The travels of Bengalis in the past
Sumana Dam
The first edition of the autobiography of Shreemann Maharshi Devendranath Tagore was published in 1898 by J.N. Banerjee & Sons.
Devendranath Tagore (1817-1905) was a philosopher and a preacher of the Brahmo Dharma. He was the son of Prince Dwarkanath Tagore and the father of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. In 1842, he took over the responsibility of the Brahmo Samaj. He introduced various Brahmo festivals, including the Magh Utsav, New Year, and Diksha Day. In 1867, he purchased a large tract of land in Bhirbhum at a place called Bhubandanga, where he established an ashram, which is now known as Shantiniketan. The Brahmo Samaj honored him with the title of Maharshi.
After being initiated into Brahmo Dharma, Devendranath Tagore himself wrote that he used to avoid the Durga Puja every year by traveling outside Kolkata during the month of Ashvin. His autobiography contains some details about his travels, though it was not written as a travelogue, so not much information is available in this regard. The autobiography is incomplete. It was written up until November 15, 1858, when he was only 41 years old. In other words, he wrote about less than half of his life. Therefore, his entire travelogue is also not known.
In the latter part of Ashvin month of the 1769 Bengali era (around late September 1847), he embarked on a journey to Kashi (Varanasi). His mode of travel was a palanquin. It took him 14 days to travel from Kolkata to Kashi, and he described the journey as extremely difficult. He had gone to Kashi to study the Vedas and stayed at the Manmandir in Kashi, built by Raja Jai Singh. When the priest of the Vishweshwar temple expressed interest in taking him to the temple, Devendranath replied that he was already in the Vishweshwar temple and did not need to go anywhere else. Many Vedic scholars visited him during his stay in Kashi, and there was extensive study of the Vedas.
Later, the brother of the Maharaja of Kashi came to invite Devendranath to meet the king. The next day, he was taken to the Maharaja's palace in Ramnagar. The palace was filled with paintings, mirrors, chandeliers, carpets, and other luxury items. Two singers performed a song of praise to welcome the king. After meeting the Maharaja, the king brought him to his court, and a dance and song performance was held in his honor. The king gave him a diamond ring as a gift and invited him to come again for the Ram Leela festival on the tenth day of dashera.
On the day of Ram Leela, Devendranath went to Ramnagar and saw the Maharaja of Kashi sitting on a huge elephant, with his servant on a smaller elephant holding his hookah made of diamonds. Another elephant carried the royal priest dressed in saffron, who remained silent, as he had a wooden device to prevent him from speaking. The royal guards, including colonels and generals, were also mounted on elephants. Devendranath was also given an elephant, and they all went to the ground of Ram Leela. The area was filled with people. In one part of the fair, a young boy dressed as Ram was sitting on a throne decorated with flowers, with a bow and arrow in his hands whom everyone was showing reverence. Devendranath observed that after the battle began, some demons with masks of horses, camels, and goats were seen discussing the war. A bomb exploded shortly after, followed by fireworks. Devendranath, disturbed by this childish display of Ram Leela, quietly left the place without informing anyone.
Later, he traveled from Kashi by boat, saw Vindhyachal, and went as far as Mirzapur. He was very pleased to see the small mountain of Vindhyachal, as it was his first experience of seeing a mountain. In the Vindhyachal Hills, he saw Yogamaya. The image of Yogamaya was carved into stone with ten arms. There was no one around. He then saw Bhogamaya. It was crowded there, with many goats being sacrificed. After that, he returned by steamer from Mirzapur to his home in Kolkata.
Debendranath's next journey was in September-October of 1848. He went on a trip to the Damodar River with a few friends. After sailing on the river, one day they landed on an island, where he heard that Bardhaman was just two crosh (a unit of measurement) away. Excited to visit Bardhaman, he went there with Rajnarayan Basu and a couple of others. They toured the city and also saw the royal palace. Later that night, they returned to the island. The next day, a beautiful carriage arrived, and a man from it informed him that the Maharaja of Bardhaman (Maharaja Mahatab Chand) had requested his audience. He was taken to a well-furnished residence. The following day, he was taken to the royal palace with great respect. He met the Maharaja, exchanged views, and later established a Brahmo Samaj at the palace.
In 1849, during Durga Puja, Debendranath traveled to Dhaka by steamer. From there, after crossing the Meghna River, he reached Guwahati via the Brahmaputra River. When he decided to visit Kamakhya, the magistrate sent an elephant for him. But Debendranath chose to walk, with the mahout following behind. Eventually, the elephant fell behind, and Debendranath walked three crosh to reach the foot of the Kamakhya mountain. The mountain path was made of stone and ascended steeply through dense jungle. He walked alone through the desolate forest, with the sun still not up and light rain falling. After climbing much higher, feeling exhausted, he sat on a rock and was drenched by the rain. He worried about wild animals like tigers and bears from the jungle. At that moment, the mahout arrived. Unable to bring the elephant, he had rushed alone to join Debendranath. Together, they continued to climb. At the top, there was a vast plain with many thatched huts, but no one was in sight. He entered the temple, which resembled a mountain cave. There was no idol, only a yoni-shaped stone. After his visit, he bathed in the Brahmaputra to relieve his fatigue. On the riverbank, he found 400-500 people gathered in a noisy crowd—these were the Kamakhya pandits. They informed him that they needed to perform rituals until late at night, which is why they were late to wake up in the morning. Debendranath told them they would get nothing from him and asked them to leave.
In September-October 1850, Debendranath hired a steamer to travel along the Ganges River. He saw a large steamer that was about to depart for the sea within a few days. Curious about the sea, he rented a room on the steamer. He was mesmerized by the sight of the vast blue waters and the ever-changing view of the sea. One day, the ship anchored near a sandy island with a settlement. While exploring, he met some Bengali merchants from Chittagong, who told him that they had brought idols for Durga Puja during the month of Ashwin. The writer was surprised to hear about Durga Puja in a distant land of Burma (Myanmar) and wondered how it was still being observed far from its origins.
The ship then headed toward Moulmein (Mawlamyine). When it entered the river, he noticed the water was murky and full of crocodiles, so no one bathed there. A high-ranking Madras official took him to his home, where he stayed for a few days. Moulmein's streets were wide and clean, with only women working in the shops. Debendranath bought silk clothes and some boxes. He visited the fish market, where he saw crocodiles being sold like fish. The writer commented that the Burmese people practice a non-violent form of Buddhism, but in their stomachs, they have crocodiles. One evening, while strolling through Moulmein's streets, Debendranath was surprised to see a Bengali man, whom he learned had been exiled here before the Andaman Islands penal settlement began in 1858. The man had been released but could not afford to return to India. When Debendranath offered to help him, the man refused, saying he had settled in Burma, married, and was content.
The Madras official who hosted him took Debendranath to see a famous mountain cave (Kha you gu or Kayon Cave, also known as Farm Cave). On a new moon night, they set out in a long boat, accompanied by the ship's captain and a few others. After traveling 12 crosh, they reached their destination by dawn. There, in a small hut, he saw a group of monks wearing orange robes. Debendranath was amazed to learn that these monks were called "Fungis," who were the Buddhist spiritual leaders. One monk led him inside, washed his feet, and gave him a seat, as hospitality is sacred to the Buddhists. Afterward, Debendranath and his companions rode elephants through the jungle to the cave. When they arrived, they had to crawl through a narrow opening to enter. Inside, the cave was slippery and dark. They lit sulfur powder in various spots to illuminate the cave, and the entire cave glowed. The writer marveled at the cave's vastness and the intricate stalactites formed by the water dripping down from the ceiling. They had a picnic in the jungle before returning. On the way back, they saw several Burmese people dancing to the beat of a musical instrument. Debendranath was also invited to stay with an aristocratic Burmese family.
In March 1851, Debendranath traveled to Cuttack by palanquin. After completing some land-related work, he visited Puri to see the Jagannath Temple. At dawn, when he reached the Chandana Yatra pond in Puri, a pandit stopped him. The writer walked with the pandit, but since he was barefoot, the pandit was pleased. When they reached the Jagannath temple, the door was closed, and many people tried to force their way inside. In the commotion, the writer's glasses fell off and broke. Without his glasses, the writer had a spiritual revelation, seeing Jagannath as formless. He recalled a saying that people see what they believe in when they visit the Jagannath Temple. As a believer in the formless, he saw Jagannath in that form. Afterward, he saw the reflection of Jagannath in a large brass pot filled with water, which the pandit and others ceremonially bathed. The writer noted that there was no caste discrimination during the distribution of Jagannath's prasad, a practice which he praised as admirable in Odisha.
In 1856, during Durga Puja, Debendranath hired a boat for 100 rupees to travel to Kashi. He reached there in six days, visiting Munger along the way. In Patna, a storm hit while traveling through the wide Ganges, causing his provisions to sink. After buying new supplies in Patna, he continued to Kashi, where he stayed for ten days.
From Kashi, he took a horse carriage to Allahabad. From there, he traveled to the Beni Ghat, a sacred site for religious rituals, where a pandit tried to drag him for a ceremony. Then, he took a horse carriage to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal. The writer marveled at the sight of the Taj, with the red sunset in the west and the blue Yamuna River, as if the Taj had fallen from the moon to Earth in a display of beauty.
He then traveled along the Yamuna River to Delhi. On the way, he bathed in the river during the intense cold of winter and admired the natural beauty of the surrounding farmland. After eleven days, he arrived at Mathura, where a monk invited him to study scriptures. The writer was surprised to find Hindi translations of Ram Mohan Roy's works with the monk. He also visited Vrindavan, where he saw the temple of Govindaji, built by Lalababu, and was struck by the sight of musicians playing sitar in the Nat Mandir. He did not bow to the idol of Govindaji, and the others were surprised.
From Agra, he traveled by boat to Delhi and saw the Qutub Minar. The writer noted that the Qutub Minar was a symbol of Hindu legacy, now claimed by Muslims as a victory tower. He climbed to the top of the 161-foot minaret, feeling thrilled.
Afterward, he traveled to Ambala by horse carriage and then to Lahore by palanquin. From Lahore, in 1857, he reached Amritsar. There, he visited the Golden Temple, where he admired the massive pool constructed by Guru Ram Das. He entered the temple, which had a stone bridge, and was awed by the sight of the Granth Sahib covered in colorful silk cloths, with a Sikh leader fanning it with a chamer. Devotees walked around the temple, offering prayers with flowers and coins. Anyone could visit the temple, but they had to remove their shoes. Lord Lytton had once been insulted by the Sikhs for not removing his shoes. In the evening, the writer went there again and saw the Aarti of the Granth (the Granth Saheb). After the Aarti, everyone was offered Mohan Bhog. During the festival of Dol, there is a big celebration at this temple.
The house where he stayed near the Ram Bagh in Amritsar was dilapidated and surrounded by jungle. He enjoyed taking walks in the garden in the morning and listening to the sweet music of the Sikhs from afar. Occasionally, peacocks would come into the garden. One day, seeing clouds in the sky, a peacock began to dance. At that moment, the writer played the veena in tune with the peacock's dance. It became so hot that it was impossible to stay inside the house. The landlord then allowed the writer to stay in a room underground. This room had air and light coming through a side opening and remained very cool. However, the writer realized that he could not live in the underground room. He desired an open space. So, he decided to go to Shimla.
On April 20, 1857, he set off for Shimla. After three days of travel, he arrived in the Kalka Valley. Upon seeing the mountains ahead, he was filled with great joy, thinking that the next day he would climb those mountains and ascend to the first step of heaven, leaving the Earth behind. Thus began the writer’s journey to view and explore the Himalayas.
(To be continued)
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