Recently I have heard certain questions being raised pertaining to Rabindranath Tagore's relationship with the United States. Some have expressed interest in this matter as well.  Hence, this rather brief discussion.

Tagore had sent his eldest son Rathindranath and Santosh Chandra, the son of a friend to study agriculture and animal husbandry in the United States when the boys were respectively seventeen and eighteen years old.  His intention was to have them acquire scientific knowledge to help solve the problem of persistent food shortage in India.  In those days (1905) it was far more common for the sons of affluent families to travel abroad (typically England) to study law or prepare for civil service by completing the ICS (Indian Civil Service) examinations (translator's note: in this, as in many other matters, these aspects of Tagore's thoughts and visions were clearly precursors of attempts at national reconstruction and development which became a hallmark of Mahatma Gandhi 's activities later.  Tagore's and Gandhi's views and methodologies, however, were not often convergent).  Sometime later, Rabindranath sent his youngest son-in-law Nagendranath Gangopadhyay to the United States for the same purpose.  It was extremely rare in those days to choose the United States for higher studies over England, Germany, France or Japan. Rathindranath has recounted in his Pitrismriti and On the Edges of Time that no one from the University of Illinois was present to receive him at the railway station because they had presumed that two students were due to arrive from Indiana (instead of India)!

Tagore traveled to the United States for the first time near the end of 1912, accompanied by Rathindranath and his daughter-in-law Pratima Devi. Even though he was then over fifty, his name was hardly known in the West. From New York, they traveled to Urbana, the small town where Rathindranath had studied at the university. This time Rathindranath began graduate studies in biology (translator's note: his intentions to pursue a doctoral degree, however, were never fulfilled- see The Myriad-Minded Man (MMM) by Krishna Datta and Andrew Robinson). Rabindranath, meanwhile, read from translations of some of his essays in Bengali at the local Unitarian Church. These were his first lectures outside India. Perhaps because his own Brahmo faith had Unitarian influences, his audiences seemed to have liked these writings. Near the beginning of 1913, he read a few more essays in Chicago, and then proceeded to Rochester, New York, to attend a conference on religions. Here he presented a lecture under the title Race Conflict. Thereafter, he went to Harvard to present a few more talks. After traveling to a few more cities he returned to Urbana. After six months there, the poet grew tired mentally. It had been planned originally that they would stay there a while, and Rathindranath would finish his research in the meantime. It was not to be. The chief outcome of this trip was a major change in Tagore's conceptions for the Brahmacharya Ashram at Santiniketan. He felt deeply the need to establish a technical division and a hospital there, and educate the students in science. In his new conception, Jagadananda Roy (a science teacher and writer of popular science- translator) and Rathindranath would carry out experimental research in laboratories. The idea of establishing a university at Santiniketan also germinated in his mind at this time.

Realizing that receiving (British) government money for his work at Santiniketan might interfere with his freedom (translator's note: in a related letter, he asserted "no one is going to put chains on my feet"- see MMM), Rabindranath worked tirelessly for the rest of his life to raise much-needed funds for carrying out his novel experiments in education from within and outside India. His efforts to use his students in the production of plays and dance-dramas even in old age were also motivated by the same desire. Unfortunately, he continued to face acute financial woes again and again.

In 1916, Major J.B.Pond, Jr., of the J.B.Pond Lyceum proposed to Tagore that he would receive a compensation of $12,000 if he agreed to present lectures at several U.S. cities in accordance with an itinerary drawn up by his organization. On account of his Nobel Prize, and the fact that many of his writings had by then been translated into several European languages, Rabindranath was at this time an internationally renowned figure. Accompanying Tagore on his trip this time were C.F.Andrews, William Pearson and Mukul De, a young painter. Beginning with Seattle, Rabindranath traveled across the United States, lecturing in city after city, sometimes repeating the same talks, until he arrived in New York. In a letter written during that tour, he wrote (to paraphrase a delightfully rhyming bon mot), "I travel, I roar, I earn, I dissipate". At length, the arrangement became sufficiently unbearable, and Rabindranath was forced to cancel his contract despite a high financial loss. The lectures he presented on the tour may be found in his books Nationalism and Personality.  At the time of the tour, Europe was engaged in World War I. He repeatedly warned that the spirit of extreme and virulent nationalism would drag the world towards destruction, and advocated vigilance and restraint. Judging by the events that followed twenty or twenty-five years later, it is eminently clear that Tagore's prophesies were right on the mark. The seed of World War II may be found dormant within the events of this period. Sometime later, Bertrand Russell spoke sternly against narrow nationalism and the institution of war and was imprisoned. Many in Europe and America were greatly piqued by Tagore's pacifist and anti-nationalist message. This might well be the primary reason behind the erosion of his popularity in the West.

Upon arriving in New York on a tour of the United States in 1920 Tagore observed that the enthusiasm and ebullience with which he had been received during his preceding visit were palpably lacking this time around.  He gave a few lectures in New York and at Harvard, no doubt, but there was a clear absence of sincerity and warmth all around him.  This time his efforts at fund-raising for Visva-Bharati met with even more dismal results. Not many seemed to be eager to pay much heed to the message of India's "mystic" poet, nor had any interest to know about Visva-Bharati.  Feeling imprisoned within the walls of the sky-hugging luxury hotel, he became quite weary and restless. He attempted to arrange a meeting with Mrs. Carnegie; she declined. The Rockefellers, likewise, spurned his overtures (translator's note: in this context, it is tempting to cite an incident that occurred during Tagore's stay at Yama Farms, a retreat for American millionaires and their guests- intellectuals of world stature. It turns out that late one day, while two emigre Russian artists were busy sketching him, Tagore pulled out a handkerchief from inside his robe, and a dime fell out.  Tagore apparently said to his visitors, "Isn't it odd, an old gentleman gave me this as he was waiting for his car. Do I look like a tramp?"  The infamous dime, it seems, was given to him as alms earlier that day by a stranger! Upon further inquiry, it was determined that the benevolent donor was none other than John D. Rockefeller, who had mentioned giving the dime to "an old Negro!". Readers may draw their own conclusions about America's super-rich from this incident. To find out more, see MMM).  About a month later, he received an invitation from the Junior League; however, here, too, he was unsuccessful in raising any money.  One professor wanted to know the British government's attitude towards Santiniketan.  It gradually became clear to Rabindranath that his relinquishment of the Knighthood in 1919 in protest of the Amritsar massacre had not pleased Americans either.  On a more positive note, the American Poetry Society gave him a warm reception.

Later, in Chicago, Tagore stayed for a few days at the home of Mrs. Moody, wife of a professor at the University of Illinois. The English version of his Chitra was dedicated to her. Meanwhile, Major Pond of the Lyceum had arranged for fifteen lectures in Texas. During this lecture tour Rabindranath met Leonard Elmhirst for the first time. This young Englishman (translator's note: Elmhirst had a degree in agriculture from Cornell University) later helped Rabindranath considerably in his rural development project at Sriniketan, a hamlet near Santiniketan. He accompanied Tagore on his journey to South America in 1924, and when Tagore fell ill on board the ship, took care of him for two months in Argentina. Elmhirst's American friend, Dorothy Straight, who later became his wife, provided funds for the work at Sriniketan (translator's note: she apparently did so more out of her fondness for Elmhirst than for her interest in Tagore or his educational projects- see MMM). Overall, Tagore received little by way of funds or recognition from this tour of the United States. Compared with England, the lack of idealism he witnessed there became recurrent in his memory for years afterwards.

In 1929, Canada's Council of Education invited Tagore to discuss his ideas on Education and Leisure. This was his first formal recognition as an educator from outside India. In Vancouver, he met Canada's Governor General, Lord Willingdon, who later became Viceroy of India.

During the tour of 1929, Rabindranath received invitations from several U.S. cities, and eventually arrived at Los Angeles.  It was the encounter with immigration officials at this port of entry that offended Tagore greatly (translator's note: he was detained for half an hour, asked questions such as if he had any criminal record, and finger-printed, among other acts of humiliation).  Abruptly cutting his visit short, he decided to go to Japan instead. "I am sorry I must take back this memory of American bad manners," he said later.  Incidentally, it may be mentioned that he was detained for several hours by U.S. customs in 1912.

Following his tour of the Soviet Union, Tagore returned to the U.S. for what would be his last visit in late 1930.  He waited in vain for a month and a half to meet with the Rockefellers.  One business organization welcomed him at a lavish dinner reception (with 500 invited guests).  Commenting on the reception, the Saturday Review observed that even though there were several well-known business and wealthy personages listed among the invitees, there was not one recognizable writer or poet among them.  The Review wondered if such a thing could have happened in France, for instance.  Rabindranath had a meeting with President Herbert Hoover, arranged by the Ambassador of Great Britain.  There were several exhibitions of his paintings; however, no lectures were organized.  Most Americans were presumably wary of the possibility that Tagore might compliment the Soviet socialist experiments.  Once again, his hopes of raising funds for education in the U.S. were dashed.

In conclusion, it may be said that during the first third of this (the twentieth) century, the United States lagged considerably behind Europe both culturally and intellectually.  Few Americans had any interest about the civilization or heritage of Oriental cultures (translator's note: with a few exceptions, such as the historian and scholar Will Durant and his wife Ariel).  Sadly, such interest is generally lacking even today.  It is true that the writings of Ralph W. Emerson (translator's note: and also Henry D. Thoreau), the famed Boston Brahmin who had great regard for Indian culture, inspired many educated Bengalis at the time.  However, while Tagore met first-rate intellectuals and thinkers in many countries of the world who pointed him in new directions, and illuminated him further in his efforts at uniting the East and the West, such individuals were sorely lacking in the United States. The Hindu Poet's speeches on race relations and his exhortations about the consequences of narrow nationalism did not make much impact in American minds.  We have seen already that his efforts at fund-raising for Santiniketan were largely futile.  For these reasons, we find virtually no mention of the United States anywhere in Tagore's writings.  Likewise, Tagore, too, is largely forgotten today in the United States.*

* Some material has been taken from Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay's Rabindra Jivan Katha.

The contents of the article in this page are Copyright © Rajat Chanda, 1989. All Rights Reserved.

[Tagore Main Page] [Monish Chatterjee's Home Page]

Last Change : April 10, 2003 / webdesign@stonehouseproducts.com