Dec 13, 2024
Dec 13, 2024
Here is a famous essay of Rabindranath Tagore in my translation which shows how great was his love for nature.
Passing the Springtime
A few more lines from the same essay. Hope you won't get tired, dear Dipankar - 'This in short is what happens in Satyajit Ray's film Kanchanjangha. And the scene where it takes place is Darjeeling - the queen of the hills, the queen who wears a girdle of shining jewels around her waist. It is not only one of his many films in which he once again takes the 'Tenth Muse' to the Olympian heights but also a tribute to Darjeeling and the sublime beauty of the hills. Innumerable people visit Darjeeling and the different aspects of the place affect the visitors differently. It is many things to many people. To some it is merely a cool summer place which affords relief from the scorching sun. To the sick and the suffering it is a sanatorium. To the holiday makers it is a place for frolic and fun. To those worn by cares and anxieties it is a resort for temporary respite. To practical men it is an ideal place for transaction of some business. The patriarch went there to finalize his daughter's marriage negotiations.Some people go there to enjoy the sheer beauties of nature. But whatever may be one's purpose of visit and however indifferent one may be to the physical beauties of the place or whether one notices it or not the Kanchanjangha is always there looming large in the horizon. And as a thing of beauty it is not only a joy for ever but also a spiritual experience. It not only pleases our senses but also affects our minds. One need not be a young Rabindranath in whom the sunrise of a particular morning caused a new awakening which he had experienced never before and which transformed his whole existence. Nor is everybody a Wordsworth whom Nature made much more than a poet. Our love of beauty may not be as intense as that of a Keats whom the full-throated melody of a nightingale's song could transport to the land of the fairies. We may not be impressed by the beauties of nature as deeply as those highly sensitive men who are gifted with the power of poetic imagination or a creative urge like Rabindranath or Wordsworth or Keats but we cannot remain always immune, for such is the power of the genius of some places of great scenic beauty. On such rare occasions who knows if we may not feel a strange stirring in our blood, a strange yearning akin to the one Shelley could feel "the desire of the moth for the star, of the night for the morrow/the devotion to something afar from the sphere of our sorrow?" As extraordinary experiences they may make us dreamy and imaginative too like a poet and help us to rise, even if temporarily, above the level of our mundane existence.' |
Dear Dipankar, I thought I should quote from my essay on Darjeeing to elaborate the point I made in my earlier comment. Here it is - How about taking a break and getting away from this insane world at least for a while and going to a place where the world is wide, the skies are high, the air is fresh and bracing and you feel, like the poor young man of the film, as if your heart is broadened and you are not small but big as a giant?' |
The point is very well taken dear Dipankar, but if you ponder a little more deeply and read between the lines you will find no dichotomy between work and laziness. Tagore does not advise, he only appeals to those who are blind to the beauties of nature and are too much absorbed in worldly affairs. Do you remember the famous lines of another poet - 'What is this life if full of care/If there is no time to stand and stare?' Yes I have come across a lot of people who cannot enjoy beauty, not only in nature but also in other spheres. 'What I was saying is that after reaching the last stage of evolution the human species has divided itself into many groups. Some are inert as dead matter, some are like vegetables and still there are those who resemble beasts, barbarians, civilized gentlemen or divines.' These lines are very relevant. As a piece of literature I am yet to read anything comparable to this essay. It is incomparable, yet from the small number of viewers so far I agree with the poet that there are people who are incapable of appreciating beautiful things. I would request you to read my essay on Darjeeling - A Summer place - posted in boloji long ago, where I have explained it more elaborately. Finally, thanks for reading and commenting. |
Dear Kumudbabu: This was quite enthralling. All Tagore lovers admire his oneness with nature. Yet, when he advises that humanity should take its time off from worldly preoccupations and lose itself in nature, I think he poses a paradox of a kind. To compose a piece such as this involves a great deal of work too, concentration, deep involvement in work. Perhaps it is not work involving ledgers, but it is disciplined work all the same. "Today I will have to mix with the trees and plants as if they are my nearest and dearest relations. Lying under their shades I will have to hold the forest floor in a fast embrace with both my hands outspread and when the wind of spring will blow I will have to let it pass through my ribs. My heart will utter no words whose meanings the woodland doesn’t understand. Thus till the end of chaitra refreshing and greening my being I will remain immersed among the earth, the air and the sky. I will lie still in the light and shade of this spring." I read and re-read the above quote. Tagore was too great a man not to understand the value of self-discipline for creativity to flourish. It is very hard to believe that he spent much time in his life in blissful worklessness. I have always admired people who are dedicated to their work honestly, quite independent of the nature of the work. Even a banker's clerk's dedication to work appeals to me. And, to the extent that man is a part of nature, is it possible really to draw a boundary between nature and man? Isn't every little action or inaction of man an evidence of nature at work? The trees are a part of nature, but so is the bank ledger. The more I think about the matter, the more puzzled I feel. |
Thank you Uddipan. Rabindranath became concerned about the environment long before us. As a poet he was a great lover of nature but as an environmentalist he introduced tree planting ceremony in Santiniketan and to welcome every season he also introduced festivals like Basantotsav, barshamangal etc which continue to this day. When he went to Santiniketan to set up his school the place was bare and bleak - all around there was virtually no trees. It was he who transformed the place by planting trees. Sal bithi in Santiniketan seems to have become his most favourite |
Nice. Gives us further exposition on Tagore. |