Schoolgirls perform on the eve of Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary on Monday at the tourist site in Ranchi named after him. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore could not visit his elder brother Jyotirindranath’s hilltop retreat in Ranchi. But present-day artists bypassed this historical fact to paint a reunion of the talented brothers on the heritage hill, all for a good cause.

Tagore Hill on Monday became the venue of a three-day exhibition, as 32 paintings — made by artists at a workshop titled Spring 2012 in March — were put up by voluntary outfit Society for Preservation of Tribal Cultural and Natural Beauty. The exhibition was inaugurated by Central Coalfields Limited chairman-cum-managing director Gopal Singh, who lauded the efforts of the organisation to commemorate the Tagore Janmotsava Saptah from May 4 till May 10.

Interestingly, few know that scholar and playwright Jyotirindranath was born on May 4, 1849. Twelve years later, Rabindranath was born on May 8, 1861. Rabindranath’s birth anniversary, famed as Pachishey Boishak or the 25th day of the Indian month of Baisakh, is widely celebrated. This year, it is special, as it marks the closure of events commemorating the 150th birth anniversary year.

Most paintings at the exhibition depicted the brothers against the backdrop of the scenic hill, never mind the historical inaccuracy. A few showed both the brothers in animated discussions or engrossed in writing.

Jyotindranath had bought the place in 1908 from a local landowner to set up his scenic retreat. Right now, the structures on the hill, including the stairway, Shantidham, Upasana Sthal and others are dilapidated.

Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation, which wants to promote tourism to the site, does not seem to bother much about preserving the historical authenticity of the century-old structures, allege some Society members.

“We want Tagore Hill to be declared a site of national heritage by the Archaeological Society of India. Our main motto is to promote this historical place, lying neglected for years, through programmes based on Rabindranath Tagore and his elder brother and mentor Jyotirindranath,” said Society president Ajay Kumar Jain.

He added that they had requested Ranchi DC K.K. Soan to initiate the process of getting the national heritage tag for Tagore Hill and that Soan had forwarded the proposal to the state, which then passed it to the Archaeological Society of India.

Besides the exhibition — open from 9am to 6pm till Wednesday — a non-competitive painting event for 35 schoolchildren was also hosted on Monday to kindle the joy of “creativity just for creativity’s sake”.

Ninth grader of Dhurwa-based Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir Sourabh Kumar, busy painting the natural beauties surrounding him, said: “The scenic beauty of the place is truly inspiring.”

Jyotirindranath, were he alive, would have heartily seconded the boy. Rabindranath missed it.

Will an exhibition help save the crumbling Tagore Hill?

Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com