Rabindranath Tagore
Script. commentary & Direction: Satyajit Ray
1961, India. Documentary, 54 min, B/W
Producer: Films Division, Govt. of India
Cinematography: Soumendu Roy
Editing: Dulal Dutta
Art Direction: Bansi Chandragupta
Music: Jyotirindra Moitra
Cast
Raya Chatterjee, Sovanlal Ganguli, Smaran Ghosal, Purnendu Mukherjee, Kallol Bose, Subir Bose, Phani Nan, Norman Ellis
Summary
The documentary details the life and work of the celebrated Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 “because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West.” Rabindranath Tagore was the youngest son of Debendranath Tagore, born in Calcutta. He was educated at home. At seventeen he was sent to England for formal schooling, which he did not complete. Tagore was knighted by the ruling British Government in 1915, but within a few years he resigned the honor as a protest against British policies in India.
The documentary was made to celebrate Tagore’s birth centenary in May 1961. Ray was conscious that he was making an official portrait of India’s celebrated poet and hence the film does not include any controversial aspects of Tagore’s life. However, it is far from being a propaganda film.
The film comprises dramatized episodes from the poet’s life and archived images and documents.
A Taste of Tagore enables some of the magical poetry, elegant prose and meaningful prayers of Rabindranath Tagore, India’s first Nobel Laureate, to be used as contemplations in our daily lives. These extracts are taken from his many writings about the environment, education, the arts, politics, travel and humanism. Tagore’s lifestyle embraced simplicity, moderation in consumption, cohesion and harmony between religions, cultures and countries. A Taste of Tagore presents the diversity, depth and spirituality of his writings in one book.
