Today is Baishe Shrabon ( 22 Shravan which is the
last month of the rainy season). This day is the death anniversary of
Rabindranath Tagore, the poet, playwright, novelist, painter and composer who
reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries.
“I
came to your shore as a stranger.
I
lived in your house as a guest.
I
leave your door as a friend, my earth.” ~ Stray Birds
Being born in a Bengali family, I was exposed to
Tagore’s work right from my childhood. From Rabindrasangeet to his poetries to
his novels, Tagore has influenced me in every sphere of life and continues
doing so.
His verses redefine love and pain in a thousand
myriad hues. When you read Tagore, you feel that separation and love are so
intertwined. There is separation in love and there is love in separation.
“Away from the
sight of thy face, my heart knows no rest nor respite, and my work becomes an
endless toil in a shore less sea of toil.”~Gitanjali
Tagore’s life has been laced with pain throughout.
He has seen more deaths and separations in his 80 year long life than anyone
hardly have.There is a line in his short story, Postmaster that I read for the first time in class 10. This line brings out the truth of life that he has
himself experienced.
“In
the wistful heart of the traveler being borne away on the river, there arose
this philosophy; there are so many separations in life, so many deaths, what is
the point of returning? Who belongs to whom in this world?” ~ Postmaster
The person who had a significant influence on
Tagore’s literary pursuit was his sister-in-law, Kadambari Devi. It is believed
that she brought out the poet and writer hidden inside Tagore. After his
sister-in-law’s sudden suicide, Tagore was shattered by the tragedy and that was
when he wrote his most critically acclaimed novella, Nashtanir (Broken Nest).
“Charu wants
to ask Amal this question and receive an answer, face to face, but there is an
ocean in between….and no way to cross it. Cruel separation, hapless separation,
beyond all questions, beyond all redress, separation.” ~Broken Nest
The death of Kadambari Devi was the first tragic
encounter of death that Tagore had. Later, he lost his wife, daughter, sons and
only grandson to death and disease. He accepted the adversities and storms in his
life with grace and continued delivering his literary geniuses year after year.
“The
song that I came to sing remains unsung to this day. I have spent my days in
stringing and unstringing my instrument” ~ Gitanjali
When W. B Yeats read Tagore’s poetry, he said that
they have stirred sublime emotions in his blood. Yeats said this in his introduction in
Gitanjali. Tagore’s poetry covered every area of life. Such profound is his
poetry that it can move even a stone. Tagore received the Nobel Prize in 1913
for Gitanjali (Song Offerings) which is a collection of his spiritual poems.
“Day
by day you are making me worthy of your full acceptance by refusing me ever and
anon, saving me from perils of weak, uncertain desire.”~ Gitanjali
Tagore, in his idealism, in his spiritual reality,
in his romanticism is near to all human beings even today. His works are
timeless, be it his novels or verses.
Tagore wrote his last novel, Shesher Kavita (The
last poem) when he was 62 during his brief sojourn in Bangalore. This novel, which
is a beautiful concoction of prose and poem touches the inner chords.
“Grieve
not on my account,
Wide
is the world with many tasks
My
cup is not discarded
Shall
fill again---
Let
this sustain me forever.
I
may yet be blessed
If
there be one eager heart
Waiting
for my footsteps.
I
long to give myself to him
Who
can see in the compassion of love
The
actual me, a blend of good and ill
Who
can light up the dark night
With
flowers plucked in moonlight.
What
I gave to you is yours
By
everlasting right.
What
others receive
Are
daily driblets of heart
To
tender solitude.
O
my peerless friend,
What
I gave you was your own gift
Fuller
acceptance, the deeper my debt.
Farewell,
my friend.” ~ The Last Poem
My heartfelt respect to my inspiration, the
inspiration of countless people, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on this significant
day of Baishe Shrabon!
