Description
The paper seeks to impart a fresh ontological stance of perceiving politics by giving art, specifically music, a chance. Music offers a fresh way of comprehending human nature which is instrumental in broader understanding of the genesis, meaning and significance of key political challenges. Music carries the potential of finding new vision (i.e. listening capabilities) rather than just new facts. In this direction, the paper uses Tagore’s Rabindra Sangeet to uncover such a vision that exemplifies a rhizomatic approach. "Tomar Holo Shuru, Amar Holo Sesh" is one such Rabindra sangeet which emphasizes the fluidity persisting between self and the other and that our identities are shaped by our interactions with those around us. While figures like Barenboim, Said, and Nussbaum, among others, have long been vocal about this issue, the field of international relations has scarcely engaged with this area. Methodologically, the paper relies on a hermeneutical approach to discern the political in music of Rabindranath Tagore. This paper offers a pathway to foster more nuanced insights and responses to the pressing dilemmas of the political through such an analysis and reconnecting the world in an unconventional way.
