May 19, 2022,Tagore’s literary legacy..

This write-up is contributed by Mr. Sugato Roy.

Tagore’s literary legacy ..

When the legendary Irish poet WB Yeats wrote the preface of Tagore’s Nobel prize-winning masterpiece Geetanjali, he was all praise for the supreme culture of India and was enthralled, spellbound and fascinated with the collections of SONG  OFFERINGS / SINGING ANGEL  as Geetanjali is known in the West. Creativity, ingenuity and originality were inborn in Rabindranath as he was born into one of the most renowned and illustrious families of our country of all times.  Amongst his 13 siblings, Swarnakumari Debi, Tagore’s sister was a renowned author. Jyotirindranath Tagore was an acclaimed playwright and musician in his own right. Rabindranath’s eldest brother Dwijendranath was the first person to translate Kalidas’s Meghdoot into Bengali. Satyendranath Tagore, another brother was the first Indian ICS and a composer,  lyricist and linguist. Debendranath’s third son, Hemendranath Tagore was the “scientist in the family “ and was almost like a tutor to his young brother, Rabindranath. He attended the Medical College and was engaged in experiments with radio waves and electromagnetism. Saudamini Debi, another of Tagore’s sisters was herself a prolific writer while another sister  Sukumari Debi brought about a revolution in the field of art, creativity and painting along with Nandalal Bose in Shantiniketan.

No wonder the child Rabindranath had such extraordinary influences from his immediate family right from his formative years. The name Rabindranath is a vast ocean and mere mention of his literary works cannot justify his vast compass of creativity.

 Thinking about the doodles that Tagore created, these drawings and squiggles are any day pieces of a superior art form. Such was his creative genius that even while committing a mistake while writing, he wouldn’t scratch out the entire thing, but rather connected these patches and made interesting shapes like a human face, birds, trees and even logos and mnemonics. The National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi has innumerable works of Rabindranath. Tagore was deeply influenced by the woodcut of Max Pechstein, the Haida carvings of Canada and the works of the Malanggan community of Northern Ireland.

The enormous anthology of Rabindrasangeet is simply unmatched with the perfect blend of classical and modern forms of music and rendition and is a different genre of music altogether.

At the age of sixteen, Tagore started writing verses in Brajbhasha or Brajbuli under the pseudonym Bhanusingha. He was influenced as a teenager by the works of Bhanusingha Thakur an ancient Vaishnavite saint and Thomas Chatterton, a British poet known for his romantic verses. Rabindranath’s composition Bhanusingher Padavali continues to enchant and enthral generations after generations even now.

Around the same time, Tagore wrote his first short story Bhikharini {The Beggar Woman} considered mindboggling by a teenager who was barely sixteen.

Rabindranath’s passion and ardour for writing started growing with his age. He was an excellent playwright, penning some the masterpieces like Balmiki Pratibha, Dakghor, Visarjan, Chandalika, Shapmochan, Shyama, Mayar Khela, Notir Puja,   Tasher Desh and Chitrangada to name a few. Tagore even acted in many of his plays.

His collection of poems Sandhya Sangeet was published in 1882 and has a poem Nirjharer Swapnabhongo.To date, this masterpiece remains one of his countless outstanding works.

After Rabindranath came back to India from England he started working on his collection of poems,  Manasi. This collection which was published in 1890, had poems which were a blend of romanticism as well as satires about the gentry and reflected Tagore’s political stance about the situation prevailing at that time in the country.

Tagore’s innumerable nationalistic songs praising the Motherland and harping for India’s freedom are as much popular even today as they were when they were first sung.

A whole number of his works have been made into successful movies by iconic directors like Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha, Bimal Ray,  Gulzar, Mrinal Sen, Purnendu Patrea,   Rituporno Ghosh etc. Films like Charulata, Gharey Bairey, Tin Kanya, Kabuliwala, Strir Patra,  Chokher Bali, Icchapuran, Atithi, Lekin, Noukadubi, Khudita Pashan, and Do Bigha Zameen area few of the legendary and immensely popular films both in the domestic as well as in the international arena.

Rabindranath’s legacy will remain unfathomable and inestimable always. It will be beyond the boundaries of South Asia and will be a part of eternal history.

Mr. Sugato Roy

GRADUATE FROM ST XAVIER’S COLLEGE AND POST GRADUATE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA, SPECIALIZING IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT.  PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE OF 24 YEARS IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLISHING INDUSTRY.  HAS BEEN AWARDED FOR  LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY MANAGEMENT.

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