In 1922, Rabindranath Tagore penned the immortal lines:
“Phire chol matir tane / je mati añcal pete cheye achhe mukher pane”
(Return by the call of the soil / The soil that spreads its lap, waiting to face you).
Through this, Tagore expressed his deep conviction that agriculture and rural life form the true foundation of human civilization.
That same year, 1922, he established Sriniketan near Santiniketan, with the vision of uplifting rural Bengal through agricultural improvement and community development. The rural reconstruction project started near Surul’s Kuthibari.
To bring scientific farming to India, Tagore even sent his son Rathindranath Tagore to England to study modern agricultural practices. Sriniketan soon became a hub of experiments in sustainable farming, cooperative methods, and rural empowerment.
In 1928, Tagore introduced the Halakarshan Utsav (Ploughing Festival) at Sriniketan. Symbolically, he took up the plough with his own hands while Kshitimohan Sen recited sacred invocations. The festival encouraged collective participation in farming and celebrated the dignity of rural labour.
Traditionally observed during the monsoon, the Halakarshan Utsav has, since Tagore’s death, been held every year on 23rd Shravan, the day after his passing. Though this year, due to prevailing circumstances, the festival could not be organised as a public event, people across Bengal are remembering the day in their own way—honouring farmers, who continue to nurture the soil that sustains life.
Tagore’s legacy reminds us that agriculture is not just an economic activity but a spiritual bond with the earth, a foundation for culture, art, and life itself.