Tagore observed generosity as a way of life in the villages of Kolkata, but noted that some took advantage of this generosity, causing disintegration of the rhythmic village life that was considered dharma. Both Tagore and Gandhi established ashrams as spaces for community development and self-development to recover this lost rhythm. The actions and means adopted in any situation determine the end result, according to Gandhi's principles. While Tagore did much for the people of Santiniketan, the community lost its soul after his death as the people focused on protecting his ideologies rather than building upon them.

1. Some things that I felt were interesting during the class discussions were-
Tagore once stated that he had come across generosity being the way of life for the people of the
village in Kolkata. In context to this example people may take advantage of that generosity and that
is called disintigeration. That rhythm the village has is dharma and that disintegrates. This simplicity
takes generations to build. It resonates with what Gandhi says in the Hind Swaraj that a house takes
a long time to build. The only way you can recover this rhythm is by trying different things. In this
manner Tagore tried Santiniketan as a community development and self-development space while
Gandhi established the Sevagram Ashram at Wardha.
“What they have obtained is an exact result of the means they adopted.”
Gandhi replies to all the situatons in great detail and even talks about theother possibilities. His
principles are the same but he has given and explained its application in different cases. The actions
we take in a particular scenario determine our end result. It is all very situation specific but the same
stance.
Trip discussions-
I felt that Tagore did a lot for the people of Santiniketan at his time. Whatever Santiniketan is today
it is because of “Thakur”. So it is understandable of the people to be grateful towards Tagore and
idolising him. But after Tagore’s death, Santiniketan also lost its soul gradually. The people are
protecting his ideologies instead of building upon it.