not reach his destination. He fell ill on his way to Kalimpong. The abnormal swelling of his prostrate gland benumbed his senses with pain. He was brought to Kalimpong in a semi-conscious state. Pratima Devi, Tagore’s daughter-in-law, took him to her Kalimpong residence ‘Gouripur Bhavana’. He, however, could not, stay long as his condition kept on deteriorating fast. He left for Calcutta by train from Siliguri station (now, Siliguri Town station) after staying in Kalimpong for a week.

The date of his departure was 27 September 1940. The time was around 9 p.m. The platforms were over-crowded. People scrambled to have a glimpse of the ailing legend. That, however, proved to be the last glimpse, for the poet never returned to his favourite haunt. He died in Calcutta a few months later.

At a time when acrimony darkens good sense under overt or covert political patronage, Tagore’s luminous relationship with the people of the Darjeeling Hills serves as a balm to the brazen souls. They returned his affection thousand fold having discovered in him a superhuman incarnation of what is divine in man. Tagore may enlighten us at this critical hour when we all seem to be walking by our own choice into Hell’s trap.