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Tagore's
literary reputation is disproportionately influenced by
regard for his poetry; however, he also wrote novels, essays,
short stories, travelogues, dramas, and thousands of songs.
Of Tagore's prose, his short stories are perhaps most highly
regarded; indeed, he is credited with originating the Bangla-language
version of the genre. His works are frequently noted for
their rhythmic, optimistic, and lyrical nature. However,
such stories mostly borrow from deceptively simple subject
matter — the lives of ordinary people.
Novels
and non-fiction
Tagore wrote eight novels and four novellas, including Chaturanga,
Shesher Kobita, Char Odhay, and Noukadubi. Ghare Baire (The
Home and the World) — through the lens of the idealistic
zamindar protagonist Nikhil — excoriates rising Indian
nationalism, terrorism, and religious zeal in the Swadeshi
movement; a frank expression of Tagore's conflicted sentiments,
it emerged out of a 1914 bout of depression. Indeed, the
novel bleakly ends with Hindu-Muslim sectarian violence
and Nikhil's being (probably mortally) wounded. In some
sense, Gora shares the same theme, raising controversial
questions regarding the Indian identity. As with Ghore Baire,
matters of self-identity (jati), personal freedom, and religion
are developed in the context of a family story and love
triangle. Another powerful story is Yogayog (Nexus), where
the heroine Kumudini — bound by the ideals of Shiva-Sati,
exemplified by Dakshayani — is torn between her pity
for the sinking fortunes of her progressive and compassionate
elder brother and his foil: her exploitative, rakish, and
patriarchical husband. In it, Tagore demonstrates his feminist
leanings, using pathos to depict the plight and ultimate
demise of Bengali women trapped by pregnancy, duty, and
family honour; simultaneously, he treats the decline of
Bengal's landed oligarchy.
Other
novels were more uplifting: Shesher Kobita (translated twice
— Last Poem and Farewell Song) is his most lyrical
novel, with poems and rhythmic passages written by the main
character (a poet). It also contains elements of satire
and postmodernism, whereby stock characters gleefully attack
the reputation of an old, outmoded, oppressively-renowned
poet who, incidentally, goes by the name of Rabindranath
Tagore. Though his novels remain among the least-appreciated
of his works, they have been given renewed attention via
film adaptations by such directors as Satyajit Ray; these
include Chokher Bali and Ghare Baire; many have soundtracks
featuring selections from Tagore's own rabindrasangit. Tagore
also wrote many non-fiction books, writing on topics ranging
from Indian history to linguistics. In addition to autobiographical
works, his travelogues, essays, and lectures were compiled
into several volumes, including Iurop Jatrir Patro (Letters
from Europe) and Manusher Dhormo (The Religion of Man).
Tagore's
experience in theatre began at age sixteen, when he played
the lead role in his brother Jyotirindranath's adaptation
of Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. At age twenty,
he wrote his first drama-opera — Valmiki Pratibha (The
Genius of Valmiki) — which describes how the bandit
Valmiki reforms his ethos, is blessed by Saraswati, and
composes the Ramayana.Through it, Tagore vigorously explores
a wide range of dramatic styles and emotions, including
usage of revamped kirtans and adaptation of traditional
English and Irish folk melodies as drinking songs.[53] Another
notable play, Dak Ghar (The Post Office), describes how
a child — striving to escape his stuffy confines —
ultimately "fall[s] asleep" (which suggests his
physical death).
In 1890 he wrote Visarjan (Sacrifice), regarded as his finest
drama.[52] The Bangla-language originals included intricate
subplots and extended monologues. Later, his dramas probed
more philosophical and allegorical themes; these included
Dak Ghar. Another is Tagore's Chandalika (Untouchable Girl),
which was modeled on an ancient Buddhist legend describing
how Ananda — the Gautama Buddha's disciple — asks
water of an Adivasi ("untouchable") girl. Lastly,
among his most famous dramas is Raktakaravi (Red Oleanders),
which tells of a kleptocratic king who enriches himself
by forcing his subjects to mine. The heroine, Nandini, eventually
rallies the common people to destroy these symbols of subjugation.
Tagore's other plays include Chitrangada, Raja, and Mayar
Khela. Dance dramas based on Tagore's plays are commonly
referred to as rabindra nritya natyas.
Tagore's
three-volume Galpaguchchha, is a collection of eighty-four
stories. Such stories usually showcase Tagore’s reflections
upon his surroundings, on modern and fashionable ideas,
and on interesting mind puzzles (which Tagore was fond of
testing his intellect with). Tagore's Golpoguchchho (Bunch
of Stories) remains among Bangla literature's most popular
fictional works, providing subject matter for many successful
films and theatrical plays. Satyajit Ray's film Charulata
was based upon Tagore's controversial novella, Nastanirh
(The Broken Nest). In Atithi (also made into a film), the
young Brahmin boy Tarapada shares a boat ride with a village
zamindar. The boy reveals that he has run away from home,
only to wander around ever since. Taking pity, the zamindar
adopts him and ultimately arranges his marriage to the zamindar's
own daughter. However, the night before the wedding, Tarapada
runs off — again. Strir Patra (The Letter from the
Wife) is among Bangla literature's earliest depictions of
the bold emancipation of women. The heroine Mrinal, the
wife of a typical patriarchical Bengali middle class man,
writes a letter while she is traveling (which constitutes
the whole story). It details the pettiness of her life and
struggles; she finally declares that she will not return
to her husband's home . In (Haimanti), Tagore takes on the
institution of Hindu marriage, describing the dismal lifelessness
of married Bengali women, hypocrisies plaguing the Indian
middle classes, and how Haimanti, a sensitive young woman,
must — due to her sensitiveness and free spirit —
sacrifice her life. In the last passage, Tagore directly
attacks the Hindu custom of glorifying Sita's attempted
self-immolation as a means of appeasing her husband Rama's
doubts. Tagore also examines Hindu-Muslim tensions in Musalmani
Didi, which in many ways embodies the essence of Tagore's
humanism. On the other hand, (Darpaharan) exhibits Tagore's
self-consciousness, describing a young man harboring literary
ambitions. Though he loves his wife, he wishes to stifle
her own literary career, deeming it unfeminine. Tagore himself,
in his youth, seems to have harbored similar ideas about
women. Darpaharan depicts the final humbling of the man
via his acceptance of his wife's talents. As many other
Tagore stories, (Jibito o Mrito) provides the Bengalis with
one of their more widely used epigrams: "Kadombini
died, thereby proved that she hadn't".
Tagore's
poetry varied in style from classical formalism to the comic,
visionary, and ecstatic. Tagore was also influenced by the
mysticism of the rishi-authors who — including Vyasa
— wrote the Upanishads, the Bhakta-Sufi mystic Kabir,
and Ramprasad. Yet Tagore's poetry became most innovative
and mature after his exposure to rural Bengal's folk music,
which included ballads sung by Baul folk singers —
especially the bard Lalan Sah. These — which were rediscovered
and popularised by Tagore — resemble 19th-century Kartabhaja
hymns that emphasize inward divinity and rebellion against
religious and social orthodoxy.
Later,
Tagore responded to the (mostly) crude emergence of modernism
and realism in Bengali literature by writing experimental
works in the 1930s. Examples works include Africa and Camalia,
which are among the better known of his latter poems. He
also occasionally wrote poems using Shadhu Bhasha (a Sanskritised
dialect of Bangla); later, he began using Cholti Bhasha
(a more popular dialect). Other notable works include Manasi,
Sonar Tori (Golden Boat), Balaka (Wild Geese — the
title being a metaphor for migrating souls), and Purobi.
However, internationally, Gitanjali is Tagore's best-known
collection, winning him his Nobel Prize.
Music
and artwork
Tagore was an accomplished musician and painter, writing
around 2,230 songs. They comprise rabindrasangit ), now
an integral part of Bengali culture. Tagore's music is inseparable
from his literature, most of which — poems or parts
of novels, stories, or plays alike — became lyrics
for his songs. Among them are two such works: Bangladesh's
Amar Sonaar Baanglaa and India's Jana Gana Mana ; Tagore
thus became the only person ever to have written the national
anthems of two nations.
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