NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an anecdote about introducing women to the idea of draping the “pallu” sari over the left shoulder.
He said it was Jnanadanandini Devi, the wife of Rabindranath Tagore’s older brother, Satyendranath, who came up with a kind of solution, as putting the sari over the right shoulder hindered household chores.
Jnanadanandini, married to the country’s first ICS officer and from the highest echelon of the Brahmo SamajShe had lived for some time in Ahmedabad, where her husband was stationed. The women of the Tagore family were highly educated and well ahead of their time.
Modi was on his way virtually to the Visva-Bharati University centennial celebrations in west bengalSantiniketan when his stories about Gurudev and his family came up, among other things.
“Gurudev Rabindranath’s older brother, Satyendra Nath, was appointed ICS officer in Ahmedabad. Satyendranath’s wife, Jnanadanandini, lived in Ahmedabad. Local women used to place the pallu on their right shoulder, making their work difficult.
“Jnanadanandini drew the idea, why not carry the pallu over the left shoulder?” Prime Minister Modi said.
She said, “I don’t know exactly, but the pallu sari over the left shoulder is said to be for her,” adding that organizations related to women’s empowerment should study this.
Modi also mentioned the deep ties between Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Gujarat.
Modi said: “When I speak of Gurudev, I cannot help but escape the temptation to remember the deep ties that Gurudev had with Gujarat.
“It is important to remember this over and over again as it fills us with feelings of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’. How connected is our country to different dialects and foods? Diversity brings our country together.”
Tagore lived in Santiniketan and brought him international fame. The small town nearby Bolpur in the Birbhum district was nurtured by the Nobel The vision of Laureate, which is now a university city: Visva-Bharati University.
Santiniketan was formerly called Bhubandanga (the name of Bhuban Dakat, a local dacoit), and was owned by the Tagore family.
In 1862, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, the poet’s father, while traveling by boat to Raipur, I found the landscape with red earth and lush green rice fields. He decided to plant more young trees and built a small house.
He called his home Santiniketan, the abode of peace. He founded an Ashram here in 1863 and became the initiator of the Brahmo Samaj.
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