' Like a flock of homesick cranes, flying
Night and day back to their mountain nests,
Let all my life take its voyage to its eternal home,
In one salutation to Thee.'
- Rabindranath Tagore
In the year of 1941, Tagore was on his deathbed at the ripe age of 80 years. He experienced a number of deaths of his near and dear ones through his long journey of life and perceived how to overcome this sorrow in his various creations. Ultimately he took his 'eternal voyage' on that year leaving a great vacuum in the world of literature. One can remember that the World War II was on the progress that time.
After a good long interval of 150 years, everyone must admit that the impact of the Tagore's songs is still at its height in his homeland. Now I'm trying to give a brief account on the influence of it on Europe at that period of fire and thunder.
Warsaw, the capital of Poland. We all are familiar with it as a famous Historic city. But in the year of 1942 it was merely a city devastated by Nazi occupation where the notorious Warsaw Ghetto had been set up. There millions of Jews were killed or thrown into concentration camps for eventual killing. The story centres round some of them.
Have you heard the name of Janusz Korczak? Well, many of us haven’t. In fact, neither have I until my respected teacher Dr. Swagatam Das, after his Europe tour, told me the story of Dr. Janusz Korczak of Warsaw and his orphanage and I found it on the Wikipedia Page.
Dr. Korczak founded an orphanage with the help of the Polish Government and people's donation. The campaign was going on fairly. But no sooner had the Nazis captured the city than the donations stopped. Dr. Korczak was also directed to leave the Krochmalna Street orphanage as Germans would set up a shoe factory there. However he with his orphan children was sent to Warsaw Ghetto.
Colonel Muller, the German Army Officer questioned Korczak about his orphanage. Actually it was run by the children themselves. Even there was a parliament and a newspaper also used to be published. Nazis believed in dictatorship and naturally they can't put up with such a democracy. However, the children and Korczak himself were jews and so in the radar of the Nazi machine of holocaust.
It must be admitted that Colonel Muller never tried to play a trick. He informed Dr. Korczak plainly and clearly that the Germal Government could not bear the expenses of feeding 192 orphan mouths because of the growing needs of the war. So the children would be carried to the Treblinka concentration camp and there they would be used for the well being of the German nation(not to be mentioned that they would be cruelly killed in the Gas Chamber or in the incinerator and their bones would be used in German phosphate industries!!!!!). Nazis wanted to spare Korczak because they need professional doctors for the treatment of the German soldiers.
How horrible was the experience and feeling of Dr. Korczak then. How could he tell the children that they would be killed soon. Those innocent children were too little to have a clear perception of death. To make them realize, Korczak took the help of the play 'ডাকঘর'('The Post Office') written by Tagore. In this play we see a village boy Amal, suffering from his illness, waits for the 'King's Letter' promising that his royal physician will come to attend him. Here the King symbolizes the Almighty and his letter suggests his final call to leave this earthly abode. Korczak translated it into the Polish and it was performed by the children under his supervision in the Warsaw Ghetto on the 5th August, 1942.
When those 192 children, led by the Nazi officers, were going to the rail station, there were no signs of fear in their faces. De. Korczak led the procession and all were singing merrily! What was the song?It was also written by Tagore: যদি তোর ডাক শুনে কেউ না আসে তবে একলা চলো রে("If they answer not to thy call, Walk Alone").
The colonel asked whether the song was anti-Nazi-st. Korczak answered that the song was written by an 'Indian Prophet'.
In Warsaw the orphanage building now has been transformed into a museum and there stood two idols=- one of Dr. Korczak and theother of our most beloved poet Tagore. Another memorial of Korczak and his children was built at the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Those remind us how to transcend death within life.
Night and day back to their mountain nests,
Let all my life take its voyage to its eternal home,
In one salutation to Thee.'
- Rabindranath Tagore
After a good long interval of 150 years, everyone must admit that the impact of the Tagore's songs is still at its height in his homeland. Now I'm trying to give a brief account on the influence of it on Europe at that period of fire and thunder.
Warsaw, the capital of Poland. We all are familiar with it as a famous Historic city. But in the year of 1942 it was merely a city devastated by Nazi occupation where the notorious Warsaw Ghetto had been set up. There millions of Jews were killed or thrown into concentration camps for eventual killing. The story centres round some of them.
Have you heard the name of Janusz Korczak? Well, many of us haven’t. In fact, neither have I until my respected teacher Dr. Swagatam Das, after his Europe tour, told me the story of Dr. Janusz Korczak of Warsaw and his orphanage and I found it on the Wikipedia Page.
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| Janusz Korczak |
Colonel Muller, the German Army Officer questioned Korczak about his orphanage. Actually it was run by the children themselves. Even there was a parliament and a newspaper also used to be published. Nazis believed in dictatorship and naturally they can't put up with such a democracy. However, the children and Korczak himself were jews and so in the radar of the Nazi machine of holocaust.
It must be admitted that Colonel Muller never tried to play a trick. He informed Dr. Korczak plainly and clearly that the Germal Government could not bear the expenses of feeding 192 orphan mouths because of the growing needs of the war. So the children would be carried to the Treblinka concentration camp and there they would be used for the well being of the German nation(not to be mentioned that they would be cruelly killed in the Gas Chamber or in the incinerator and their bones would be used in German phosphate industries!!!!!). Nazis wanted to spare Korczak because they need professional doctors for the treatment of the German soldiers.
How horrible was the experience and feeling of Dr. Korczak then. How could he tell the children that they would be killed soon. Those innocent children were too little to have a clear perception of death. To make them realize, Korczak took the help of the play 'ডাকঘর'('The Post Office') written by Tagore. In this play we see a village boy Amal, suffering from his illness, waits for the 'King's Letter' promising that his royal physician will come to attend him. Here the King symbolizes the Almighty and his letter suggests his final call to leave this earthly abode. Korczak translated it into the Polish and it was performed by the children under his supervision in the Warsaw Ghetto on the 5th August, 1942.
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| Krochmalna Street orphanage |
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| Memorial of Janusz Korczak and his children at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem |
In Warsaw the orphanage building now has been transformed into a museum and there stood two idols=- one of Dr. Korczak and theother of our most beloved poet Tagore. Another memorial of Korczak and his children was built at the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Those remind us how to transcend death within life.
