‘I was free to move about as I chose’: When Rabindranath Tagore visited the Himalayas as a boy

These began with Rabindranath and two other boys of the family learning from the Maharshi how to chant the Upanishads. Maharshi Debendranath bought it from a local zamindar named Sinha, a friend of his. No one accompanied him, a boy not even in his teens; all he had was a staff in his hand. Even allowing for a little later exaggeration by Rabindranath, his father’s attitude was questionable, verging on the foolhardy. Excerpted with permission from Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man, Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson, Rupa Publications.