Shanti Niketan Visva Bharati University

Site Name: Visva Bharati University

Site Type: University
Location:  Shanti Niketan, West Bengal state, India
Highlights: One of India's most renowned universities
Nearest Railway Station: Bolpur

Nearest Airport: Kolkata 
How to reach: Easily reachable from Kolkata, which is around 160 kms away
Hotel: Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Kolkata; Shantiniketan too has many decent options for stay
Restaurants: Limited options in Shantiniketan

Travel to West Bengal is not complete without visiting Shanti Niketan and one of India's most renowned university called Visva Bharati University. Personally, if I get a chance to study again, I would definitely prefer no other place than this university. Anyone who visits this site would get positive energy for sure. It is not merely a place to study, but it is an institution, which would give the students a combination of pleasant and practical experience that they could cherish for their entire lifetime.

As you enter into the huge university complex, you can find students riding bi-cycles. Yes, the motor vehicles are not allowed inside the complex. Nothing is considered as scrap in this site. The art students of this university would change everything into a sculpture. You can find the statues and various art forms made of wood, glass, mud, paper, cups and the others. 

Learning music and playing musical instruments are fun, we know already. But, the music class students of this university are double the time lucky. They have their practice sessions in the open space or cave like structures where the walls of such artificial structures are full of good paintings.

The buildings of the university are all painted in vibrant colors with different themes. Most of the painting works were done by the students.

Visva Bharati University, which was started by Sri Rabindranath Tagore, is definitely a site not to be missed. Anyone who would love any form of art would have something that would interest him in this university. Even the gardens and parks in the complex are artistically maintained. Not even one foot of the site is left out. Paintings, sculptures, music, singing and all other forms of art are presented here for our delight.

Upasana Griha, the prayer hall, which is also called as glass building, is an attractive building within the complex. It was built by Rabindranath's father Debendranath Tagore in the 19th century CE. 

Kala Bhavan, the institute of Fine Arts, is one of the best place to learn fine arts in India. Most of the popular artists of Bengal had studied here.

One of the highlights of the university is its open air classrooms under the shades of huge trees. 

Each and every building or sometimes even the trees have stories or history associated with them. 

The original Shanti Niketan building is converted into a museum now. It displays a lot of artifacts and photographs of Rabindranath's father and brother. There is a museum outside the college complex which houses many artifacts of Rabindranath Tagore.

Never miss this beautiful site, if you ever get a chance to visit Bengal.

Happy travelling.