สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

22 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 22 Rabindranath Tagoreûs Contributions to Thailand and the World One of the most famous cultural figures in Thailand who studied at Vishva-Bharati University was Karuna Kusalasaya (1920-2009), who came to know India and Indian culture very well. Together with his wife, Professor Ruang Urai Kusalasaya, he translated many worthy works from India including Tagoreûs, so that the Thai people can learn easily about India and Indian culture. Purnendu Kumar Banerjee, then Ambassador of India to Thailand, wrote in his Foreword to the Thai translation of Gitanjali , published in 1969, as follows: çMr. Karuna has spent years in India and at Santiniketan which is a living monument to Gurudevûs concept of educationé (Karuna and Ruang Urai Kusalasaya, 1974: no page number). Karuna went to study at Vishva- Bharati Santiniketan University in 1939. He studied Sanskrit and Indology. Although his studies were interrupted by the Great East Asian War, which began on December 8, 1941, leading to his arrest on February 8, 1942, to be imprisoned as çan enemy alien,é his time of studies at Santiniketan was fruitful. Karuna related in his autobiographical book, Life Without A Choice (Kusalasaya, 1991: 91-92) as follows: çAt the time I was in Santiniketan, Poet Rabindranath Tagore was already in the ripe old age of about 80 years. He did not himself teach as before but still acted as the Grand Old Man radiating fatherly influence on every aspect of the institution. I had met and entered into conversation with him during which he spoke of his visit to Siam in B.E. 2470 (1927) during the reign of King Rama VII. He was so kind as to give me an autographed photograph of himself.é Education at Santiniketan is for both men and women. Women can pursue the same courses as male students. Dhammananda Bhikkhuni (Dr.Chatsumarn Kabilsingh) also studied at Vishva-Bharati University where she had happy and enriching experience. 16-28_mac9 5/3/12, 11:13 PM 22