Shantiniketan

Introducing Shantiniketan

Shantiniketan is the epitome of its Bengali name, which means peaceful (shanti) abode (niketan). Rabindranath Tagore founded a school here in 1901, which later developed into the Visva-Bharati University, with an emphasis on humanity’s relationship with nature.

Spread through the leafy university grounds are eclectic statues, the celebrated Shantiniketan Murals and the Tagore Prayer Hall. Oddly, Tagore’s car, a black Humber, sits silently behind a glass-walled garage, its fate sealed by the fact that it was used by him. The museum and art gallery (admission Rs 5; 10.30am-1pm & 2-4.30pm Thu-Mon, 10.30am-1pm Tue) in the Uttarayan complex are worth a peek if you’re an aficionado of Tagore. The bookshop at the main gate has plenty of Tagore’s titles (Rs 80 to Rs 250) in English.

Last updated: Sep 17, 2008