by Boro Baski

Even though I have grown up merely six kilometers away from Tagore’s university, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, and having studied there for twelve years, I could not to relate Tagore for a long time with our idea of Adivasi development initiated more than three decades ago in two Santal villages of Ghosaldanga and Bishnubati. 

I grew up with the sense that Rabindranath Tagore is an emotional solace reserved for  the Bengali cultural elite and that he has nothing much to do with us, the Santals. There are six Santal villages situated in the campus of the university and dozens are at its periphery. These villages have since generations witnessed the transformation of Santiniketan from Tagore’s Ashram to an internationally acclaimed University as mere neighbours. They themselves have not participated in this transformation. The Santal villagers look at the Santiniketan campus as a land of wonders. People of multiple languages and colours have arrived from different parts of the world, but the Santals have remained mere spectators even today.

The stable connection that exists with Santiniketan since Tagore’s days is not with the people but with the birds, rats, mice, snakes, rabbits, foxes, because the green, bushy and sometimes jungle campus of the university remains an ideal hunting ground for the common Santals. The job opportunities have been created for them by the Santiniketan community, but that is merely for working as house maids, night guards of the empty bungalows and occasionally for dance programmes of Santal men and women for the enjoyment of the educated middle-class.  Recently the adjacent Santal villages have been included in the official tour plan of the tourists who arrive from outside to visit sites like the Tagore museum, the Kanch mandir, Khoyai and Bauls. The Government also supports this initiative and popularizes it through hoardings that advertise the visits to Santal villages. The legacy which projects Santals as objects for fulfilling the emotional gratification of the so-called mainstream society is still alive. This legacy was created by many classic Bengali writings and by movies of Bengali literary and artistic stalwarts.  

My interest on Tagore’s idea on Rural Reconstruction and education grew much later when I tried to understand him beyond the way he is being practiced in Santiniketan. Since then Rabindranath Tagore has influenced me and our ideas of work for Santals in various ways.  But this influence occurred more on an unconscious level than in an organized way. Our village work did not follow any pre-conceived method or any established theory of development. The work preceded according to the need and aspiration of the village people and the strategy was based on the rhythm of the Santals’ way of life and considering their cultural strengths and wisdom. 

Now, when I read more about Tagore’s idea of development, I find we have some similarities with his approach to rural development. For example, our idea of a non-formal Santal school: We believe that Santal tribal children should learn through their mother tongue and gradually switch over to other languages and cultures of the country. This reflects Tagore’s broader idea of education that you first know yourself and then only move beyond. I also find several human values and practices that Tagore tried to inculcate among the Ashramites are already inherited by Santals traditionally through their way of life. For example, he talked about the need of Ananda, the joy of life. We Santals call it Raska. Santals try to find joy in every work they do, and without raska they find it difficult to accomplish it. He also talked about Mukti, the sense of freedom from worldly means. Santals by nature are indifferent towards the material progress in life. Hence, we do not find any successful businessmen among Santals. Tagore also talked about education in nature. He was in love with nature. Similarly, Santals are nature worshipers. He also introduced community life among the students and teachers in Santiniketan, Santals traditionally lead a community life. Tagore introduced festivals in Santiniketan like Poush utsav (in harvest season), Basanta utsav (spring festival), Magh utsav (festival in the month of magh), Hala  karshan (tilling of land), Briksha ropan (tree plantation) and created several occasions where the students, teachers and people from the villages can interact with each other, to enjoy the essence of togetherness with the cycle of the seasons. Santals traditionally have several festivals related to different seasons of the year such as Eroh parab (sowing of seeds); Magh parab (thanks giving ceremony at the end of Santali calendar), Janthar (ritual to get better crops); Dasae (celebrating the relationship between Guru and chela/shisya), Sorhae (the harvest festival), Baha (flower festival to celebrate the spring). 

The basic difference with Tagore’s approach is that it is based on a conscious effort and keeping a broader human perspective in mind.  The Santals’ way of life is based on their inherited knowledge and wisdom; even today when Santals celebrate such festivals and perform rituals, they do it as a tradition to be followed and hardly reflect upon them consciously. Otherwise how is it possible that a Santal man enjoy drinking and dancing for several days at the same time ignoring the sick in his own family and his wife and children at home go hungry? 

Rabindranath did not reflect any particular approach on Santal development in his writings, had been so the legacy of coexistence between Tagore and Santals would have been different. However, his holistic approach of human development has revitalized and strengthened our belief that the positive cultural values of Santal life can play an important role in sustainable development of our society even in the modern world. 

About the author:Boro Baski, Ph.D, is a trustee of Ghosaldanga Bishnubati Adibsi Trust and the co-founder of a Non-formal Santal school, Rolf Schoembs Vidyashram, near Santiniketan, West Bengal. The school has an innovative approach to Santal education with Tagore’s emphasis on learning through play, music, arts and mother tongue.  He has translated three books and written several articles in national and international journals and edited volumes.