Rathindranath Tagore, after completing his education first at Santiniketan and then abroad, spent the next four decades of his life serving Santiniketan and Visva Bharati.[7]
Pratima Devi was a talented artist and contributed substantially to improvising and popularising Rabindranath's dance dramas.[8]
Krishna Kripalani, husband of Nandita, a grand daughter of Rabindranath, taught at Santiniketan for about 15 years, His biography of Tagore was amongst the best ever written.[9]
Dwijendranath Tagore, Rabindranath's eldest brother, spent the last twenty years of his life at Santiniketan. He was a poet, musician, philosopher and mathematician.[10]
Dinendranath Tagore, grandson of Dwijendranath, was a talented musician. He codified many of the tunes that appeared impetuously to Rabindranath. He named Rabindranath's songs as Rabindra Sangeet. He was the first principal of Sangit Bhavana.[11]
Indira Devi Chaudhurani, daughter of Satyendranath Tagore, excelled in both Western and Indian classical music and composed Brahmasangit. She wrote the notations for many of Rabindranath's songs.[12]
Martin Kämpchen is a Santiniketan-based translator of Rabindranath Tagore's poems from Bengali to German, author, journalist and social worker.[18]
When I decided to return to West-Bengal at the end of 1979, I moved to Santiniketan where I am still based. I had not settled in Santiniketan because I felt drawn to Rabindranath. Rather, it was the peace and quiet which then still engulfed this small University town, which made me decide to settle there for work on a Ph.D. True, I had read the English Gitanjali and some other slim books and was charmed by them. But I had no foreboding that Rabindranath would soon occupy a central position in my life.
Anand Yang, historian, was born and initially raised here.[20]
Savitri Devi, the pseudonym of the daughter of a French citizen of Greek-Italian ancestry and an English woman, born Maximiani Portas, was a political activist and writer. She was at Santiniketan for a short while and acquired her pseudonym there.[21]
In the two and a half years, I had time to think, and time to realise that, without my being aware of it, the place had opened windows for me. More than anything else, it had brought me an awareness of our tradition, which I knew would serve as a foundation for any branch of art that I wished to pursue.
younger brother of Santidev Ghosh, attended school at Santiniketan. He subsequently became assistant editor of the literary magazine Desh in 1933 and its editor in 1976. He made Desh an institution amongst Bengalis. He was conferred Desikottama.
noted Assamese poet, novelist and dramatist, completed his undergraduate education at Santiniketan. He later received the Sahitya Akademi Award and was conferred the Padma Bhusan.
was a student of Kala Bhavana and is credited with having developed the adaptation of the national emblem and designed other pages of the Constitution of India.
came to Santiniketan at a young age and went on to become a legendary sculptor and artist. He was one of the ‘greats’, who made Santiniketan, a notable centre of modern art. He was elected a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Academy and conferred Padma Bhushan, Desikottama by Visva Bharati and D Litt by Rabindra Bharati University.
There was a much closer bond with nature. Secondly, there was music everywhere, a scene that was quite new to someone who had come from Bangladesh. Thirdly, the understanding and relationship between teachers and students was integral in bringing about a positive change in our lifestyle.
exponent of both Carnatic and Hindusthani classical music. After learning Carnatic classical music as a child from her mother, she came to Santiniketan to study philosophy and got attracted towards Hindusthani classical music.
joined as a student in the ashrama and later became a teacher and Principal of Sangit Bhavana. An exponent of music and dance, he was elected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, conferred Desikottama by Visva Bharati and honorary D Litt by Burdwan University.
was trained at Sangit Bhavana, and later joined the institution as a teacher and went on to become its principal. She was conferred Desikottama. She had over 300 gramophone discs to her credit and sang regularly in numerous programmes in India and abroad.
the Bangladeshi exponent of Rabindra Sangeet, was trained at Santiniketan. She was conferred the Independence Day Award, the highest civilian award in Bangladesh in 2016.
It was mainly in Tagore’s school that my educational attitudes were formed. This was a co-educational school, with many progressive features. The emphasis was on fostering curiosity rather than competitive excellence, and any kind of interest in examination performance and grades was severely discouraged…Since I was, I have to confess, a reasonably good student, I had to do my best to efface that stigma.
a molecular biologist, who did his Ph D from Visva Bharati University, was the chief scientist at the Institute of Microbial Technology. He is an elected fellow of all three Science Academies in India - the National Academy of Sciences, Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy.
plant molecular biologist, biochemist, inventor and a senior scientist at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi. He is known for his studies on the molecular and biochemical basis of seed vigor, longevity and seedling establishment. He completed his post graduation in botany at Santiniketan.
neurobiologist, senior scientist at National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, completed his pre-doctoral studies in life sciences at Visva Bharati University.
who studied history of art at Kala Bhavana, later joined as faculty and became its principal, is a leading art historian and has curated numerous art exhibitions.
did his Ph D from Visva Bharati University and went on hold important academic positions as a Chinese scholar. He was conferred with Desikottama, Padma Bhusan and other awards.
was one of the earliest students of Visva Bharati and later became a professor of Islamic history and culture. He also taught the German language at Visva Bharati. He was a Bengali author, academic and linguist.
Before Santiniketan there was absolutely no music in our home. At Santiniketan, my relationship with all these things grew. We also went closer to nature.
was a Chinese scholar and effective founder of Santiniketan's Cheena Bhavana, the oldest centre of Chinese studies in India. He devoted his life to the cause of Sino-Indian cultural friendship. He was conferred with Desikottama.
Austrian art historian, taught at Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan in 1922–24. A skilled dancer she taught "musical drill" to the children of Santiniketan ashrama. She was conferred Desikottama and Padma Bhusan.
was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art. Many critics consider his paintings among India's most important modern paintings. A Padma Vibhushan awardee he has trained a generation of artists at Santiniketan.
was an artist and architect known for developing an Indian style of architecture. He taught at Kala Bhavana and designed many buildings at Santiniketan
journalist, writer, parliamentarian and Padma Bhusan award winner played an active role in the setting up and construction of the Hindi Bhavana at Santiniketan in 1939.
taught Hindi at Visva Bharati and helped in establishing Hindi Bhavana, He was its head for many years. A noted Hindi writer and winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award, he was conferred Padma Bhusan.
was a scholar best known for his 5-volume Bangiya Sabdakosh (Bengali dictionary), worked at Santiniketan all his life. He was conferred the Desikottama.
came to Santiniketan to teach chemistry and went on to be principal of Sangit Bhavana. A distinguished exponent and teacher of Rabindra Sangeet, he was conferred Desikottama.
German Indologist, Sinlogist and Buddhist scholar, was visiting professor and fellow before becoming director of the Sino-Indian Institute in 1955–1960 at Santiniketan.
was associated with Santiniketan almost all his working life, He is best known as the biographer of Rabindranath. He was honoured with Desikottama and Padma Bhusan.
literary critic, academic and Bengali poet, was associated with Visva Bharati from 1924 to 1933. Thereafter, he earned a D Phil from Oxford university and worked in various academic positions in India and abroad. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award and was conferred the Desikottama and Padma Bhusan.
was a Coventry born scholar who came to India as a lecturer of English literature at Visva Bharati. He is famous for his pioneering work on the terracotta temples of Bengal.
Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha, of Raipur, had donated for the construction of Singha Sadan with a clock tower and bell. It was in this building that Oxford University conferred its honorary doctorate on the poet.[116]
Brajendra Nath Seal, philosopher and vice-chancellor of Mysore University, presided over the inauguration of Visva Bharati on 23 December 1921, and presided over the Visva Bharati Society.[117][118]
^See [1] for a sketch of Santiniketan hospital by Affandi
^Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye. University of California / Google. 1989. p. 51. Retrieved 6 September 2019. Satyajit Ray learnt at Santiniketan.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^"Being universal by being local". Interview with K.S. Radhakrishnan, who curated a retrospective comprising 350 works of Ramkinkar Baij. Frontline, Volume 29, Issue 05, 10–23 March 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
^Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, (in Bengali), p 614, ISBN81-85626-65-0
