Rabindranath Tagore: Losing sight of Gurudev

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It's the 150th birth anniversary year of Rabindranath Tagore, but are we doing enough to preserve the legacy of India's Renaissance man
If you were looking to map out the life and times of Rabindranath Tagore, then Kolkata and specifically his ashram Shantiniketan ' 136 km away from Kolkata ' are definitive stopovers. In the 150th birth anniversary year of the Bard of Bengal (who passed away on August 7, 1941), Kolkata is swathed in posters reminding the world of the contributions of one of our greatest sons. He, who was a poet, author, playwright, painter, educationist, and social reformer rolled in one, has left behind a legacy that resounds in his words oft-repeated around the world, as much as it does in the alleys and portals of Shantiniketan & Visva-Bharati University founded by him.

Apart from these landmarks, many looking to get acquainted with the world and vision of this cultural and literary giant would also be expected to make a beeline for the houses that he spent his years in, but considering the derelict state of these homes of heritage value, neither the state government nor Visva-Bharati has given it any thought.

Walking down the lanes of Kalimpong ' a small hill town in the northern part of Bengal ' one can't but notice exhaustive instructions directing you to the tourist traps of the city; conspicuously missing is any mention of Tagore's house. After enquiring of about a dozen locals, we finally met an old man who guided us to Gauripur House, one of the favourite places of the poet. Picking our way through a dingy lane and past a broken gate, we found ourselves in front of what was Tagore's summer retreat and where he's known to have stayed for more than a couple of occasions in his lifetime. Losing sight of Gurudev? The portico and the main door particularly fascinated the Nobel laureate who considered the entrance his bridge with nature. Inside, hangs a marble plaque commemorating the day ' April 25, 1940 'Tagore recited his poem Janamdin live for radio over telephone. Apart from that, there's little in this weathered abode to suggest it was here the poet-philosopher penned ten poems and short-stories and a drama. Instead of consecrating the address as a haven for seekers of Rabindranath Tagore, it is reduced to a shack frequented by junkies and urchins. 'Every evening we can hear hooligans shouting and abusing in this house; we don't even know how they manage to enter the place,' laments Praful Singh, a neighbourhood resident.

The situation isn't any better at other erstwhile shelters of the poet in towns like Kurseong, Darjeeling, Mongpu etc. The precincts that can well claim to have shaped much of Rabindranath's outlook on life now lie utterly out of shape for want of maintenance.

In "Mongpu-te Rabindranath", written by one of his dearest students, Moitri Devi, she illustrates how the place lent itself to Tagore's inspiration. It is even evident in several of the thinker's compositions from Mongpu. Reminds Shirshendu Mukhopaday, renowned Bengali author, 'The scale of Tagore's work is not only limited to Kolkata; his intellectual legacy can be witnessed in several other places.' According to Mukhopaday, there are countless fans of the Nobel laureate across the world and they should take the initiative to protect these houses. A classic example of this is Charles Dickens' home in Russell Square, London, which has been converted into a museum. Located on Doughty Street, the place is exceptionally maintained; the house mints its own maintenance cost by selling merchandise and entrance fees to the visitors. Sketches and paintings of Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist remind us it was here the master writer had produced the eponymous works.

'Knowing and understanding Tagore is an exciting journey for me and I strongly believe he can be connected best with in many of those peaceful places where this legend had set his feet,' says Shabana Azmi. The journey to know Rabindranath Tagore, the prolific and multi-faceted culturist who will forever remain relevant in India and to Indophiles, is not limited to Kolkata, or Shantiniketan, or even these destinations mentioned, for as Gurudev said: 'The journey is long, and the destination far..'

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Lisa Ray - Ray of Hope: Lisa is trending'

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Lisa Ray is coming to town. No film right now; a book is next. Subhash K Jha catches up with the cancer beater'
Lisa Ray arrives in India soon, though she hasn't set a time frame for herself. 'I am in no rush and in no set schedule. I expect to travel to India shortly for Rado who have been steadfast in their support of me during this time. I will also probably be promoting '1 a Minute' (the film on breast cancer awareness by Namrata Singh Gujral) in India, with a view to donate some of the proceeds towards Multiple Myeloma research.' At the moment Lisa is not signing any films. 'I'm in no hurry. I don't want to spread myself too thin as I'm getting offers to appear as a speaker across North America and I use this as a platform to raise awareness for Multiple Myeloma. I have already made an appearance in LA to support the screening of my new film 'Cooking with Stella' at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. The proceeds from the opening night screening went towards Dr Berenson's Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research in LA.' Having proved herself an able warrior in her fight against cancer, Lisa Ray is now all set to write a book on her experiences. She admits the book would be an integral part of her career.

'I'd also like to raise a lot more awareness for cancer, Multiple Myeloma and stem cell technology. That will be an integral part of my career. As well as writing a book,' says Lisa and adds, 'I don't believe in a swinging career. I believe in living my life to the fullest and career is just one small aspect of this. I think I sacrificed a lot of my life for my career to date, and it's time to balance it out now. Cancer is a huge wake-up call.' Having survived, Lisa is in an exploratory mood. 'I'm exploring new creative opportunities. The point is to chase joy. I've also had some unexpected honours recently. I was invited to be the Master of Ceremonies at a luncheon for Queen Elizabeth here in Toronto and I was also seated at the head table. It was a great experience.'

Lisa's life is getting back to normal, though it's not quite there as yet. 'I am not back to a normal life, but an extraordinary life because of the insights I've got and the changes I've made to my lifestyle. In one word, my life is 'simplified'. My disease, Multiple Myeloma, is in remission. We don't take the attitude that it is ever gone completely, but we monitor regularly and now I'm leading a particularly healthy life. However, that's why research is so important in the field of Multiple Myeloma ' the next drug could be the one that saves my life. Someone told me, 'healing begins when you realise there's no cure'.

She admits her pace has slackened, but the fierce fighter is determined to re-discover her groove. 'I am engaging with the world, but with a different quality now. I do my best not to get stressed or over-extend myself, as was my habit earlier. I don't think there's such a thing as - the various shades. So, I'm doing a variety of things, but on my own terms. And I'm trying to invest in the things that I enjoy. I'm also still recovering from the stem-cell transplant, so I have to take it slow at times.'

Lisa recently blogged about the shock of her premature menopause because of the cancer. 'What I'm going through is not unusual; so many people go through similar experiences post-cancer. I don't want to sensationalise any of it, but perhaps just to share and raise awareness. I also think it's wrong to expect that everything will roll out in the manner we want. I'm learning a lot and mostly about how to practice compassion with myself. I'm coping as anyone does. I have good days and bad.'

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Judicial process - Speeding up the system

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Better court management, efficient work distribution and curb on frivolous PILs can be starters

MSA Siddiqui,
Former Registrar General of Supreme Court of India
An efficient legal system is the foundation stone of a vibrant democracy. In a country of more than one billion people, the judicial system gets a lot of attention. Whether our country will be successful in facing the challenges of the 20th century largely depends on how our legal system works.

The huge pendency and backlog of cases are indeed shocking. They are increasing at an alarming rate. Today there is a pendency of more than 2,000 cases on each judge. As a judge, I got an opportunity to observe the legal system from close quarters. When I was the Registrar General of the Supreme Court in 1992, during the tenure of Chief Justice of India M. N. Venkatchalliah, total pendency of cases was 1.51 lakh. The CJI had instructed me to look into the growing pendency. I acted on it by bringing down the pendency to merely 28,000 cases. It was a golden period and Venkatchalliah worked with missionary zeal in order to provide faster justice to the Indian people. CJI J S Verma also actively worked to reduce the backlog of cases.

I think pendency can be reduced to a great extent through better court management. Work distribution should be proper. If a judge is an expert in handling tax related matters, he should only be given that task. If he is assigned to look into criminal cases, he will obviously take time. He will not be at ease with it. This is happening in our courts. If we want to expedite the process of disposal of cases, we must first recognise which judge is capable of doing exactly what. Thus the role of the listing authority in courts becomes extremely important.

There was a time when the bar was highly respected and many top leaders joined this profession. This trend is now passe. The first layer of the bar plays no role in the process of delivery of justice. Now, even the second and the third layer of the bar do not play any role. This has an impact on quality. Earlier, talented advocates, after enjoying successful stints as professional lawyers, used to join judicial service. Obviously, a person who has spent decades as a successful lawyer will deliver quick results. The other problem is that only 25 per cent of the judges in high courts work hard and really understand their responsibilities. If a judge understands his or her responsibilities then s/he will dispose of cases quickly. I have seen that judges take more than 2 years in delivering a verdict in high courts. This is ridiculous. If I can recall correctly then in 1993, the Supreme Court had to order a judge to dispose of a case quickly. Court management is a science. There are always vacancies in courts. The pile of the cases is increasing rapidly on the judges. The situation is even more critical in lower courts. I can say that lower court judges put in more hours of work. But it is not helping in addressing the problem. Of late, service-related litigations are increasing. The government is also responsible to a great extent for this situation. Bureaucrats do not deliver as they have inflated egos. If they want, they can solve the problem at their level. Besides, they are not sensitive to the needs of the people. When they don�t solve the problem, it goes to the court. Public money is wasted on litigations. On the other hand, government law officers are not so efficient.

It is not that our judges are not competent. An average judge in America handles 600 cases every year. Some of our judges dispose of more than 600 cases in just 3 to 4 months. The government should take such steps so that the second layer of bar is attracted towards the justice delivery system.

Besides, there is an urgent need to curb on frivolous litigation. Many unnecessary PILs are being filed these days. Now, the time has come to impose a check on these PILs. The new CJI has given some tough indications towards curbing the number of PILs and this is a welcome step. Another matter of importance is that higher courts should intervene in only those matters of lower courts which have some merit. Lower court judges are overburdened. They are not paid properly and lack basic amenities. Judges are forced to deliver justice in dark, dingy and cramped rooms of high courts. Obviously, they become frustrated and start taking their work non-seriously. Their pay structure should be improved. Even a senior high court judge does not get Rs 40,000 per month after income tax deduction. The government can enhance the Income Tax rebate limit which will attract many talented individuals to join this profession.

A judge should be strict while granting adjournments. My experience says that there are bench-seekers advocates, who keep on procrastinating the case. Advocate has the right to convince and confuse the judges.

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