Set within the rural hinterland of Bengal, Santiniketan is the tangible realization of an educational and artistic community’s encounter with a Pan Asian modernity. Santiniketan embraced a unique brand of internationalism, that drew upon ancient, medieval and folk traditions of India as well as Japanese, Chinese, Persian, Balinese, Burmese and Art Deco forms to create a rich tapestry of art, architecture, interiors, furniture, landscape and campus design. Santiniketan as an enclave, demonstrates the development of an Asian avant-garde, that veered away from the prevalent Beaux Arts and European modernism to forge a new design aesthetic rooted in its cultural context and history. Informed by Tagore’s vision of rural reconstruction and sustainability, the built environment of Santiniketan is a testimony to a pioneering development of a regionally contextual, organic and climate conscious architecture and landscape.