What made Tagore an icon in Germany sans modern communication?

A new multimedia exhibition at Galerie Max Mueller, Goethe-Institut in Mumbai takes a novel look at communication from two diverse: legendary poet-painter Rabindranath Tagore's highly evocative communication with Germany, and different elements of today's worldwide communication habits on the go , especially among younger people.

Explaining the concept, a curatorial note states, “We now take globalization for granted! It is not unusual in 2012 for a pop star or actor from one corner of the planet to draw near-instant fame worldwide. But a century years ago, when a humble man from Bengal caused a sensation half way across the globe, it must have seemed nothing short of a miracle.

The multi-talented Tagore, to some a mystic, philosopher and teacher, to others a poet and artist, first went to Germany in 1921, a few years after he won the Nobel Prize (literature). Lecturing in biggest cities there, Tagore was like a soothing balm to the wounded soul of a nation just starting to recover from its defeat in World War I. It was plain to see how a messianic figure, symbolizing a new spirituality and a vastly different path through life, was exactly what many countrymen were yearning for.”

Tagore further enhanced his status as one of top ‘celebrities’ in Germany's in two subsequent visits, when he met with icons such as Albert Einstein and mounted exhibits of his expressionist paintings. Rabindranath Tagore indeed had a profound impact not only on Germany, but also on many Western nations' perception of the East and its ideas as well as people.

That he experienced such success well before the widespread usage of today's ways of all-encompassing mass communication might seem astonishing when Internet has transformed the way now we communicate. Young people have taken to mobiles nearly as quickly for personal communication exchanges.

The multimedia exhibition by Jenner Zimmermann, which features text, films and an interactive site, tries to put the two ends of the spectrum in proper perspective.