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Showing posts with label Bolpur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bolpur. Show all posts

Friday, April 5, 2013

Research, Bolpur, Santiniketan And More


It’s now about three weeks that I am back from Santiniketan in Bolpur and no wonder that I am not feeling good about it. Staying there weeklong has been a sweet experience, a rare sweet experience amidst all the not so sweet experiences of late. I landed up in Bolpur to survey a set of respondents for my research. Earlier I have been to the place once, guided by a real bright talent of Visvabharati University (not belonging to the mass communication fraternity). Things were more hectic last time with the scorching heat of the summer months and a pilot study which was to be completed in tight schedule. A final study was due and I went there with a week in hand to complete the work. The student of Visvabharati University could not make it this time as his period of study has ended few months back and he was back home. However, I was lucky to get two new contacts. These two new contacts eased up my initial anxiety as the local population gradually cooperated with me. People in Bolpur are different and I could sense that I am in august company. The rickshaw puller who took me to the hotel on Bhubhandanga sounded quite knowledgeable. Bolpur is not the epitome of materialistic accomplishment; it is the embodiment of simple inner happiness. One of my local contacts, a busy and jovial journalist, made a prior booking of the hotel. I paid the advance and got the key to my room. I cleaned myself, had my lunch and talked to the journalist over phone. He was in between an unfolding news story and promised to turn up in the evening. I got time to chalk out my action plan-where to go first, how to approach people etc. I went through my questionnaire and tried to correct typing errors if any. It was a matter of about hundred respondents, representing a cross section of the population. Daylight waned over the streets of Bolpur and the fading light ushered in a mystic evening. The Journalist turned up at the hotel with a smile. He was talking over phone to someone regarding my issue, looking for prospective respondents I thought. We went out without wasting any more time and were soon asking people to spare some of their valuable time to give tick marks beside a set of options. Some complied with our request while some were not so forthcoming. Bolpur though, true to its spirit, was mostly cooperative.



The next day I turned up at Padma Bhavana at Visvabharathi University. A famed professor of Geography department was my second contact person. I have met him once earlier in one of his book launch ceremonies in Kolkata. A man who was not fond of wasting his time over “fixing issues” and lazy gossip, this professor was a lot different from the general yardstick. He was among a few researchers in India who could undertake innovative means to pursue his area of interest. His energy was infectious on those who were around him. Truly international in spirit and resembling Paulo Coelho in looks, I was more than glad to meet him with my research idea and a set of questionnaires. He found interest in my area of study and introduced me to some of the students. He briefed them about their role and the students gladly agreed to help me in my research. I myself being a part of a University can say it with conviction that students of Visvabharati take academic issues in proper light and are highly cooperative. They are keen to participate and learn and don’t give the “I know things better than you” stare. Boys and girls were overenthusiastic to shoulder the responsibility of meeting members of different households in their locality. Number of filled up questionnaires swelled in a jiffy. Two rickshaw pullers in front of my hotel also helped me reach prospective respondents. The five days of my survey in Bolpur turned out to be highly productive.


The journalist continued to back up with his resources wherever he could. Working in the wee hours of night on a story, he was never disturbed when I called. While during the day I was busy completing my objective in the night I went out for a walk to feel the pulse of Shantiniketan and adjoining areas. The serene roads, devoid of busy traffic and blaring horns, were very different from the cacophony of Kolkata. As I strolled past the Upasana Griha in Santiniketan I could not but praise the endeavour of Rabindranath Tagore in conceiving the idea of Visvabharathi. This educational institute was started by a man who did not have formal learning and schooling and whose philosophy about teaching was –“Knock at the doors of the mind. If any boy is asked to give an account of what is awakened in him by such knocking, he will probably say something silly. For what happens within is much bigger than what comes out in words. Those who pin their faith on university examinations as the test of education take no account of this.1 Skeptics might argue that this educational spirit of Rabindranath has now been diluted but they cannot point fingers at the upkeep of Visvabharathi University which is truly world class. One evening I took a rickshaw to the Gitanjali cinema hall. They were showing the movie The Attacks of 26/11. A balcony ticket came really cheap and I went in to see this latest Ram Gopal Verma thriller. As expected Ram Gopal dished out something which was not really appreciable. Coming out from the hall I sauntered towards the restaurant which caught my attention while entering the complex for buying tickets. Ghare Baire, a restaurant which offers authentic Bengali cuisine was adjacent to the cinema hall. The men who were taking orders at the restaurant wore traditional Bengali dress. I settled for some light snacks and a big cup of tea which was served in a beautiful earthen pot or “Bhar”. The interiors of the restaurant were highly influenced by creative exploits of Rabindranath Tagore. Lines from his poem decorated the ceiling. Different shades of his painting was also lighting up the atmosphere. Earlier when I came to Bolpur I had a pleasant experience of Alcha Boutique and Restaurant. This time Ghare Baire proved to be really interesting.



I have been to four other places for my research but there was something special about Bolpur. No wonder that tourists pour in from all corners of the globe during Poush Mela and Basanta Utsav in Santiniketan. There is life in this place. It liberates the soul and brings in lot of fresh air. Amidst all the dullness of modern life Bolpur holds a promise of “good times”.





1. Source: Wikipedia.

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