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L i f e : 1941 - 1947 |
1941 : Santiniketan
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Heritage |
Yatra Visvam Bhavatyekanidam
where the world makes a home in a single nest |
Santiniketan Griha |
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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,
Rabindranath'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 not more than five students on the roll, was, in part, a fulfillment of the wishes
of his father. |
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Visva-Bharati was inaugurated on
December 23, 1921. |
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In May 1951, Visva-Bharati was declared to be a Central University and an Institution
of National Importance by an Act of Parliament. |
Kavivar
Rabindranath Tagore at
Amrakunja - Mango Groove |
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Invited by
Kavivar Rabindranath Tagore himself, Jhaverchand Meghani visited Santiniketan in
March, 1941
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Cheena Bhavana
where he was
honoured
before delivering his
lectures |
Syamali
Tagore's Home |
Ratan Kuthi
the
VIP
guesthouse
where he was
put up |
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with
Gurdial Malik
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with
Nandalal Bose
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Kshitimohan Sen |
Hazariprasad Dwivedi |
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Warm Welcome at
Bolpur Railway Station
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Breakfast time |
at
Ratan Kuthi
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with the
Youth |
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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 |
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the
speech he made while accepting the honour
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Delivered
Four Lectures in
English on
Gujarati Folklore
venue : Central
Hall of Cheena Bhavana
time : 6.45 pm to 8.00 pm
( 1 hour, 15
minutes each )
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March 13 |
Folk Songs |
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March 14 |
Tales told in Verse |
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March 16 |
The Bardic Lore -
'Chaaranee Vaanee' |
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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.
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Handwritten Manuscript of the
Lectures |
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Later published as a
10-page article under the title
`Folk-Songs of Gujarat' in
the April 1943 issue of
Visva-Bharati Quaterly.
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Tagore was unfortunately a bit unwell then.
Nandababu and Malikji 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" |
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remembering Santiniketan on the pages of
Phulchhab |
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1941 : `Mukhadaa Kyaa Dekho Darapana Mein '
Cartoon
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Ahmedabad -- then
considered as `Manchester of India' |
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June 4, 1941
Accused of fuelling hatred between communities, he was charged under
section 153
A of IPC.
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Poilce Station at
Gaekwad Haveli,
Ahmedabad
where he was first taken |
Court of City Magistrate
at Bhadra, Ahmedabad
where he was presented |
Sub-jail
at Court, Ahmedabad
where he was lodged
for a night |
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Released next day on a bail of Rs. 500.
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at the Court of City Magistrate, Bhadra, Ahmedabad
left to right
Barrister Himmatlal P. Shukla,
Meghani, Nathalal M. Shah of
Phulchhab, Barrister Pandurao
B. Desai |
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Meghani's
statement in the court
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And ultimately
aquitted on September 9,
1941.
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Court Judgement
Magistrate
Suleman Kalubhai Desai
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Telegram
intimating the aquittal |
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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. |
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Post-acquittal
Celebrations |
Kashtabhanjan Hanuman Temple
at
Sarangpur, near
Botad |
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 ! |
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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. |
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1943 :
Thakkar Vasanji Madhavji
Lectures
5 Lectures |
University of Bombay
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Lectures published later
1946 |
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Corridor along the
Convocation Hall |
venue
Convocation
Hall of University of Bombay
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Inner view of
Convocation Hall |
August 24-25-26-27-28, 1943
(5
Lectures)
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The lectures, though meant
primarily for academia, were presented in such a lively manner
that they aroused unprecedented interest
among others too.
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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.
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Meghani
got on to the table so that he could be seen and heard better by the huge
audience.
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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.
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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.
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Handwritten Manuscript of the Lectures |
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1944 :
Meeting
Mahatma
Gandhi
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1944 : Raveendra Veena
Sanchayita
The Earlier
Edition |
Kavivar Rabindranath
Tagore |
Sanchayita
The Present
Edition |
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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. |
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Raveendra-Veena
(1944) |
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A
Collection of 64 Poems adapted into
Gujarati by Jhaverchand
Meghani |
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one of the later
Reprints |
The
First Edition : 1944 |
The Present Edition |
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A Collection of 64 Poems
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Some of the Poems compared |
The original Bangla
in Gujarati
script |
Its transfusion in
Gujarati
by
Jhaverchand Meghani |
The English transalation
by Rabindranath Tagore |
Sonaar Taree
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Sonaa-Naavadee : 1931
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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.
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Navavarshaa
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Navee Varshaa
:
1944
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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.
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Bidaai
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Marataa Baalak-nu Aashvaasan : 1936
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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.
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click here to listen to
Rabindranath Tagore reciting
Sonaar Taree
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Sonaar Taree
in Tagore's Handwriting |
Sonaa-Naavadee
in Meghani's handwriting |
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The Making of
Raveendra Veena |
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To Meghanibhai
With an ardent wish that
you bring some of these into Gujarati.
08-11-'33, Santiniketan |
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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. |
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Much as Meghani felt like taking up the challenge, he, somehow, just could not get
going all out on it. |
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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Kalaguru Ravishankar
Raval with his students |
Meghani remembers
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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
Kalaguru of
Gujarat
who ran an Art School at his home at
'Chitrakoot', Brahmin Mitra Mandal Society,
Paldi, Ahmedabad
and whom Meghani considered his elder brother |
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In the evenings
the students and friends gathered to listen to Meghani sing songs from his new book. |
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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. |
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Meghani in his preface to the
Second
edition of the book
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1945
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Retired from
Phulchhab
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... after completing
23 years
of Journalism |
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September 30, 1945
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with family
at Botad |
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1946 :
16th Sahitya Parishad, Rajkot
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Attended 16th session Gujarati Sahitya Parishad
at Rajkot
as the President of
Literature section.
October 18-19-20, 1946
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then |
venue
Dharmendrasinhji College, Rajkot |
now |
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Dr. Kanaiyalal Munshi
Mentor
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Ramnarayan Pathak
President
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Principal Dr. Ramanlal
Yagnik
Host
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President of
Literature section |
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seated -- left to right
Munshi, Pathak, Yagnik, Meghani
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left to right
Meghani, Yagnik, Munshi, Pathak
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left
to right
Meghani, Pathak, Munshi, Yagnik
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Office-bearers and
Delegates
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Cultural programme |
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'we are music-makers' |
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his
address
as
President of
Literature section |
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1946 :
Mahida
Paaritoshik
(Award)
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Awarded
for
Maanasaaee-naa Deeva,
a book depicting the life and
work of
Ravishankar Maharaj
December 29, 1946
:
4.30
evening
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the speech he made while accepting the honour |
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Kumar Motisinh Mahida
(1909-1941)
Poet, Writer, Social Reformist |
Mahida Family
Mandwa-Chandod
Estate
( District Vadodara ) |
Kumar Motisinh Mahida (left)
Kumar Narendrasinh Mahida (right) |
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.
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Mahida House,
Mandwa
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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
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Umashankar
Joshi
First Recipient
'Praacheena'
1944 |
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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. |
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The Saintly Voices
Sorathee Santo
The Saints of Sorath |
Puraatan Jyot
The Pristine
Glow |
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1928 |
1938 |
Twin books
depicting
lives of some 12 saints of
Sorath |
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Sant Devidas |
Mekran Dada |
Dan Maharaj |
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Sorathee Santvaanee
The Saintly Voices from
Sorath
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1947 |
A collection
of
104 Bhajans
(Devotional Songs) |
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click here for full view |
March 9, 1947
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Breathed his last at
Botad
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Front Page of
Phulcchab
:
A befitting tribute
to Jhaverchand
Meghani |
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