Amaar Tagore…

 

I don’t really remember since when did my fascination for Rabindranath Tagore begin.The earliest I remember is when we had been to Kolkata to spend our vacations at my maternal uncle’s(Mr. Y.M. Deosthalee) place. That was way back in 1980. He had been posted there. We were in all 15-16 guests. It was one of the most memorable trips that we have ever had. 

One fine day, the elders announced that they would be going to Shantiniketan & children would not be going as they would get bored there. I don’t know for what, but I had thrown one of my biggest tantrums then & had succeeded to get an entry for myself for the trip. What could a 10 year old child have known about Tagore or Shantiniketan? Was it because elders were going for trip by train & leaving us in the confines of the home that I forced my parents to take me along? Or was it that I, like Rabindranath Tagore, shared the dislike for conventional school (the reason for me not liking the school was entirely different… Well that’s another subject & beside the point!) , that attracted me to go & have a look at other innovative method of education? I would be lying if I say it was the latter.

Nevertheless, it was a good cause to throw a tantrum for! Even after so many years, I still have vivid memories of our visit. The 4 hour long train journey through the interiors of W. Bengal,  the greenery, the village landscape, paddy fields, many water sources-lakes, ponds & rivers.  And of course the place itself!  If you want to experience the word serenity, you could visit Shantiniketan. The canopied trees, the Quiet & calmness were more pronounced after the experience of hustle & bustle of Kolkata.  A perfect setting & atmosphere for learning –in the lap of Nature! Unfortunately there was no class going on. So we could not actually see the famed scene of a teacher & his disciples learning under a tree.

 

We also visited the museum (? Uttarayan) -where personal belongings of Tagore were on display. As a memorabilia, I had purchased a statue of Tagore made of Tera kota type material.  It was really nice. But somehow that statue got damaged during our stay at Kolkata. For me, at that age, it was a prized possession. That I had to throw it off left me really sad & dejected.

Then through the books written by Marathi authors like P.L. Deshpande (Ravindranath: 3 Vyakhane & Porvai) &  Ba. Bha. Borkar- (Anandyatri Ravindranath- Sanskar ani Sadhana) the greatness of this legendary Sage unfolded. How many facets can a person have? A sensitive poet was, I think, his core. A love for Nature & also the Child in him always remained alive. Music, painting, novels, theater, dance, education… You name it & he has contributed to these fields leaving his long lasting & classical impression. Truly a versatile artist who expressed through so many different & diverse forms! I think his pioneering work in the field of education, his penning of our national anthem & coining of the term Mahatma for M K Gandhi were more than enough contributions to India! By winning Nobel Prize for literature, he truly became the pride of India.

The stories written by him were with so much of a visual imagery that  many movies were based on them- Kabuliwala, Khudito Pashan, Ghare Baire, Char Adhyay & more recently- Chokher Bali & Noukadubi  to just name a few. 

Balraj Sahani in film Kaabuliwala 

He portrayed simple yet likeable characters, set in familiar time & circumstances that anybody could identify with strongly. Commemorating 150^th birthday celebrations of Rabindranath Tagore, Govt. of India in association with NFDC came up with a pack of 6 DVDs title Tagore Stories on films. It is indeed a collector’s item…

Here is a link to the song penned by Tagore & sung by Kishore Kumar from the film- Ghare Baire. Interesting to note is that there is absolutely no orchestra in the song-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIMVrHSW4so

There is also this sweet song, penned by Rabindranath Tagore, from the film Charulata sung again by Kishore Kumar-
https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi90Njls9DTAhULuI8KHWcaAN4QtwIILTAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_HinFn8DWSo&usg=AFQjCNHPwVeNGlgZMFF4-huWDiLAv_RUrg&sig2=WEQX_DQ3rR7A0-LC_YIgqg

Though this cannot be an excuse, I must say that since I do not know how to read Bengali script, I have had to depend either on authors who have written about him in other languages or on films with English subtitles to understand his work. But the volume of his work is so immense that I don’t claim I know him even one percent. Though I wish I could know him more.

But above all, I think he was a trinamool or poet at grass root level. I can cite 2 examples for this.  One of my cousin sisters has married a Bengali person. Once they had come at our place for a stay over. I noticed that my Brother-in-law would sing for his toddler son a peculiar song which was of only 2 lines. But what rhyming lines were they! –‘Jol pade, Pata nade’ -that’s it. He would then repeat the lines- by joining with- Ae ae ae.. Simple lines with such a visual experience associated with them. These were the initial lines modified & simplified by Tagore from Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar’s Varnamala- which had a complex classical touch to it. Another example is more recent- we watched the movie Kahani in a theater. At the end of it was the song- Ekla chalo re- sung by Amitabh Bachchan.

 That in itself was a pleasant surprise. Behind us was an ordinary looking Bengali family. They had tears in their eyes while leaving the auditorium & had the poem by heart. They too were singing it. My heart was really filled with joy-Even after 72 years of his death; Rabindranath Tagore still lives on in the minds of the people.What more would a poet want than his verses being sung not just by classes but by masses as well!

Here is the text of the poem in Bengali first & then its translation in English-

(Jodi tor daak shune keu naa se tobe ekla cholo re
Tobe ekla cholo, ekla cholo, ekla cholo, ekla cholo re)2

Jodi keu kothaa naa koye, ore ore o abhaagaa, keu kothaa na koye
(Jodi shobai thaake mukh phiraaye shobai kore bhoye)2
Tobe poraan khule (o tui mukh phute tor moner kothaa, eklaa bolo re)2

Jodi shobai phire jaaye, ore ore o abhaagaa, shobai phire jaaye
(Jodi gohan pothe jaabaar kaale keu phir naa chaaye)2
Tobe pothera kaantaa (o tui rokto maakhaa choronatole eklaa dolo re)2

Jodi aalo naa dhore, ore ore o abhaagaa, aalo na dhore
(Jodi jhor-baadole aadhaara raate duyaar deye ghore)2
Tobe bajraanole (aapon buker paajor jaaliye niye ekalaa jolo re)2

English translation-

If they answer not to thy call walk alone

If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,

O thou unlucky one,

open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,

O thou unlucky one,

trample the thorns under thy tread,

and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,

O thou unlucky one,

with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart,

and let it burn alone.

Here is a link to this song sung by Kishore Kumar-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmzvr3aZXQc