Morning Call

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Sir Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) - Born into a brilliant and talented family in Calcutta, India, Tagore is considered the greatest writer in modern Indian literature. A Bengali poet, novelist, educator and early advocate of independence for India, his influence over Gandhi and the founders of modern India was enormous. In 1913, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Two years later, he was awarded knighthood, but surrendered it in 1919 in protest against the massacre of Amritsar where British soldiers killed some 400 Indian demonstrators.

His reputation in the West as a mystic has, perhaps, misled Western readers to ignore his role as a reformer and a critic of colonization. He was the poet of hope. His last poems show his love of nature and of humanity.(1)

The bird in this piece was modeled after a specimen at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. A Racket-Tailed Roller, it is found in Zimbabwe, in southern Angola, and in northeastern South Africa. It is about 16" in length. 

(1) Petri Liukkonen and Ari Pesonen Kuusankosken (kaupunginkirjasto 2008)

Inside: "Faith is the bird, that feels the light, when the dawn is still dark." - Rabindranath Tagore

Watercolor 18" x 24"

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