In 1909, at the age of sixteen, Tejeschandra Sen ran away from home to serve Santiniketan. He was, however, taken back to complete his school education and pass the Entrance examination. He could not be kept back for college because he came back to Santiniketan. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed a teacher at the school. He taught Bengali, English, Geography, History, Mathematics and Nature Study. He also taught music and gardening. Nature Study was his forte and along with Jagadananda Roy, was one of the pioneering teachers of Nature Study in India. He was able to instill in children a love for and curiousity about the natural world. Lord Haldane, visiting Santiniketan in 1954 was much impressed with Tejeschandra's method of teaching. In the early years Santiniketan was a barren place and much of the greenery that we see today was the result of Tejeschandra's handiwork. Rabindranath honoured Tejeschandra, the tree-lover, at the first tree-planting ceremony that was held in Santiniketan. Tejeschandra learnt music from Rabindranath and Dinendranath. Sometimes, when Dinendranath was not easily available, Rabindranath would sing his new compositions to Tejeschandra, who would memorize the notes and later sing them to Dinendranath. He was also a good violinist.
