Cementing Banda in Tagore land

Vikramdeep Johal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 25

Over a century ago, Rabindranath Tagore paid a glowing tribute to Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, the bairagi (ascetic) who became a valiant Sikh warrior after being blessed by Guru Gobind Singh. The Nobel laureate’s poem ‘Bandi Bir’ (Captive Brave) captures the last days of the Rajouri-born Rajput who was tortured to death in Delhi by the Mughals in 1716.

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Banda Bahadur never set foot in Bengal, but Tagore’s work enshrined his name in Bengali literature. Now, the great ‘jarnail’ is set to make his presence felt at the place that was dearest to Gurudev’s heart.

“We plan to install five statues of Banda Bahadur in West Bengal, including one at Santiniketan, to mark the tercentenary of his martyrdom,” says Ludhiana-based KK Bawa, chairman of the Baba Banda Singh Bahadur International Foundation. A delegation visited Kolkata and other parts of the state in March to meet the Punjabis settled there and hold talks with the authorities.

Jatinder Singh Chahal, a hotelier-transporter based near Santiniketan in Birbhum district, says, “The Assembly polls in April-May delayed the process, but now we are hopeful of getting a statue installed at Visva-Bharati University within the next few months. Ruling Trinamool Congress MLA Chandranath Sinha has promised to provide land for the purpose.”

According to Bawa, ‘Bandi Bir’ is being translated into Hindi, Punjabi and other languages, besides a new version in English. “This will familiarise a wide range of readers with the supreme sacrifice of this Sikh icon, who was not only a fearless fighter but also a messiah of the downtrodden,” he adds.

‘Bandi Bir’, the Captive Sikh Brave, in Bengali

Tagore, who was deeply influenced by Sikhism, wrote an inspirational poem on Banda Singh Bahadur that appears in the compilation ‘Katha-O-Kahini’, which is taught in Bengali schools. Ironically, its English translation is yet to be part of Punjab’s school books, even though the state government has raised a 100-metre-high tower at Chappar Chiri (Mohali) to commemorate the warrior’s triumph in the Battle of Sirhind. This is how the poem describes the martyr’s final moments:

And Banda’s flesh they tore to shreds

With tongs burnt red,

Brave Banda died without a groan

A hero’s death,

All eyes were shut. Fell on the court

The hush of death.