In 2022, millions of Indians erupted in joy when Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory, as if their own team had won. But long before Messi and Diego, a century ago, another bond linked India and Argentina in the most extraordinary way.
It’s easy to see why millions of Indians celebrated alongside Lionel Messi when Argentina became world champions two years ago. Messi, adored by many, felt like one of our own. A hundred years ago, Argentina also embraced one Indian as one of their own. Love knows no bounds.
It’s a story that begins in 1924, with a twist of fate, severe influenza, a villa in Buenos Aires, and a muse who sold her jewelry to care for a Nobel laureate. This story is fairly well-known in Bengali circles but remains largely unfamiliar across India.
November 1924. Rabindranath Tagore, celebrated poet, artist, and India’s first Nobel Prize winner, was en route to Peru on a historic journey to commemorate the country’s independence. But his plans came to an abrupt halt.
The flu had caught up with him during the voyage, and when his ship docked in Buenos Aires, Tagore was too ill to continue. Doctors deemed the long journey over the Andes too dangerous for his heart and ordered complete rest.
Stranded and unwell, Tagore sought rest. Stuck in Argentina with no clear plan, the poet’s situation seemed bleak—until Victoria Ocampo entered the picture.
Victoria Ocampo wasn’t just any ordinary hostess. Born into privilege but defiant of societal norms, Ocampo was a woman ahead of her time. In a deeply patriarchal Argentina, she carved her own path, and became a patron of the arts, and an intellectual force.
Ocampo had first encountered Tagore’s work through a French translation of Gitanjali and was spellbound. When she heard he was stranded in Buenos Aires, she acted immediately.
Victoria visited Tagore at his hotel and offered him refuge in her riverside villa. The offer was more than just generous—it was life-changing.
Originally planning to stay for a week, Tagore ended up spending two months recovering under her care. Victoria even sold a piece of her jewelry to fund his stay. And during those two months, something magical happened.
What followed was a meeting of two extraordinary minds. Victoria idolized Tagore, not just for his poetry but for his philosophy and spiritual depth. In return, Tagore found in her a muse—a woman of intellect and passion who encouraged him to explore new creative paths.
She pushed him to take his doodles seriously, planting the seeds of his journey as a painter. Years later, in 1930, she organized his first-ever art exhibition in Paris.
But their bond went beyond creativity. Their conversations about life, art, and philosophy created a connection that would last long after Tagore left Argentina.
The pair only met once more, in Paris in 1930. Though they never crossed paths again, they exchanged letters for years. The bond that developed between Ocampo and Tagore was unlike anything either had experienced.
In 1925, Tagore dedicated his book of poems, Purabi, to his Argentine muse, whom he affectionately renamed Vijaya. In one of his final letters to her, written a year before his death in 1941, Tagore reflected on their time together.
“Dear Vijaya, often (there) comes to my mind the picture of that riverside home and the regret that in my absent-minded foolishness, I failed to fully accept the precious gift offered to me. However, the time favoured by destiny has passed and it will never return.”
And what of Ocampo?
She never visited India but remained deeply influenced by her connection with Tagore. She went on to launch Sur, a literary magazine that became a beacon for intellectuals in Latin America, and continued breaking barriers.
In May 1953, when Victoria was imprisoned by the Peronist government, PM Nehru was among the loudest voices calling for her release. Nehru’s support highlighted the deep, unexpected bond between India and Argentina by that time.
Rabindranath Tagore found a muse in Victoria Ocampo, and she, in turn, found inspiration in India’s greatest poet. Together, they wove a story that transcended borders and time—one of creativity, admiration, and the enduring power of human connection, much like football.
Sources:
Deeply indebted to the works of Ketaki Kushari Dyson on this topic, we suggest that everyone read her books.
Ketaki Kushari Dyson, On the Trail of Rabindranath Tagore and Victoria Ocampo, parabaas.com/rabindranath/a
Rabindranath Tagore on JSTOR. (n.d.). jstor.org. jstor.org/stable/48504892
Novillo-Corvalán, P. (2021). Global South Modernism: Tagore, Victoria Ocampo, and the Geopolitics of Horizontal Relations. Modernist Cultures, 16(2), 164–190. doi.org/10.3366/mod.20
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