|
l i f e |
|
Part-4 :
1941 - 1947 |
1941 :
Santiniketan
|
|
Heritage |
Yatra Visvam Bhavatyekanidam
where the world makes a home in a single nest |
Santiniketan Griha |
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.
Previously known as Bhubandanga (named after Bhuban Dakat, a local dacoit), the place was found peaceful by
Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, the poet's father, and he renamed
it Santiniketan
--- Abode of Peace.
In 1863 Debendranath built a small retreat for meditation, and in 1888
he dedicated
the land and buildings towards establishment of a
Brahmavidyalaya and a library.
Rabindranath's school Brahmacharyasrama,
which started functioning formally from
December 22, 1901
with no more than five students on the roll, was, in part, a fulfilment of the wishes
of his father.
Visva-Bharati was inaugurated on
December 23, 1921.
In May 1951, Visva-Bharati was declared to be a Central University and an Institution
of National Importance by an Act of Parliament.
|
|
The Mahatma and the Poet |
Rabindranath Tagore
|
Kavivar at
Amrakunja - Mango Groove |
Invited by
Rabindranath Tagore himself, Meghani visited Santiniketan in March, 1941
|
Cheena Bhavana
where he was
honoured
before delivering his lectures |
Syamali
then
Tagore's Home |
Ratan Kuthi
the VIP
guesthouse
where he was put up |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
Kshitimohan Sen |
Hazariprasad Dwivedi |
|
with Nandalal Bose
|
with
Gurdial Malik
|
Warm welcome at
Bolpur Railway Station
|
Breakfast time |
with
Vrajlal Trivedi
of
Gujarati
Sansad, Santiniketan
at
Ratan Kuthi
|
 |
 |
|
with the Youth |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
scenic beauty of the surroundings then. |
|
|
Presented with a Maan-Patra
(citation),
which he said,
was more a Prem-Patra. |
date :
March 12, 1941
venue : Terrace of
Cheena Bhavana
time :
evening |
 |
the
speech he made while accepting the honour
 |
|
Delivered
four lectures in
English on Gujarati Folklore
venue : Cheena Bhavana
time : 7.00 pm to 8.15 pm ( 1 hour,
15 minutes each )
|
March 13 |
Folk Songs
|
|
March 14 |
Tales told in Verse |
|
March 16 |
Songs
Spiritual
'Bhajan Vaanee' |
|
March 17 |
Folklore
A Living Force |
Meghaniji
stirred up our heart chords !
The lectures mesmerised the audience which included the great teachers on the campus
---
each one a master in his field ---- as well as the students there who hailed
from
different corners of the country as well as nations across the world.
 |
 |
|
|
Handwritten Manuscript of the
Lectures |
|
Later published as a
10-page article under the title
`Folk-Songs of Gujarat' in
the April 1943 issue of
Visva-Bharati Quaterly.
|
 |
 |
|
Tagore was unfortunately a bit unwell then.
Nandababu and Mullickji still offered to take Meghani to see him, saying :
"Feeling rather weak, he receives but a few visitors. However he will certainly
feel happy to see you."
"No, no ..." came the instant reply from Meghani.
"I donot want him to waste his energy
talking to me; it may be saved to be utilised for a better purpose."
When pressed further, he said "Let us, anyway, go
upto the steps leading into Syamali."
"Tell Gurudev," he said as he was leaving : " Meghani
came and went back after fulfilling his word" |
|
|
|
remembering
Santiniketan on the pages of
Phulchhab |
 |
 |
|
|
1941 : `Mukhadaa Kyaa Dekho Darapana Mein '
Cartoon
 |
 |
Cartoon
drawn by him and published in
Phulchhab
April 25, 1941
His spontaneous reaction to the freshly
flared up communal violence in Ahmedabad.. |
|
Ahmedabad |
|
|
Accused of fuelling hatred between communities, he was charged under
section 153
A of IPC.
June 4, 1941 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
poilce station at
Gaekwad Haveli |
court of
City Magistrate |
sub-jail
at
Bhadra Court |
|
where he was first taken |
where he was presented |
where he was lodged
for a night |
|
|
|
Released next day on a bail of Rs. 500.
|
|
at the Court of City Magistrate, Bhadra, Ahmedabad
left to right Barrister Himmatlal P. Shukla,
Meghani, Nathalal M. Shah, Barrister Pandurao
B. Desai |
|
Meghani's statement in the court
 |
And
ultimately
aquitted on September 9,
1941.
|
Court Judgement
Magistrate
Suleman Kalubhai Desai
|
Telegram
intimating the aquittal |
|
During the days the case was going on, Ravishankar Maharaj
would be seen standing
on the foot-path outside the Congress office.
A sad and worried man, he stood there looking at the court building across the road
---
probably a gesture, as simple as the man himself,
to show his solidarity with Meghani. |
|
|
his Lawyers
|
 |
 |
 |
Pandurao B. Desai
(1893-1973) |
Himmatlal P. Shukla
(1898-1981) |
Prabhudas
B. Patwari
(1909-1985) |
Labour of Love
As a mark of their love and respect for Meghani, the lawyers declined their fees.
|
 |
 |
office of lawyers at
Tankshaali Bhuvan, Bhadra |
|
|
|
Meghani
lauds his lawyers
 |
|
|
Post-acquittal
Celebrations |
Kashtabhanjan Hanuman Temple
Sarangpur |
Himmatlal Shukla Family
( wife
Kamlaben, sons
Vinod and
Nalin, Himmatlal
) |
Kamlaben, deeply religious wife of Himmatlal Shukla, had taken a
vow to visit
Kashtabhanjan Hanuman Temple at Sarangpur
and offer her respectful thanks to the deity.
Meghani, respecting her sentiments, invited the entire Shukla family to Botad
from where he took them, along with his own family, to the temple.
Incidentally, a bullock-cart
was used to track the 11-km distance ! |
|
common plot of
Swastik Society,
Navrangpura
Ahmedabad |
Himmatlal Shukla organised
a function in the common plot of Swastik Society --- where he stayed ---
to felicitate Meghani.
In a programme lasting around an hour, Meghani sang out from his heart some of his popular songs
and talked to the gathering of more than 200 people on folklore.
Mr. Whiteman, who was the British Collector of Ahmedabad then, also participated. |
|
10, Bharati Nivas Society,
Ellisbridge
Ahmedabad |
Patwari Family |
Prabhudas Patwari, in his own right, threw a party on the terrace of his Bharati Nivas Society residence
one of those evenings when his wife Savitaben played the perfect hostess. |
|
|
|
|
1943 :
Thakkar Vasanji Madhavji
lectures
 |
venue
University of Bombay
(now University
of Mumbai)
|
lectures
published later
1946 |
|
|
Convocation
Hall |
|
corridor along the hall |
|
the inner view |
August 24-25-26-27-28, 1943
(5
lectures)
|
The lectures, though meant
primarily for academia, were presented in such a lively manner
that they aroused unprecedented interest
among others too.
|
On the second day the hall having been found to be too small to accomodate
the large
crowd jostling to enter it and,
in the process damaging the furniture,
special arrangements had to be made in the garden
for people to hear the
speaker from outside the hall.
This was something that never happened in the history of the university.
|
Meghani
got on to the table so that he could be seen and heard better by the huge
audience.
|
People reached the venue as many
as 3 hours earlier to ensure a seat in the
hall and
an oppurtunity to catch a glimpse of Meghani deliver the lectures.
|
On the last day he received several
requests to sing
Koi-no Laadakavaayo, one of his most popular
songs.
He politely declined saying it would be like straying
from the subject.
|
 |
 |
Handwritten Manuscript of the Lectures
|
Diwan Bahadur
Krishnalal Mohanlal Jhaveri |
 |
He, as a member of Syndicate of
Univeristy of Bombay then, proposed Meghani's name for the lectures.
The proposal was accepted unanimously by his fellow members. |
|
|
|
1944 : Mahatma
Gandhi
Resting |
 |
Prayer meeting |
Mahatma Gandhi at
Juhu beach, Bombay
|
Bungalow of
Shantikumar Morarjee at
Juhu beach, Bombay
|
|
|
 |
|
After the
marriage in Bombay (now Mumbai) of son Mahendra, Meghani thought of taking
the newly-weds to Gandhiji to get them his blessings.
Gandhiji, who, just released from Aghakhan Palace jail at Poona (now Pune), was
resting then at Juhu beach in Bombay
readily agreed to receive them.
During the meeting, after initially presenting his Gandhi-theme songs he asked if
there was something Gandhiji would especially love to listen to.
"Marriage songs .." Pat came the reply, pleasantly suprising everyone present
there !
Meghani, obviously pleased, most happily obliged.
His witty newphew Labhchand Meghani, a self-made artist who designed jackets of
a couple of Meghani books, had later quipped :
' The oldie still seems to be real romantic !'
It was, incidentally, Gandhiji's weekly day of keeping silence, and Gandhiji, all
through the `conversation', had communicated
by joting down his comments on used envelopes as was his practice then.
Wrote Gandhiji at the end of the meeting :
" I think
the last time we met was at Ranpur. Not since then.
Today I had a bellyfull of your songs and felt so happy.
But donot fear I would for ever remain full : My stomach gets emptied soon ! "
 |
1944 : Raveendra Veena
Sanchayita
The Earlier Edition |
Kavivar Rabindranath
Tagore |
Sanchayita
The Present Edition |
|
Sanchayita
(1931) |
A collection of poems in
Bangla by
Kavivar Rabindranath Tagore specially published by Visva Bharati
to mark the Tagore Septuagenary Celebrations in 1931. |
Setting it apart from numorous other collections available then is the fact that
the poems here were selected by the poet himself,
mainly from the poems beginning with
Sonaar Taree.
Tagore thought the poem marked a cut-off point in the development of his poetry,
which, he believed, had really taken off from there.
Of course, a few poems, which were found to meet the high standard he had set for
inclusion in Sanchayita,
were picked up from the earlier collections too. |
|
|
|
Raveendra-Veena
(1944) |
|
A collection of 64 poems adapted into
Gujarati by Jhaverchand
Meghani |
|
one of the later
Reprints |
The First Edition : 1944 |
The Present Edition |
|
A Collection of 64 Poems
 |
|
|
|
Some of the poems compared |
The original Bangla
in Gujarati
script |
Its transfusion in
Gujarati
by Meghani |
The English transalation
by Tagore |
Sonaar Taree
|
Sonaa-Naavadee : 1931
 |
The Golden Boat
The
Rain fell fast.
The river rushed and hissed.
It licked up and swallowed the island,
while I waited alone
on the lessening bank
with my sheaves of corn in a heap.
From the shadows of
opposite shore
the boat crossed with a woman
at the helm.
I cry to her,
'Come to my island
coiled round with hungry water,
and take away my year's harvest.
|
Navavarshaa
 |
Navee Varshaa
:
1944
|
untitled
My
heart,
like a peacock on a rainy day,
spreads its plumes tinged with
rapturous colors of thoughts,
and its ecstasy seeks
some vision in the sky ---
with a longing for one
whom it does not know.
My heart dances.
|
Bidaai
 |
Marataa Baalak-nu Aashvaasan : 1936
 |
The End
It is time for me to go, mother;
I am going.
When in the paling darkness
of the lonely dawn
you stretch out your arms
for your baby in the bed,
I shall say,
'Baby is not there !' ---
mother, I am going.
|
|
click here to listen to Tagore reciting
Sonaar Taree
|
 |
 |
|
Tagore |
Meghani |
|
|
|
The Making |
 |
To Meghanibhai
With an ardent wish that
you bring some of these into Gujarati.
08-11-'33, Santiniketan |
|
|
With these words inscribed on it, arrived, one fine day, all the way from Santiniketan, a copy of Sanchayita
sent by
Dalpat Kothari, an acquaintance of Meghani. |
|
Much as Meghani felt like taking up the challenge, he, somehow, just could not get
going all out on it. |
|
Overcome
with grief when Tagore died on August 7, 1941,
Meghani paid an extraordinary
and heart-touching tribute to
one
whom he considered his mentor.
|
|
Writing in Phulchhab, the weekly
he edited, he addressed the poet,
who was no more, as if he was face-to-face with him : |
Phulchhab
: August 15, 1941 |
Even with the copy of Sanchayita
as his constant companion, all he could
do was to translate a few stray poems from it.
The death of Tagore too, when his sensitivity was
supposed to be at its optimum,
could not provide the push needed to set him right on. |
|
As if the
wish of his fan at distant Santiniketan was destined to be fulfilled ultimately
though belatedly,
Meghani's mind, at long last, more than a
decade later,
on the eve of the third death anniversary of Tagore, settled on
Sanchayita. |
|
And this, ironically, when the circumstances were least conducive to such a creative
commitment. |
Still, this time he, strangely, enjoyed what he was doing.
Sanchayita's closeness,
he felt,
had a soothing effect on his burnt forehead.
So, he kept going cheerfully till he finished the job to his satisfaction. |
|
Ravishankar
Raval with his students |
Meghani remembers
|
As the book was being printed at Ahmedabad, Meghani had an extended stay there
so that he could give final touches to the book and see it through.
He stayed this time with Ravishankar Raval,
the renowned artist and
Kala-guru of
Gujarat
who ran an art achool at his home at
'Chitrakoot', Brahmin Mitra Mandal Society,
Paldi, Ahmedabad
and whom Meghani considered his elder brother |
|
In the evenings
the students and friends gathered to listen to Meghani sing songs from his new book. |
|
|
|
|
Professor
Firoze C. Davar,
a renowned scholar and a respected
critic, so wisely observed
:
"This is not
translation; it is transfusion."
With the brief but apt comment probably
ended the debate on the book,
about the translation of which quite some questions were initially raised. |
|
|
Meghani in his preface to the Second edition of the book
 |
|
|
|
|
|
1945
 |
 |
|
Retired from
Phulchhab ... |
... after completing
23 years
of journalism |
|
September 30, 1945
|
Family |
|
1946 :
16th Sahitya Parishad, Rajkot
|
|
Gujarati Sahitya Parishad |
|
then |
 |
now |
venue
Dharmendrasinhji College, Rajkot |
October 18-19-20, 1946
|
Dr. Kanaiyalal Munshi
Mentor
|
Ramnarayan Pathak
President
|
Principal Dr. Ramanlal
Yagnik
Host
|
|
|
President of
Literature section |
|
|
seated -- left to right
Munshi, Pathak, Yagnik, Meghani
|
left to right
Meghani, Yagnik, Munshi, Pathak
|
left
to right
Meghani, Pathak, Munshi, Yagnik
|
 |
 |
 |
office-bearers and delegates
|
 |
cultural programme |
 |
|
|
'we are music-makers' |
|
his
address
as
President of
Literature section |
 |
|
|
1946 :
Mahida Paaritoshik
(Award)
1945 |
Mahida Family
Mandwa-Chandod
estate
( District Vadodara ) |
Ravishankar Maharaj
(1884-1984) |
|
Awarded
for
Maanasaaee-naa Deeva,
a book depicting the life and
work of Ravishankar Maharaj
|
December 29, 1946
4.30
evening
|
then |
now |
venue
Vithal Krida Bhavan Premises, Dandiya Bazaar, Vadodara
|
|
Kumar Motisinh Mahida
(1909-1941)
Poet, Writer, Social Reformist |
Kumar Motisinh Mahida (left)
Kumar Narendrasinh Mahida (right)
|
Kumar Narendrasinh
Mahida
(1913-2007)
Former Union Minister of Defence |
Mahida Paaritoshik
was instituted by Kumar Narendrasinh Mahida
on behalf of Mahida Family
of Mandwa-Chandod estate
in memory of his elder brother Kumar
Motisinh Mahida.
|
 |
 |
 |
Mahida House,
Mandwa
|
The award was to be given annually to the best literary work of the year
to be selected
in co-operation with
Kalam Mandal of Mumbai
which had, on its role, distinguished names
like
Dhansukhlal Mehta, Umashankar Joshi, Jyotindra Dave, Chandravadan Mehta, Kisansinh
Chavda, Yashwant Pandya, Snehrashmi,
Sunderji Betai, Bhanushankar Vyas, Jitubhai Mehta, Yagnesh Shukla, Jaykrishna
Varma, Bachhubhai Dhruva, Jamubhai Dani. |
Kalam Mandal
Team
left to right
Jyotindra Dave,
Chandravadan Mehta,
Dhansukhlal Mehta
|
Umashankar
Joshi
First Recipient
'Praacheena'
1944 |
|
Other eminent people who occasionally attended the weekly meetings at Fellowship
School were :
Kanaiyalal Munshi, Mulkraj Anand, Harindra Chattopadhaya, Krishnalal Jhaveri, Balwantrai
Thakore,
Ramnarayan Pathak, Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai, Gaganvihari Mehta, Ravishankar Raval,
Kanu Desai,
Bhulabhai Desai, Mangaldas Pakavasa.
|
|
left to right
Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai
(President), Narendrasinh Mahida, Meghani
|
|
the speech he made while accepting the honour |
|
|
While he finally accepted the
award in all humility,
Meghani politely declined the money it carried
and chose to forward the amount to Ravishankar Maharaj to whom,
he firmly believed, the amount should rightfully go.
Maharaj too was relunctant to keep it.
Maharaj
justifies
|
|
|
The Saintly Voices
Sorathee Santo
The Saints of Sorath |
Puraatan Jyot
The Pristine
Glow |
 |
 |
|
1928 |
1938 |
Twin books
depicting
lives of some 12 saints of
Sorath |
 |
 |
 |
|
Sant Devidas |
Mekran Dada |
Dan Maharaj |
|
|
Sorathee Santvaanee
The Saintly Voices from
Sorath
|
 |
|
1947 |
A collection
of
104 Bhajans
(Devotional Songs) |
|
|
|
|
click here for a full view |
|
March 9, 1947
breathed his last
Botad
|
After I have sung out all my songs
I shall lay down my voiceless veena
at the feet of one who ever is
serenely silent.
Rabindranath
Tagore |
 |
|
front page of
Phulcchab |
|
