Picture of a Polymath

Backed by his scholarly knowledge of history and his personal interest in Tagore,Bose provided a complete picture of Tagore encompassing his art,literature,politics and worldviews. “He had described America as an unripe fruit with an

acid taste,” said Bose.

In spite of his academic background,Bose never let the talk become abstruse,reading out fascinating and little known anecdotes related to Tagore’s works. Some of them were happy ones,like his joyous sojourn to a Sumatran island called Surakarta where Tagore was surprised to discover how stories from Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata suffused the dance culture of the Muslim kingdom.

Or the ones that emerged from the deepest tragedies,like the suicide of Kadambari Devi,his sister-in-law and a very special woman in his life. Tagore wrote a song Chobi after he chanced upon her photo. The lyrics of it read: “Are you only a picture? Or the poet inside

a poet…”

One of the less discussed facets of Tagore is perhaps his paintings,and the event,held as part of the ongoing exhibition at NGMA titled ‘The Last Harvest’,threw up stories and inspirations behind his canvasses. For instance,the haunting presence of Kadambari Devi in many of his works,the temperamental play of colours and how foreign cultures inspired his art.

“Latin America liberated the latent artist in Tagore,” said Bose. Unlike his other works,Tagore approached painting spontaneously without any formal guidelines. “When sat to paint,he wouldn’t know what would emerge,” he added.

Accompanied by a slideshow presentation that displayed his works,sourced from the catalogues of the National Gallery for Modern Art,New York,and several others,Bose drew possible interlinks within the poet,painter and musician.