Rabindranath Tagore: An Interpretation by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, New Delhi, Penguin/Viking, 2011, pp. 306 + viii. Rs. 499
This is an excellent study of Tagore, focusing on his intellectual pilgrimage. Everyone should read the outstanding novel Gora and the short collection of verses Gitangali, and then also a biography to understand the life of this great man.
Tagore was raised in the Brahma (or Brahmo) Samaj, famous for its embrace of reform and esteem for Jesus. By the end of the nineteenth century the Samaj ended up in three factions, none of which prospered. This telling paragraph about Tagore and the Brahma Samaj is the reason for adding this book to this blog.
Virtually from the 1890s to the 1930s we see Tagore carrying on a campaign for the scientific attitude in India and against ingorant obscurantism and slavish faith in the infallibility of the shastras among the educated. Sometimes such pronouncements have been seen as Brahma Samaj propaganda against Hinduism. That is an error. There is evidence that Tagore, as he grew to maturity, ceased to be a devout member of the Adi Brahma Samaj, although in his early life, motivated by his father, he played a prominent role in the organization and its propaganda. In 1910 Tagore lectured at the Sadharan Brahma Samaj on ‘The Significance of the Brahma Samaj’. His argument, upholding Rammohan’s Brahmaism, did not go down too well, specially because Tagore’s message was that Brahma Samaj must break out of Brahma sectarianism. In 1930 he wrote frankly to his niece: the Adi Brahma Samaj was dead and ‘I don’t feel enthused to carry the corpse–we should respect the past, but we should not pretend that it is not the past’. Tagore’s was not a Brahma Samajist agenda against orthodox Hinduism, the agenda was to promote a scientific attitude in his country. (pg. 199)
The sectarianism of the Brahma Samaj is bitingly protrayed in Gora, and contributed to the demise of the movement.
This is just one brief snapshot from a remarkable life.
It is difficult to know where to start about such a great soul as Tagore…
I really enjoyed this book because it showed the creative genius of Tagore as he constantly changed and evolved over his lifetime. The way the author used Tagore’s actual prose, poetry and plays to show these changes over time was fascinating. It also gives a hint into what it is like to be a person with so many talents who is still in conflict within this world in trying to find his place while at the same time being misunderstood. The discussion on his trips overseas especially to Europe, one of which was to receive his Noble Prize, was fascinating glimpses into how people perceived his life incorrectly. It is really not fair for one human being to have so many talents and to be good in them all. Breaking down his creative output throughout his life just showed his brilliance in even greater light. Not only was he a unique individual but he changed with the needs of the time as a true visionary. There seem to be times and seasons when great men walk the earth but they are needed for the times at hand. For instance, Tagore lived during great world wide conflicts and the beginning of discontent with the British in India. I found the interactions between Gandhi and Tagore interesting since they had serious disagreements at times and yet Gandhi visited Santiniketan many times. I especially enjoyed their discourses on how to change education to make it more Indian according to each of their own unique views. The best part of all for me was the author interjecting Tagore’s actual works of literature throughout the book to illustrate his points instead of referring to what others have written about Tagore.
I would highly recommend this book as it generates interest in further reading the actual works of Tagore.
These are some of the quotes from the book that made me contemplate on what Tagore meant:
On writing:
“Literature is like a boat floating down the river of history … History remembers everything, literature forgets a good deal.”
On music:
“Sorrows and joys, from day to day, orchestrate life’s great music.”
On education:
“Education can only become natural and wholesome when it is the direct fruit of a living growing knowledge.”
“A most important truth which we are apt to forget, is that a teacher can never light another lamp unless he is still learning himself. A lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame. The teacher who has come to the end of his subject, who has no living traffic with his knowledge, but merely repeats his lessons to his students, can only load their minds; he cannot quicken them. Truth not only must inform but inspire. If inspiration dies out, the information only accumulates, the truth loses its infinity.”
Written during what is called his “romance” period:
“Before the day ends, let my wish be granted,
Let us for the last time go out together to pick the flowers of spring,
Many springs will visit your garden, I want just one.”