“হাল ছেড়া পাল ভাঙা বৈথা, চলেছি নিরুদ্দেশে। কি আছে শেষে, সজনী।”
“With torn sails and broken oars, we set adrift into the unknown — who knows what lies at the end, my friend”
(Tagore, R. (1933). “Pather sesh kothay”)
How do you reach out with mental health support to a group of older adults in an old age home who have no experience of it? Who have no living family member to fall back on; who would have had to spend their lives on the streets if not for a charitable old age home that took them in. They have lost everything once, their loved ones, homes, lands, money, identity and more. And here they are, most of them living in gratitude and anticipation that this is probably the best that they could get — and silently praying that death meets them with grace.
This article draws from my recent research study conducted with older adults in an old age home in a tier 3 city in West Bengal, India. Tier 3 cities in India offer low cost of living with more accessible healthcare, but have limited awareness and availability of mental health professionals, making it harder to find a therapist with expertise in specific areas or languages. Being an Expressive Movement Therapist and Expressive Arts Therapy (EXA) practitioner, I knew the approach would be through different forms of art; but how do you reach out to a diverse group from different geographies, different social, psychological, and financial backgrounds? What could be the common thread?
Cultural familiarity
Thankfully, like I would proudly say, West Bengal has culture. And that pride is mostly attributed to Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore himself experienced many early deaths in his family, including his two teenage children. He expressed his heart in his poems, songs, short stories, and all other works of art (Dutta & Robinson, 1995). The myriad of his works allowed for multimodality (moving from one art form to another) — something that’s important for any EXA work.
Through an 8-week arts-based intervention inspired by the philosophies and works of Rabindranath Tagore, I explored the role of culturally grounded expressive arts in enhancing resilience and reducing depression for 45 adults above the age of 60.
Tagore brought in cultural familiarity for the participants (Kirmayer, 2012). The fact that therapy was conducted with their cultural roots and language (i.e. Bengali), helped them overcome the initial resistance, considering most of them were exposed to therapy for the first time. In the very first session, when the participants, divided into 5 groups, had to come and announce the names of their groups — named after one of Tagore’s songs — the entire group ended up singing the songs and sharing their emotions with the song. For example, a group of 5 men named themselves “আমরা সবাই রাজা” (“Aamra Shobai Raja”, translated as “We are all kings”) — reflecting lightness and excitement for what is to unfold. Names like “তুমি রবে নীরবে, হৃদয়ে মম ” (“Tumi Robe Nirobe, Hridaye Momo”, translated as “You will be in my heart always, in silence”), and মম চিতে নৃত্যে নৃত্যে কে যে নাচে – “Momo Chitte (“Nritte Nitte Ke Je Naache”, translated as “Someone dances in my heart every day), etc. reflected loss, longing, grief and a subtle hope.
While exploring why expressing our emotions is important for us all, one participant reflected – “Shei toh, amader monei shob ache, ekhanei chhilo, bolte parle hoyto halka hobe” (“It’s all within our hearts, it was always there”) — maybe sharing it will make it lighter — reflecting on their group name, titled after the song “আমার হিয়ার মাঝে লুকিয়ে ছিলে” (Amaar Hiyar Majhe [Lukiye ache, dekhte ami pai ni] translated as “It was all in my heart all this time, I couldn’t see it”). The groups further explored expressing through crafts, the art of giving, acts and scripts; which further led to sharing of memories and feelings that were long forgotten and suppressed. This recollection of memories through Tagore’s soul-touching concepts and art works, and their metamorphosis into such expressions helped the older adults express, be heard, and be seen in their former glory.
From “ভালো দেখতে হবে” (“Bhalo dekhate hobe”, translated as “We must look like we’re doing fine) — focusing on an outward appearance of being strong — to accepting – “ভালো থাকতে হবে” (“Bhalo thakte hobe”, translated as “I need to actually be okay”), which starts with letting those emotions flow in a safe, shared space, the groups made progress.
Creating from Surplus
Introducing participants to Tagore’s concept of surplus (baarti) — that which we create beyond what we need for ourselves — the quest for fulfilment, one participant shared the hopelessness and disappointment in life after losing her only son through the song – “আমার শাদ না মিটিলো, আশা না বুঝিলো, সকলই ফুরায়ে যায় মা” (“Amaar shaad na mitilo, asha na bujhilo, shokol-e phuraye jaaye maa”, Translated as “None of my desires or longings were fulfilled, everything is fading away, Mother). Another participant said “আমরা বাতিল” (“Aamra baatil”, translated as “We are the discarded members of society”). The next paragraph explains how the tension between baarti (surplus) and baatil (discarded) was explored. We saw how art helped them reframe their perceived worth — from something expired to something still offering.
The group read the short story “দুই বিঘা জমি” – “Dui Bigha Jomi” (Two Bighas of Land) by Tagore, which speaks of powerlessness, loss of land and respect, uprooting and longing for home. The emotions that came up during the reading took the form of clay sculptures. The stories of their clay sculptures were shared by each participant as if the objects had personalities. These stories carried desires, projections and memories from their own lives. The participants were surprised at their own ability to create something from a new art material that they had never seen or known. The objects embodied the surplus. Once created, the act of giving that surplus to their teammates was introduced. Creating that surplus — and giving it to another with a wish — helped them see themselves as a significant other.
There were many such instances when Tagore’s ideologies, his songs, rhythm, music, art, and craft kept flowing into each other, weaving threads of resilience and shared expression. The older adults paused to look at what was lost and what was here — acknowledging all parts of themselves and expressing them through poems, songs, acts, and ideologies of their own, even challenging them from time to time.
Tagore’s works are not just pieces of art. They are a lifetime of emotions woven into different expressions. And that’s exactly what showed up in the older adults. For example, Tagore’s vision of collective harmony and the metaphor of all of us being waves in the ocean of life led to an impromptu act on “মনুষত্ব” – “Monushotto” (humanity) — expressing that humans were given hands to create, and they used those very hands to suffocate themselves.
Peter Levine (1997) introduced the concept of poiesis — to shape what is shaping us. This deeply resonates with Tagore’s ideology of ‘Maybe there is a God who is watching upon us, but it also depends on what we do, how we interpret, relate to, or shape that presence (or absence)’. This was particularly helpful in opening up different views — of there being a God, anger towards God or the higher self, the absence of God, and the absolute hopelessness — along with the myriad of emotions that came up for things that weren’t in their control, like death. And allowing all of them to surface without judgment and be expressed — in words, music, poetry, and ideologies — gave me an experience I would remember for a lifetime.
While this offering was part of an eight-week study, and the quantitative results may not have shown statistically significant change, the qualitative responses revealed something else — a quiet transformation.
Through group sharing, performances, and artworks, participants showed an increase in emotional expression, reclaiming of meaning, identity, and agency — critical components of resilience (Wilson, Claire A., 2020). Many asked, “Tumi chole jabe tar por?” (“What happens after you leave?”) — a moment that echoed a deep need not just for therapy, but for being met in their grief, wholeness, hopes, and pain.
This was not a place for mainstream individualist work, but for something rooted in humanistic presence, creative expression, and collective rituals — echoing Rabindranath Tagore’s ideologies of interconnectedness and communal belonging. Tagore believed in humanistic ideals and remained distant from mainstream psychoanalytic frameworks, emphasizing connection, creativity, and shared humanity (Carkhuff & Berenson, 1977; Kupfer, 2011).
Though I wish I could have worked for longer, this study became a pioneering contribution to the growing field of culturally responsive Expressive Arts Therapy. It supports ongoing calls to decolonize mental health care in South Asia by demonstrating the transformative potential of indigenous, arts-based approaches — especially in geriatric settings where there is no “work” to be done.
A Quiet Learning
I had gone with a motive to find transformation and resilience in the way we’ve often heard about it — the capacity to push through, to overcome, to rise. But what I discovered was a very silent form of resilience:
The one that just shows up;
The one that likes ritual and resonance;
The one that just wants something to do — to be seen and heard and be important to someone;
The one where there is no hope for a better future, but just a hope to show up for something and be witnessed in the here and now, in the irreversible losses they didn’t get to grieve enough.
A resilience rooted in care and presence — restorative resilience. A form of resilience that holds all of these and helps one to build capacity to meet themselves where they are – as fully as possible.
With the hope that more intervention-based research is carried out in this direction, I also realised there is nothing to fix or transform for them, because we can’t. All we can do is meet them where they are – with gentleness, attention and respect.
I am still sitting with a song by Tagore that a participant shared….
“হাল ছেড়া পাল ভাঙা বৈথা, চলেছি নিরুদ্দেশে। কি আছে শেষে, সজনী।”
“With torn sails and broken oars, we set adrift into the unknown — who knows what lies at the end, my friend.”
For those who may be interested in some of the work that have influenced this research work. Here are the references.
References:
Bhargava, R., Kumar, N., & Gupta, A. (2017). Indian perspective on psychotherapy: Cultural issues. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 47(2), 95–103. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310504890
Carkhuff, R. R., & Berenson, B. G. (1977). Beyond counseling and therapy: The empirical foundations of Carl Rogers’ approach to helping. Canadian Counsellor.
Dutta, K., & Robinson, A. (1995). Rabindranath Tagore: The myriad-minded man. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/836568408/Rabindranath-Tagore-the-myriad-minded-man-First-Edition-Krishna-Dutta-The-latest-updated-ebook-is-now-available-for-download
Kirmayer, L. J. (2012). Rethinking cultural competence. Transcultural Psychiatry, 49(2), 149–164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461512444673
Kopua, D., Kopua, M. A., & Bracken, P. J. (2020). Mahi a Atua: A Māori approach to mental health. Transcultural Psychiatry, 57(2), 375-383.https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461519851606
Kupfer, C. (2023). Rabindranath Tagore and psychotherapy. K. Kundu, & C. Marsh, (Eds.) A Hundred Years of Visva-Bharati. Tagore’s Dream, Today’s Reality.The Tagore Centre UK. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373020212
Levine, Stephen K. (1997). Poiesis: The Language of Psychology and the Speech of the Soul. Jessica. Kingsley Publishers. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/58818003/Poiesis
Tagore, R. (1933).Pather sesh kothay. Swarabitan: Vol. 56
Tagore, R. (1905). Amra Sobai Raja. Raaja
Tagore, R. (1896). Tumi Rabe Nirabe. Poems (Songs).
Tagore, R. (n.d.). Mamo Chitte Niti Nritye Ke Je Nache. [Song].
Ungar, M. (2019, May 25). Resilience is not a DIY endeavour. The globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-put-down-the-self-help-books-resilience-is-not-a-diy-endeavour/
Wilson, Claire A.. (2020). When Life Gives You Lemons: The Development and Validation of the Resilience Scale for Older Adults. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7149. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7149
Shilka Agarwal
Shilka Agarwal is a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist, accredited in Expressive Movement Therapy, integrating somatic, trauma-focused, and creative modalities. Through her practice, she fosters mental health awareness, challenges dominant narratives, and promotes inclusive, culturally rooted approaches to humanistic therapy. Grounded in expressive arts and body–mind awareness, her work invites clients into a deeper relationship with the self — opening a doorway to how we live and love.