May 09 was Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary. I read of celebrations with great zeal and enthusiasm on this occasion, especially in Bengal, mainly through cultural programs. People paid tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath. They talked of his works as being deathless and with a profound spiritual content. He was a "... multifaceted talent who enriched all genres of Bengali literature and arts... first Asian to be awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize."
Reading all this, I could not help but recollect what another great Bengali, Nirad Chaudhuri, wrote about Tagore in the introduction to his book 'To Live or Not to Live.' I am reading this book currently, so I will reproduce verbatim what Niradbabu has written rather than paraphrase it.
"From Ram Mohun Roy to Tagore there was not one great Bengali who spared either his people or their hidebound traditions. Of course, national vanity was also refurbished, and it led the conservatives of the day to attck the reformers not only unjustly but also malevolently. Tagore was driven by these attacks to a bitterness whose tragedy has not been understood even now. His resentment at the malevolence began to be expressed quite early, but its most agonizing expression was given towards the end of his life, when he had already become the symbol of Bengali vanity. In a letter to Hemanta Bala Devi, dated Ashadh 20, 1341 (1934), he gave expression to it.
I give below an English translation of the passage in the letter:
"I have nearly bought to an end my life as a Bengali. The prayer that goes up today from my weary lifespan is this - if there be rebirth, may I not be born in Bengal again. Let only holy persons flourish from birth to birth in this land of holiness. I am an outcaste, may my fate be cast in such a country where conduct does not conform to the sastras, but judgement is in conformity with righteousness."
I always say that before we can yoke Tagore to the bandwagon of Bengali self-advertisement, we have to explain that cry of agony, if not atone for it. "
I need not say anything. Niradbabu's words speak for themselves.
'To Live or Not to Live' is a slim but remarkable book. I will try and reproduce some more passages from it if time permits.
Reading all this, I could not help but recollect what another great Bengali, Nirad Chaudhuri, wrote about Tagore in the introduction to his book 'To Live or Not to Live.' I am reading this book currently, so I will reproduce verbatim what Niradbabu has written rather than paraphrase it.
"From Ram Mohun Roy to Tagore there was not one great Bengali who spared either his people or their hidebound traditions. Of course, national vanity was also refurbished, and it led the conservatives of the day to attck the reformers not only unjustly but also malevolently. Tagore was driven by these attacks to a bitterness whose tragedy has not been understood even now. His resentment at the malevolence began to be expressed quite early, but its most agonizing expression was given towards the end of his life, when he had already become the symbol of Bengali vanity. In a letter to Hemanta Bala Devi, dated Ashadh 20, 1341 (1934), he gave expression to it.
I give below an English translation of the passage in the letter:
"I have nearly bought to an end my life as a Bengali. The prayer that goes up today from my weary lifespan is this - if there be rebirth, may I not be born in Bengal again. Let only holy persons flourish from birth to birth in this land of holiness. I am an outcaste, may my fate be cast in such a country where conduct does not conform to the sastras, but judgement is in conformity with righteousness."
I always say that before we can yoke Tagore to the bandwagon of Bengali self-advertisement, we have to explain that cry of agony, if not atone for it. "
I need not say anything. Niradbabu's words speak for themselves.
'To Live or Not to Live' is a slim but remarkable book. I will try and reproduce some more passages from it if time permits.
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