Photo Credit: Maharana Swarup Singh of Mewar, 1851
Jehangir celebrates the Hindu festival of Holi, unknown artist, c 1635. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
The Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah celebrating Holi, by Bhupal Singh c 1737. Photo credit: Asia Society.
The Holi festival, by Mir Kalan, 1734-1735. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Maharaja Bakhat Singh rejoices during Holi, Nagaur, c 1748-50. Photo credit: Mehrangarh Museum Trust.
The emperor Jehangir celebrating Holi with the ladies of the zenana, c 1800. Photo credit: Chester Beatty Library.
Prince celebrating Holi in harem, Golconda, c 1800. Photo credit: National Museum, New Delhi.
Today I was reading about Holi at Shantiniketan, the ashram of Rabindranath Tagore. Apparently, every year in Shantiniketan, the celebration of Holi begins with a grand Shobha Jatra, a procession of song and dance. At 7 am, more than 4,000 students gather at Amra Kunja, a mango tree clearing where open-air classes sometimes take place. They embark on a vibrant march that concludes at the Ashram ground.
The main festivities commence around 8 am on a stage set up at the Ashram ground. Students from Sangeet Bhavana, the music department, enchant the audience with over a dozen of Rabindranath Tagore's spring-themed songs. Throughout the campus, groups of students, alumni, and visitors join in the celebration, singing baul songs and performing dances at various locations like Kala Bhavana and Patha Bhavana.
Shantiniketan, famously associated with Tagore, is renowned as one of the best places to experience the joy of Holi. The unique blend of cultural activities, traditional songs, and exuberant dances create an unforgettable atmosphere that makes Holi celebrations at Tagore's Shantiniketan truly remarkable.
I really liked the poem quoted at the end of the article:
In a letter to Mahatma Gandhi in 1940, Rabindranath Tagore wrote, "Viswa-Bharati is like a vessel which is carrying the cargo of my life's best treasures?." I began to hum one of Tagore's last three poems, which were written before his death on August 7, 1941. His shesh lekha (last writings) can be seen as a tribute to this gently flowing river.
The sun of the first day
Put the question
To the new manifestation of life -
Who are you?
There was no answer.
Years passed by.
The last sun of the last day
Littered the question on the shore of the western sea,
Singing oneness!
