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Homecoming to Shantiniketan

Sharmila remembers the good old days
6 August 2003, 18:00 PM
LIFESTYLE
By Harun Ur Rashid
6 August 2003, 18:00 PM
Tagore in a contemplating mood at Shantiniketan.
I visit Shantiniketan every year, and each visit is like a homecoming for me," says Sharmila Bandopadhyay, a noted Monipuri danseuse of the country. Sharmila had her formal lessons of dance at Shantiniketan, a unique centre for learning performing art founded by the first Nobel laureate of the subcontinent, poet Rabindranath Tagore. Although it has been a long time since Sharmila completed her courses at the institution, the memory of the grandeur of the place remains as fresh and alive on Sharmila's mind as ever.

The most unique characteristic of Shantiniketan, according to Sharmila, is its natural environment. The abundant presence of plants across the whole campus instantly affects one's mind with a meditation-like tranquility, which is a prerequisite to learning any form of performing art.

"Our classes would start at about 6:30 in the morning and continue till the afternoon," recalls Sharmila. "The classrooms at the Sangeet Bhavan stood in a circle encompassing a small bit of field for the audience. When students go from one building to another or somewhere else, they can hear the sound of music, instruments, the nupur coming from the Sangeet Bhavan. The air of

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Shantiniketan is truly filled with music," says Sharmila ecstatically.

It is also a centre of all great personalities. "Great performers like Ravi Shankar, Bhimsen Joshi and many others often used to visit Shantiniketan. And when they came, the place would wear a festive mood', recalls Sharmila.

'All the legendary Rabindra Sangeet artistes like Kanika Bandopadhyay, Shantidev Ghosh, Neelima Sen lived at Shantiniketan. And they all were disciples of Gurudeb. So we got very authentic lessons on Rabindranath's idea of his music, poetry and dance, which helped us learn the purest form of the art."

Sharmila says that one can learn many other things at Shantiniketan besides one's own subject. The Art Faculty is very close to the Sangeet Bhavan. "When I walked past the Kala Bhavan, I used to watch the works of students and learnt things like batik and tie-dye without any formal training," says Sharmila.

There is also a block for children called Path Bhavan. "Every Tuesday children hold a presentation, which is very enjoyable."

Sharmila, however, misses one thing that she liked most about Shantiniketan. "We used to walk barefoot", she says.

She remembers another aspect, a universal one, of

Shantiniketan. A number of foreign students also came to the university. At the Freshers' Welcome ceremony, they perform their own cultural arts. "And they used to teach those art forms to others" says Sharmila. "Thus Shantiniketan provided us the gateway to the art and culture of the whole world."