Education of Arts at Shantiniketan in State of Bengal, India

If you are interested to learn about the birth place of the artists in all the fields like music, arts, painting, dancing, poetry, and other areas, you must visit Shantiniketan in the State of Bengal of India, near Calcutta. It was established by the famous poet Ravindranath Tagore in the year 1927. Tagore had observed the education system of India and he had a strong dislike towards the existing education system as it was pressurizing all the students during the study due to examination, thus, preventing the natural skills of each student to come on the surface. It was started with only 7 students in the beginning. Slowly, it got the importance and today, it has become the prime institution for talented students in the field of the arts.

Shantiniketan can be reached by getting down at Bolpur railway station on Delhi-Calcutta railway line. Bolpur is a small station, almost a village. Shantiniketan is 3 miles away from this station. The horse carts and auto rickshaws are available for going to Shantiniketan from the station. As soon as you approach Shantiniketan, you would see the lush green forest full of thick and large trees. The atmosphere would slowly become extremely peaceful and your body and mind would start relaxing immediately. The sweet and soft enchanting of birds would be heard taking you away from the polluted city environment. This institution is teaching all sorts of arts by keeping the students closest to the nature, exactly as per Indian civilization. All the buildings here are very simple and are having only one story. The buildings are all enclosed in the lush green forest. You would notice few batches of students getting their lessons in an open area under some trees or in the garden. The visitors are allowed inside the complex in all the buildings to see how the artists are produced here at Shantiniketan. There are around 6500 students studying here at Shantiniketan today in various fields of the arts. The basic course is of three years duration here. If you want the specialization to be done in some particular field, further two years would be required. The students from all over the world are studying here. There are around 35% of students coming here from abroad for studying arts in various fields.

The basic syllabus of this institution is designed differently for each student, depending upon their own nature, liking, individual talent, and the attitude. Each and every student is paid close attention on every aspects of their life. There is a co-education system here and boys and girls are studying together here at Shantiniketan. The hostel blocks are made just a mile away from the study area. These blocks provide all the modern facilities like computers, video projection, etc. in a most simplified natural way. Two students are allotted in each room in the hostel. The food is served at the institute canteen. The strict vegetarian nutritious diet is served to all the students without any discrimination. All the students are treated a like even if their family background is different. There is a large Kalamandir, where the rehearsals and the performances are held periodically to check the progress of the students. There is also a large auditorium for arranging shows of various dramas produced here at Shantiniketan. All the VIPS keep on visiting this institution regularly to see and encourage the activities here. The students are admitted here after the Matriculation degree, which is standard 10, at present, in India. The specific type of entrance test is conducted for all the students prior to their admission here. The annual fees including all the expenses come to around Rs.30000 ($750) every year. These fees can be paid in 4 installments in a year. Extremely poor and bright students are given free scholarships for study here. The term begins in June every year and the entrance test is held here at Shantiniketan during second week of April every year.

If you are looking for altogether different type of institution, teaching various types of solo and performing arts, by remaining very close to the nature, Shantiniketan is the place for your child to study and project himself as a wonderful artist and a good human being in life. However, you can start your action plan by at least visiting Shantiniketan once, during your next visit to India.