Author : Amita Raj
As I walk through soft green paths under the saffron evening lights suffusing the misty white sky, I join in this tri-colour celebration of Indian independence.
And what better time to read two fabulous novellas by our own national poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore than now?
I happened to come across Tagore’s two jewels of literature, ‘The Garden’ and ‘Farewell My Friend.’ Originally in Bengali, they were translated to English.
Displaying not only the beauty of language, landscape and flavours of West Bengal, they reveal the poet’s wealth of spiritual and psychological insights.
‘Farewell My Friend,’ originally ‘Shesher Kobita’, is a tale about an Oxford-educated lawyer, the highly intellectual and poetic, but also rather opinionated Amit Rai and his encounter with the brilliant and independent Labanya during his visit to the scenic Shillong.
The story displays the social conflicts and snobbery of his Europe-educated family with that of the more humble but highly literate Labanya. Though her background is not rich or fashionable like his, her genius shines in the profound impact she has on him. They fall deeply in love, but the tale ends in a gentle poetic parting, intriguing the reader.
This richly poetic novel demonstrates how Tagore was so ahead of his times, as he honoured the intellect and independence of an Indian lady long before modern societies saw feminine dignity outside her domestic role.
‘The Garden’, originally ‘Malancha’ describing the tending of a beautiful garden, weaves another tale of a woman’s potencies, this time delving into her darker energies in a form of thriller.
Niraja in this story is the bed-ridden wife of a florist, Aditya. The tale is a love triangle, showing Aditya’s waning interest in his wife and a fascination with his young cousin, Sarala. Though the climax is built up to be around his dying wife’s forgiveness of her husband’s new love interest, it ends up with a chilling sinister twist. One would hardly expect an evil curse from the so far gentle, spiritual Niraja even on her deathbed!
In conclusion, I found these two novellas adding another hue to the mood of Indian
independence, giving me a chance to celebrate another ingenious facet of a great visionary of India, our own Gurudev Tagore. Jai Hind!
About the Author :
Amita Raj has always loved creating imaginatively rich stories through the melody and colours of language. Her writing talent was sparked off in her childhood at age eight in a classroom assignment where she wrote the autobiography of a pen. Since then, she has been enchanted with writing, also reading and enjoying the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe. She has been a contributing writer to Deccan Herald, India Currents, Twist&Twain magazine, and of late regularly to Story Scrapers, ArtoonsInn Poetry Parlour and Soul Craft. She looks forward to her ongoing lyrical journey, writing and sharing with the world many more of her short stories, poems and novellas.
Beautiful, I will definitely read these soulful books, thank you so much Ma’am for sharing their pieces out here. Love reading your blogs always.