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Life on the fast track overtakes Tagore's abode of peace

Arup Chanda in Calcutta

Shantiniketan means the abode of peace. Founded by Debendranath Tagore, father of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, the aim was to build an ashram where people could pray and young boys and girls would obtain education in an unconventional way.

Now the idyll is no more. Even a few years ago, one could bask in the solitude of Shantiniketan. Today big money and expensive limousines of the nouveau riche have driven the poet's dream away.

A few decades ago prosperous Bengalis would own farmhouses in neighbouring Bihar and Orissa. Fresh air and water had a salubrious effect on mentally and physically tired babus who would spend their vacations in those bungalows. However, with the political culture undergoing a transformation, many of those bungalows were encroached upon while some of those places have become too dangerous to visit because of terrorism.

The focus then shifted to adjoining districts of South and North 24 Parganas. But within a few years the area witnessed a mushroom growth of holiday resorts complete with swimming pools, jacuzzis and unlicensed bars. Police raids have revealed the nefarious activities going on at these places.

For the nouveau riche Bengali there was no place to go, the real estate then reached saturation levels. It was then someone discovered Shantiniketan, where land was extremely cheap and the red soil, the wild forestry and the dry climate made it the ideal location. Soon those Calcuttans who could afford a second home flocked to Shantiniketan.

Says Purnananda Chatterjee, a school teacher in Shantiniketan, "In 1978 I bought a six-cotta plot of land for only Rs 4,200. Today, each cotta costs Rs 40,000. Even in the early 'nineties the price was as low as Rs 10,000 a cotta."

Tagore's vision of living and learning in communion with nature shaped Viswa Bharati Univeristy in Shantiniketan and the adjoining Bolpur into a place inhabited mostly by people devoted to scholastic pursuits or those leading a quiet post-retirement life. Those Calcuttans who built their bungalows to spend their vacations were careful not to disturb this tranquillity.

But a few years ago the land-grab by nouveau riche Calcuttans began. The change it has engendered can best be seen on Shantiniketan Express, which takes less than three hours to arrive from Calcutta. The train is today made up mostly of upmarket Bengalis discussing the share market or their latest holiday in Mauritius.

The new expressway has also opened up Shantiniketan to the Santros, Maruti Esteems and Tata Sumos. Earlier, road conditions were so bad that it took almost eight hours of gruelling journey from Calcutta.

And as far as accommodation went, a decade ago there was only the West Bengal government Tourist Lodge where one rarely found a room without advance booking. Today, hundreds of lodges have sprung up in Bolpur town. For middle class Bengalis the Mexican villas of the rich, particularly in Prantik area are a new tourist attraction.

The huge bungalows are worth millions, the gardens abloom with rare orchids and limousines parked in the portico, with dish antennas vying for attention. The insides boast of cocktail bars, expensive paintings and curios. Gone are those days when local inhabitants decorated their houses with simple local cane furniture and kantha stitched and batik decorations.

There was a time, recalled Prabir Chandra Ghosh, a freedom fighter who met Tagore there in 1938, when women from affluent families from Calcutta would roam barefoot and did not wear jewellery. "Those days one had to walk for more than two hours from Bolpur station to Shantiniketan or come by bullock cart. There were not many shops on the way. There was plenty of open space and only few private houses in Shantiniketan," he says.

But what has seriously affected the lives of the traditional residents is the weekend parties. Loud music, alcohol flowing like water and Santhal belles dancing to the amusement of the guests are a common sight at all these soirees.

This has also affected the economy of the adjoining villages inhabited by Santhal tribals. "Earlier, we could hire a maid for only Rs 100 a month and who would do everything from cleaning the house to washing utensils. For these rich Calcuttans, keeping a permanent maid even when they are away in Calcutta for Rs 500 is nothing. This has created a problem for us," says Chatterjee.

But the latest nail in the coffin for Shantiniketan are the holiday resorts with sprawling lawns, swimming pools and bars which promise fun and entertainment under the open sky. These resorts are mostly filled on weekends with people who have enough money to throw around. The resorts also offer instant culture packages like Santhal dances, Rabindrasangeet and Baul songs. But in most cases, the scene is a Baul singing away in one corner while the crowd is busy munching pakoras as they nurse their drink.

It is not only the socio-economic fabric of Shantiniketan which is being affected by 'progress'. The huge concrete structures are also eroding the greenery and the destroying the openness of the area. Residents of Shantiniketan do protest but their voice is too feeble. They feel it is time the Viswa Bharati took up the issue with the state government. But now, with Nobel laureate Amartya Sen also expressing concern, there is hope for them yet.

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