Amartya Sen’s mother used to learn martial arts in Shanti Niketan, Rabindranath Tagore brought judo from Japan to India, used to learn wrestling in childhood.

Rabindranath Tagore, who is respectfully called Gurudev, is remembered for many reasons. He is the first Nobel laureate from India. He had given up his knighthood to protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He is the only poet in the world whose works became the national anthem of two countries (India and Bangladesh).

One of his works, Gitanjali, has been translated into many languages. The debate he started on nationalism continues till today. His contribution is in many fields including literature, politics, education. But do you know what is the contribution of Rabindranath Tagore to the Indian sports world? Rabindranath Tagore is given the credit for bringing the Japanese martial art ‘Judo’ to India. How? Let us know:

before the judo story

Before knowing the story of Judo coming to India, let us know some things about Rabindranath Tagore’s childhood and his attraction towards Japanese culture. Tagore has recorded his childhood memories in ‘Chelebela’ (memoir written by Tagore). In this he has told that in his childhood he used to go to learn wrestling from a wrestler. Tagore has written the wrestler as ‘Kana Pehalwan’. Tagore was also taught gymnastics under the supervision of a trainer in his childhood.

Satyajit Ray’s uncle went to learn judo

Satyajit Ray, the great filmmaker of human values, was a resident of Bengal. It was the year 1934, when Satyajit Ray’s youngest uncle Subimal Ray wanted to learn Judo. He took his nephew and set out to meet Shinzo Takagaki. The two caught a tram to Takagaki’s house in Swinhoe Street, Ballygunge (Calcutta) and reached the judo master’s house.

Now the question arises that what was the person considered the father of Judo in Asia (Shinzo Takagaki) doing in Calcutta? Answer: Rabindranath Tagore. Shinzo Takagaki came to Bengal, specifically Santiniketan, in 1929 at the invitation of Rabindranath Tagore.

Tagore was a great admirer of Judo’s founder and Japanese athlete Kano Jigoro. Judo is a martial art derived from ju-jutsu. Judo was a Japanese martial art that gained international recognition.

Before Judo, a trainer named Jinnosuke Sano taught Ju-Jutsu to the students of Santiniketan in 1905. The history of the beginning of Jiu-Jitsu in Shanti Niketan dates back to 1902.

Tagore had requested the eminent Japanese writer and art critic Tenshin Okakura to send a jiu-jitsu teacher to his school. Responding to his invitation, Keio University sent Jinnotsuke Sano to Tagore’s ashram.

Amartya Sen’s mother also learned Judo in Shanti Niketan.

Amita Sen, mother of Amartya Sen, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, also used to teach judo in Shanti Niketan. Amita was the daughter of Kshitijmohan Sen, a close associate of Rabindranath Tagore.

According to John Stevens’ The Way of Judo: A Portrait of Jigoro Kano and His Students, girls and boys trained together at Shantiniketan. This was unprecedented in India at that time. One of Shinzo Takagaki’s students was Amita Sen, mother of economist Amartya Sen.

Bose’s role too

Along with Tagore, the then mayors of Calcutta Municipal Corporation, including Subhash Chandra Bose, had an important contribution in popularizing martial arts among the youth. However, Judo never gained the popularity that body building gained in the early decades of the 20th century in Bengal.

But the turmoil of those years did leave a legacy and gave rise to many champions of the martial arts. After independence, many judo champions of India were from Bengal.

Read in detail about Shantiniketan – Rabindranath Tagore’s Brahmo Samajist father had established Shantiniketan, why did Gurudev’s great grandson say – those thoughts no longer exist…

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