The mystic mountain range of the Himalayas that has been a sojourn and pilgrimage to countless humans across the world, has also nestled in its rims and crests, in its foothills, many remarkable stories for generations to come. The sacred site of the Himalayas has been a haven of meditation and spiritual enlightenment for seekers of all ages. The Himalayas have also been regarded with great esteem for the origin of Buddhism, and for self-awakening.
The Himalayas and the Bengal Renaissance:
However, very few of us reading this have known that there was an inexplicable connection between the undivided Bengal and the Himalayan region, especially the picturesque mountain state of Uttarakhand. The association had started during the British regime in India, which continued thereafter. This association not only forged unforgettable ties between the two spiritually, culturally rich regions, but also shaped the Bengal Renaissance in unthinkable ways. How many of us know that Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal’s Nobel Laureate poet and philosopher stayed in the hills of Kumaon in the beautiful locale of Almora with his children and was inspired to compose verses of Geethanjali, inspired by the Himalayas? How many of us know of Swami Vivekananda’s sojourn to Kakrighat at the confluence of Kosi and Sual rivers, where he discovered oneness between the microcosm and macrocosm? Or of the legendary dancer Uday Shankar, the seeds of whose legacy were sown in the beautiful city of Almora?
Recently, veteran award-winning artist of Uttarakhand, Monica Talukdar has co-authored and edited a nonfiction book titled ‘Footprints of Bengal on the Himalayas’ that aims to enlighten us on these hidden gems that have shaped her psyche as an artist of repute. Published by Doon Library and Research Centre, India, the book ‘Footprints of Bengal on the Himalayas’ captures the lives of some of the most remarkable personalities of the Bengal Renaissance, who also left their mark on the mountainous state of Uttarakhand.
Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Uday Shankar, Boshi Sen, Rashbehari Bose, Radhanath Sikdar, M.N. Roy, Benode Behari Mukerjee—the list of luminary individuals whose journeys in the Himalayas are portrayed in the book is exhaustive. But more than the names which might give one goosebump, it is the richness and beauty of the personalized accounts in connection with each of them which is the unique premise of this anthology.
The Artist and the Author:
An eminent Lalit Kala Academy artist who began painting under the tutelage of the legendary blind artist Benode Bihari Mukherjee in Dehradun, Monica Talukdar has lived and painted in the Doon Valley ever since. With a career as an artist spanning over 50 years, she is considered the doyenne of naturalistic painting in India. However, it is her quest to unravel the unexplored stories of the Himalayas and the luminaries she was privileged to cross paths with in the mountain state that propelled her journey with this particular book.
“Being a pilgrim in this earth, I set out to discover the complex diversity of India…My journey is of the body and spirit through the ranges of the world’s highest mountains, the enigmatic Himalayas…”
As we come across these lines in the Introduction of the book and read the chapters that follow, we would notice a seamless flow of her personal narratives. The anthology becomes all the more enchanting because of the universal emotions embedded in the chapters. It’s the unique blend of rich personal experiences and depictions of remarkable personalities by the contributing authors that makes it a tour de force of Uttarakhand and the bejeweled minds that nurtured the region.
The chapter about her art mentor, the prolific painter Benod Behari Mukherjee is an odyssey of an artistic mind, the genius who enriched the artistic consciousness of his disciple. In the same breath, Monica Talukdar recounts her experiences with other illustrious personalities—Rathindranath Tagore (son of Rabindranath), Dwijendra Sen and the pioneering artists who promulgated the expansion of the famous Bengal school of art.
To complement her journey of self-awakening with these artists, the other contributing writers recount their experiences with luminaries in the field of science, technology that had flourished incredibly in the Himalayan terrains. Among these, especially notable are the chapter featuring the genius mathematician of Bengal, Radhanath Sikdar and another one, featuring the renowned geologist S. N. Talukdar (husband of Monica Talukdar) and his travails in the field of geosciences, a tribute penned by daughter Indrani Talukdar.
‘Footprints of Bengal on the Himalayas’ is Mrs Talukdar’s debut book as an author and editor and was launched at the prestigious Valley of Words literary festival, India in the presence of an august audience. On the occasion of the World Book Day, April 23rd, we would want to uphold the book for the timeless values it represents—the pristine environs of the Himalayas and the personalities that left their imprints in its foothills, changing its physical and spiritual landscape forever.
P.S. A glimpse of artist/author Monica Talukdar’s interview (in Bengali) on the occasion of the #internationalwomensday at Radio Azad, Dallas, Texas with Lopa Banerjee, another author, poet, where she talks about this book exclusively: