Bolpur

Santiniketan (SHAHN-tih-nih-keh-tawn) was established by Debendranath Tagore in the second half of the 19th century, and then developed by his son, Rabindranath Tagore, the leading figure of the Bengali Renaissance. It is a unique learning centre in the sense that the education takes place under the canopy of a tree, instead of in a classroom. Distinct from the British colonial approach to education at the time, Santiniketan represents approaches toward a pan-Asian modernity, drawing on ancient, medieval and folk traditions of India as well as Japanese, Chinese, Persian, Balinese, Burmese and Art Deco forms. It is considered an example of an enclave of intellectuals, educators, artists, artisans and workers who collaborated and experimented with this modernity.