Santidev Ghosh
Encyclopedia
Santidev Ghose (May 7, 1910 – December 1, 1999) was an author
, singer, actor
, dancer and maestro
of Rabindra Sangeet
from Santiniketan
, India
. As a teenager, Ghosh was selected by the first non-European
Nobel Prize
-winning Poet Laureate
Rabindranath Tagore
to be a teacher in Santiniketan
and sent across India and even to Sri Lanka
, Java
and Bali
to further his musical education for that purpose. Tagore also encouraged Ghosh to act and dance in the poet-laureate's dance dramas, for which Ghosh displayed an uncommon talent for singing, as well as dancing and acting. Some of the poems of Tagore which he converted to new forms of poem-songs, to be sung continuous without repeating the first two lines after each stanza, such as "Krishnakali", were first presented to the public by Ghosh. During his long and productive life in Santiniketan
, Ghosh taught numerous students, many of whom were to later become famed notable singers themselves, such as Suchitra Mitra
and Pramita Mallick. He also garnered fame as author and an authority, on Asian music and especially that of Rabindranath Tagore. During his life, he received notable awards and recognition from the music academies as well as Universities and the Government of India, and was declared a National Scholar by the Government of India. In 2002, India released a postage stamp on Ghosh to commemorate his contribution to music. The Minister for Communication and Information Technology noted that Ghosh "belonged to that class of musicians who through the ages carried forward music's unique creativity".
and was named the province of East Bengal. Today, it is in Bangladesh
.
His father was Kalimohan Ghosh, who worked with Rabindranath Tagore
from before Santidev Ghosh was born, and was closely associated in the setting up the Rurual Reconstruction Unit at Visva-Bharati. His mother was Monorama Devi. Originally, Tagore took Kalimohan to work on rural reconstruction programs in the Tagore estates in Silaidah, today's Bangladesh. Later, Kalimohan was brought by Rabindranath Tagore to Santiniketan, to work on similar scheme of rural reconstruction at Sriniketan, adjacent to Santiniketan
. Kalimohan brought his six month old son, then named Santimoy (meaning peaceful) Ghosh, to Tagore. Tagore changed the middle part of his name, so his first name would be Santidev (meaning Lord of peace), which became Ghosh's common first name.
Santidev had his school education at the Santiniketan Ashrama Vidyalaya which Tagore had founded in 1901. This is where he acquired proficiency in music, dance and acting under the direct guidance of the Poet himself and Dinendranath. As Tagore’s emissary, he visited Sri Lanka
, Burma and Java
and Bali
, in today's Indonesia
to learn music and dance of neighbouring countries.
Santidev joined Visva-Bharati University
as a teacher in 1930, when he was 20 years old. He married Smt. Ila Ghosh in 1946. Later he became Professor and Head of the Department of Rabindra Music and Dance at Sangit-Bhavana, the music department of Visva-Bharati University
. He also served as the Principal of the institute between 1964-68 and 1971-73.
Santidev was appointed a member of the Advisory Board of Akasvani (All India Radio), Calcutta in 1948 and served as a member of the Publication Committee of the Sangeet-Natak Akademi, New Delhi
(1956-60). He was the President of the Music Section of Prabasi Bango Sahitya Sammelan (Expatriate Bengali Cultural Organization) and Assam Sahitya Sammelan (1964). The prolific singer widely traveled in India and abroad. He visited the United Kingdom
, Japan
, Bangladesh
, Sri Lanka
and the former USSR in order to acquaint himself with the culture and traditions of those countries and also to propagate the ideals of Rabindranath.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, singer, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, dancer and maestro
Maestro
Maestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
of Rabindra Sangeet
Rabindra Sangeet
Rabindra Sangeet , also known as Tagore Songs in English, is a form of music composed by Rabindranath Tagore who added a new dimension to the musical concept of India in general and Bengal in specific....
from Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. As a teenager, Ghosh was selected by the first non-European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
to be a teacher in Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
and sent across India and even to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
to further his musical education for that purpose. Tagore also encouraged Ghosh to act and dance in the poet-laureate's dance dramas, for which Ghosh displayed an uncommon talent for singing, as well as dancing and acting. Some of the poems of Tagore which he converted to new forms of poem-songs, to be sung continuous without repeating the first two lines after each stanza, such as "Krishnakali", were first presented to the public by Ghosh. During his long and productive life in Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
, Ghosh taught numerous students, many of whom were to later become famed notable singers themselves, such as Suchitra Mitra
Suchitra Mitra
Suchitra Mitra was an Indian singer and composer, as well as a well-respected exponent of Rabindra Sangeet or the songs of Bengal's poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore. As an academic she remained a Professor and the Head of 'Rabindra Sangeet Department' at the Rabindra Bharati University for many...
and Pramita Mallick. He also garnered fame as author and an authority, on Asian music and especially that of Rabindranath Tagore. During his life, he received notable awards and recognition from the music academies as well as Universities and the Government of India, and was declared a National Scholar by the Government of India. In 2002, India released a postage stamp on Ghosh to commemorate his contribution to music. The Minister for Communication and Information Technology noted that Ghosh "belonged to that class of musicians who through the ages carried forward music's unique creativity".
Biography
Santidev Ghosh was born on 24 Baisakh 1317 (May 7, 1910) in the village of Bajapti near Chandpur. At that time, it was part of the British-controlled IndiaBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
and was named the province of East Bengal. Today, it is in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
.
His father was Kalimohan Ghosh, who worked with Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
from before Santidev Ghosh was born, and was closely associated in the setting up the Rurual Reconstruction Unit at Visva-Bharati. His mother was Monorama Devi. Originally, Tagore took Kalimohan to work on rural reconstruction programs in the Tagore estates in Silaidah, today's Bangladesh. Later, Kalimohan was brought by Rabindranath Tagore to Santiniketan, to work on similar scheme of rural reconstruction at Sriniketan, adjacent to Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
. Kalimohan brought his six month old son, then named Santimoy (meaning peaceful) Ghosh, to Tagore. Tagore changed the middle part of his name, so his first name would be Santidev (meaning Lord of peace), which became Ghosh's common first name.
Santidev had his school education at the Santiniketan Ashrama Vidyalaya which Tagore had founded in 1901. This is where he acquired proficiency in music, dance and acting under the direct guidance of the Poet himself and Dinendranath. As Tagore’s emissary, he visited Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Burma and Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, in today's Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
to learn music and dance of neighbouring countries.
Santidev joined Visva-Bharati University
Visva-Bharati University
Visva Bharati University is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India...
as a teacher in 1930, when he was 20 years old. He married Smt. Ila Ghosh in 1946. Later he became Professor and Head of the Department of Rabindra Music and Dance at Sangit-Bhavana, the music department of Visva-Bharati University
Visva-Bharati University
Visva Bharati University is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India...
. He also served as the Principal of the institute between 1964-68 and 1971-73.
Santidev was appointed a member of the Advisory Board of Akasvani (All India Radio), Calcutta in 1948 and served as a member of the Publication Committee of the Sangeet-Natak Akademi, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
(1956-60). He was the President of the Music Section of Prabasi Bango Sahitya Sammelan (Expatriate Bengali Cultural Organization) and Assam Sahitya Sammelan (1964). The prolific singer widely traveled in India and abroad. He visited the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and the former USSR in order to acquaint himself with the culture and traditions of those countries and also to propagate the ideals of Rabindranath.
Awards and recognition
- Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1977 - Indian National Academi of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi
- Sureshchandra Memorial Ananda Award in 1980 - An award by the Ananda PublishersAnanda PublishersAnanda Publishers is a large publishing group with headquarters in Kolkata. It publishes numerous Bengali books by many renowned authors. It has one of the largest stalls in the Kolkata Book Fair, and is often awarded a prize for its stall. Ananda Publishers is the division of ABP...
Group for outstanding contribution to culture - PadmabhusanPadma BhushanThe Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
by the Central Government of IndiaGovernment of IndiaThe Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
in 1984 - Third highest national award for a civilian. - Deshikottama, the highest award bestowed by the Visva-Bharati UniversityVisva-Bharati UniversityVisva Bharati University is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India...
in 1984, similar to an Honorary D. Litt - Honorary D.Litt from Burdwan University
- Honorary D.Litt Rabindra Bharati Universities in 1991
- Rabindra Tattvacharya at the Tagore Research Institute, Kolkata.
Publications
- Rabindra Sangeet (Tagore Music)
- Java O Balir Nrityageet (Music and Dance of JavaJavaJava is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and BaliBaliBali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
) - Rupakar Nandalal (Artist Nandalal)
- Bharatiya Gramin Sanskriti (Folk Culture of India)
- Rabindranather Sikshadarshe Sangit O Nritya (Music and Dance in the in Rabindranath’s Educational Philosophy)
- Gurudev Rabindranath O Adhunik Bharatiya Nritya (Rabindranath Tagore and Dances of Modern India)
- Rabindra Sangit-Vichitra (Rabindranath Tagore Music Miscellany)
- Nrityakala O Rabindranath (The Art of Dance in the Eyes of Rabindranath Tagore)
- Jiboner Dhrubata (The Polestar of Life), his autobiography.