Sri Aurobindo & Rabindra Sangeet Tradition

Why did Agastya Muni chose this coastal town as his Sadhana pitha (place of spiritual practice)? “Why did Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu travel to Puducherry over 500 years ago from Nabadwip Dham, West Bengal? Why did Swami Vivekananda came Puducherry before Sri Aurobindo and stay in the same house that was the first abode of Sri Aurobindo. These may be a different story, but let us look at the Raabindra Sangeet and Sri Aurobindo philosophy.

Keeping alive the memory and passing on the heritage to lead celebrations of the anniversary of the visit of Rabindranath Tagore to Pudducherry to meet Sri Aurobindo in 1928. Actually Tagore is elder to Sri Aurobindo. Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 in Kolkata and died on 7 August 1941 in the same city. Sri Aurobindo was born on 15 August 1872 in Kolkata and died on 5 December 1950 in Puducherry. But according to history, Tagore was on his way to England when he expressed a desire to meet Sri Aurobindo in Puducherry at a time when Sri Aurobindo was not meeting people. With the initiative of The Mother, Tagore arrived on 29 May 1928 off the coast of Puducherry in a boat from Madras.

The meeting lasted only 20 minutes and Tagore is believed to have repeated his poem, ‘Namaskar,’ which he had first offered to Sri Aurobindo in 1907. Tagore took that much effort to meet Sri Aurobindo. Tagore found Sri Aurobindo to be at peace, and like a rose, unlike the troubled Sri Aurobindo he had met in Bengal. Tagore was influenced on a spiritual level by him. This is the recognition by an 11 years elder poet to a philosopher as the godman or a sacred personality. This is the connection between Rabindra Sangeet and Puducherry Ashram. Then Rabindra Sangeet become a tradition among many follower groups. Vishwakabi Rabindranath's poems are lyrics itself, composed and sung by Rabindranath himself. Most of his sangeets are spiritual and philosophical with a bend to Sri Aurobindo's world view.

Chitta Bhai (Prof Chittaranjan Das) being the follower of both the personalities, had pioneered the music tradition under the banner of Suhrud Gosthi in Odisha through various Shram Shibirs (work camps), Adhyayan Shibirs (reading camps) and similar events around the year. Chitta Bhai had ability to sing extemper, more than a hundred Rabindra Sangeet with their original note and rhythm.  After his demise (died on 16 January 2011), his prime disciple Rabindranath Padhi has extended the Rabindra Sangeet tradition at similar events associated with Sri Aurobindo followers and believers in Odisha, India. Mili Apa is also a Rabindra Sangeet singer in this row, who is now an Ashramite of Puducherry.

Researcher & Author: Bimal Prasad, Call: 9937353293