A tribute to Rabindranath Tagore in commemorating his 67th death anniversary:

Rabindranath Tagore the myriad minded multifaceted man

H. Kamal Premadasa

Creator, they say, it averse to the bestowal of the entirety of excellence on any one being. He had seemingly made an exception, in choosing Rabindranath Tagore to be the myriad minded multifaceted man.

In addition to his multiple facets, and fecundity as a young man in mid-twenties, he had been captivatingly handsome. But he was never ever concerned or conscious of such good looks.

In the heart of the Bengali section of Calcutta, in the Dwarkanath Lane, there stands a manorial residence structured to suit, and in keeping with the orthodoxy and flamboyant lifestyle of its owner Dwarkanath Tagore.

Dwarkanath Tagore in elite businessman, known for his magnanimity had helped in the founding and development of some of the pioneer institutions like the Hindu College and Calcutta Medical College.

He founded the Brahmo Samaj in collaboration with Raja Rammohan Roy, a respected intellect of that time, to spearhead the movement for purging the Hindu way of life with multiple evils. He was progressive and princely in his disposition.

In fact, the Calcutta Community called him Prince Dwarkanath. He wined and dined with royalty both in the courts of England and France. Perhaps the first Indian to enjoy such privilege.

He was essentially a man of the world, albeit, who was given to the self conceived so called joys jollities and pleasures in life unmindful, perhaps, of their transient and ephemeral nature.

Debindranath Tagore, a scholar of no mean repute in Sanskrit, Persian Indian and Western Philosophy, became a Brahmo member in 1843. Contrary to the character of his father, Dwarkanath Tagore, Debindranath was given to scholarship and spirituality. Rabindranath Tagore was the fourteenth and the youngest child of Debindranath Tagore, and Sarda Devi, born on 7th May 1861.

Rabindranath inherited the worldliness of his grandfather and spirituality of his father, which he fused into a harmonious un-conflicting duality. His character, thus became an amalgam of secularity and spirituality.

Having been born in the residence Jorasanko, Rabindranath by birth had claim for affluence and orthodoxy, but he never allowed consequential vanity to contaminate his being by its touch. Bearing a demeanour of bubbling bonhomie, he paced upon the good earth trodden by the peasant, farmer poorest and the low-class, bare-footed, unmindful of his feet getting covered by dust, and commented:-
 

Open thine eyes and see
Thy God is not before thee,
He is there where the tiller
Is tilling the hard ground
And the path maker is breaking stone,
He is there with them in sun and shower
And his garment is covered with dust.

Jorasanko, the legendary mansion in Calcutta, was in itself a veritable seat of learning, profound. Therein men of letters, those replete with philosophical thoughts, painters of repute, poets of recognition, and a cross section of the intelligentsia of the then Bengali community constantly met.

They met under the patronage of Maharishi Debindranath Tagore, for dialogue, discussion, debate and matters relevant to their respective spheres. This generated in Jorasanko, an episodic atmosphere of variety, vivacity, celebration and eccentricity, with a mingling of a touch of dynamism.

Rabindranath, a young dreamer with intellectual faculty, ventured to imbibe the essence of the dynamism of the atmosphere that prevailed, nursing his seed of talent and creativity. This moulded him to become the myriad minded multi faceted man in the fullness of time.

Like the great romantics of the nineteenth century, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelly, Byron and Keats on the one hand, and the well-known Victorial trio Tennyson, Browning and Arnold on the other, who loved nature, Tagore belonged to the genus of romantic poets. He had an abiding love for nature. Such love was akin to a teenaged youth of exuberance passionately in love.

The silver flush of light in the dawn, dusk painting the canvass of the western sky with brush-strokes of gold and a riot of other variegated colours, the fullness of the moon in the sky accompanied by the myriad starry maids, silvery drifting clouds caressing the purplish mountain peaks, crystal clear waters cascading down precipitous falls akin to silver in liquid form, rivers rivulets brooks flowing down in an amble making gargling music and forming foamy glory, mass of blossoms in full bloom in a dream of colour in spring time, butterflies with wings of rainbow hue in zig zag flight, youthful birds resonant with their chirpy songs intoxicated with joy, their formation flight silhouetted against the backdrop of the cerulean sky, Autumnal leaves swaying in the scent laden breeze making rustling lyrics fire-flies in clusters rupturing the obscurity of the night.

Those and such other enthralling spellbinding picturesque features of nature would have promoted in his mind a piquancy for creativity, which pursuit, he was engaged in zealously, from the age of eight to eighty years.

Tagore loved life and did not seek to renounce or run away from it. He perhaps, had reason for such love, for his life had been blissfully eventful, fulfilling and rewarding. He therefore commented:-
I do not want die in this beautiful earth.
I wish to live among humans
In this sunshine and blooming garden
And at the center of loving hearts.

Tagore spoke against the wrongs of humanity, whoever perpetrated and yet he said that he shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in man.

He loved children. Their laughter and cries would have evoked in his mind poetic thoughts.

Tagore the Poet

With all his multiple facets, Tagore was essentially a poet. A poet of distinction and par excellence. His poetic attributes stood as a sentinel above all other facets.

Tagore lost his wife in 1902. His daughter in 1903. His youngest son Shamindra in 1907 His father, mentor, guru, and one who gave him unrestricted freedom to be mender of himself, for Tagore essentially was a self made man. Two years later he lost his daughter Bela.

Two brothers and his only great grandson Nitindra. Such calamitous vicissitudes would drive any man of sensitivity, into a frency of emotional stress. But loss and pain found sublime expression in his poems, and not self pity.

He said that sorrow made his lyre sing. Perhaps, with notes producing "shoka rase" which was, close to his heart. This is converse to the comment that has been made by Keats the romantic poet of the nineteenth century "Poetry is a vision, the pouring out of a soul in ecstasy, with the full throated ease of a singing bird. Tagore had the proclivity to make his lyre sing not when his soul was in ecstasy, but when his whole being was in a state of turmoil.

But the death in 1884, of his sister-in-law, Kadembari Devi, friend and inspiration, whose touch he felt in every aspect on his being, who committed suicide, was the most gripping sorrow of his life." In the midst of suffocating darkness, however, Tagore felt "there would suddenly blow over my heart now and again a breeze of gladness taking me by surprise, for life has to move on." About three years after the death of Kadembari Devi Tagore, himself had suicidal depression.

Tagore wrote copiously and indefatigably, poems to the approximation of three thousand. They bore rhythm depth, vividity and flowing lucidity. They were gems of great value found in a gem pit of abysmal death.

Tagore wrote in a variety of moods in his mind, and on a wide range of themes. love, nature, social, mystical legendary and historical. Many of his poems have achieved immortality for their profundity and lilting rhythms of beauty reflected in his thoughts and feelings. He has commented that the joy of writing one poem far exceed the satiation of writing shelves of prose.

On approaching his adulthood as a poet, a strange phenomenon favoured him by its visitation. Dispelling his earlier pervading gloom, the poet was elevated to a mood of exaltation consequent to a sudden spiritual awakening, which lasted for a period of four days. "Picture and Song," "Sharps and Flats" are works belonging to this earlier period.

The publication of Manasi (of mind) in 1890, was described as Tagore's first book of genius. It was after the publication of "Sonar Tari" (golden boat) that Tagore emerged as a poet of full maturity, and placed his golden stamp on Bengali poetry of that period.

Poet, musician, dramatist, novelist, painter, educator, philosopher to name a few of his facets, Tagore the literalist attained international recognition and fame. This was particularly after his having won the prestigious Nobel Prize for literature for his monumental work Gitanjali (song offering).

Gitanjali

His multifaceted creative genius manifested itself in a variety of literary genre. Expressing himself in lyrics, sonnets, prose, poems, short stories, novels, plays, one would wonder in disbelief as to how one person can achieve mastery in such multiplicity of literary genres.

In 1913, Tagore was offered the Nobel Prize for literature for his exquisite collection of mystical poems. Gitanjali was written when Tagore remained assailed by emotional stress, consequent to the tragic series of bereavements. The Poet was in an intensely spiritual frame of mind. He articulated his frame of mind in the following verses:-
 

That I want thee, let my heart repeat.
Without end all desires that distract me
Day and night are false and empty to the core.
As the night keeps hidden in its gloom
The petition for light, even thus
In the depth of my conscience
Ring the cry-I want thee only thee
And
In sorrow after sorrow it is his steps
That press upon my heart
And it is the golden touch of his feet
That makes my joy shine.

Sir William Rothenstein was agog with enthusiasm in reading the manuscript containing the translation of the poems by Tagore. Tagore could hardly believe the commendation made by him.

Tagore reckoned his expression of opinion as a magnanimous gesture. Rothenstein then read over the manuscript to poet Yeast. The story of what happened thereafter is history. Creation of magic in poetic art. In Tagore winning the Nobel Prize, Yeast recorded his feeling in his introduction to Gitanjali in the following manner.

"I have carried the manuscript of the translation about with me for days reading in railway trains or on top of omnibuses and in restaurants, and I have often had to close it lest some stranger would observe how much it moved me."

Santinekaten

In 1901, Tagore founded the boarding school-cum ashram at Santineketan. Here he attempted to merge the best of Indian and western tradition of philosophy with the aim of creating a unique system of education, which was close to and in harmony with nature.

The Visva Bharati University was founded in Santinekatan (the abode of peace). Although he travelled a lot he was always happy to return to Santinekaten where he spent his time musing contemplating and reflecting in peace and contentment in preference to the manor which was Jorasanko.

Sarojini Naidu, another poet of repute in India described Tagore's music as fresh as the first flowers of spring time. As enchanting as the music of moonlight stream, and said that his songs would for generations after generations, remain fresh as ever.

William Radice, Tagore scholar noted that Tagore expressed his romantic and religious perceptions most profoundly in his songs. The essential harmony and the beauty of the universe was best conveyed through music. The characteristic devotional strain of his music goes:-

Thou, the infinite within the finite

Play the tune, Your light is within me So my melody is sweet.

Mahatma Gandhi called him the greatest poet of the age. Dr. Radhakrishna, the savant, described him as the greatest figure of modern Indian renaissance. Pandit Nehru noted that he had no doubt in his mind, that the two biggest persons he has had the privilege of meeting have been Gandhi and Tagore.

Though Rabindranath was assailed by parading vicissitudes in life, he bore the strength of character to face them in a spirit of equanimity. He led the life not only of a poet, but a rishi given to spirituality. His life would for ever remain an example to the world community as a whole, which had been one of peace and contentment despite drawbacks, for eighty years.

He reached the "Great Beyond" as he choose to call it, leaving behind a legacy as a literalist, which no other man of letters would. Thus closing another fascinating chapter in Indian history, and carving a niche in the annals of world history as a man for all seasons.

(The writer is the President of the Tagore Society of Sri Lanka.)

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