TAGORE’S WORKS

BIOGRAPHY OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was the youngest son of Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the
Brahmo Samaj, which was a new religious sect in nineteenth-century Bengal and which attempted a
revival of the ultimate monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in the Upanishads. He was educated
at home; and although at seventeen he was sent to England for formal schooling, he did not finish
his studies there. In his mature years, in addition to his many-sided literary activities, he managed
the family estates, a project which brought him into close touch with common humanity and
increased his interest in social reforms. He also started an experimental school at Shantiniketan
where he tried his Upanishadic ideals of education. From time to time, he participated in the Indian
nationalist movement, though in his own non-sentimental and visionary way; and Gandhi, the
political father of modern India, was his devoted friend. Tagore was knighted by the ruling British
Government in 1915, but within a few years he resigned the honour as a protest against British
policies in India.

Tagore had early success as a writer in his native Bengal. With his translations of some of his poems
he became rapidly known in the West. In fact, his fame attained a luminous height, taking him across
continents on lecture tours and tours of friendship. For the world he became the voice of India's
spiritual heritage; and for India, especially for Bengal, he became a great living institution.
Although Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, he was, first of all, a poet. In spite of its
title, Gitanjali: Song Offerings (1912), the most acclaimed of them, contains poems from other works
besides its namesake. Tagore's major plays are Raja (1910) [The King of the Dark Chamber], Dakghar
(1912) [The Post Office], Achalayatan (1912) [The Immovable], Muktadhara (1922) [The Waterfall]
and Raktakaravi (1926) [Red Oleanders]. He is the author of several volumes of short stories and a
number of novels like Gora  (1910), Ghare-Baire (1916) [The Home and the World] and
Yugayug (1929) [Crosscurrents]. Besides these, he wrote musical dramas, dance dramas, essays of all
types, travel diaries, and two autobiographies, one in his middle years and the other shortly before
his death in 1941. Tagore also left numerous drawings and paintings, and songs for which he wrote
the music himself.

EXTRACT FROM “NATIONALISM IN INDIA” (1917)

In spite of our great difficulty, however, India has done something. She has tried to make an
adjustment of races, to acknowledge the real differences between them where these exist, and yet
seek for some basis of unity. This basis has come through our saints, like Nanak, Kabir, Chaitanya and
others, preaching one God to all races of India.

In finding the solution of our problem we shall have helped to solve the world problem as well. What
India has been, the whole world is now. The whole world is becoming one country through scientific
facility. And the moment is arriving when you also must find a basis of unity which is not political. If
India can offer to the world her solution, it will be a contribution to humanity. There is only one
history - the history of man. All national histories are merely chapters in the larger one. And we are
content in India to suffer for such a great cause.

Each individual has his self-love. Therefore, his brute instinct leads him to fight with others in the
sole pursuit of his self-interest. But man has also his higher instincts of sympathy and mutual help.
The people who are lacking in this higher moral power and who therefore cannot combine in
fellowship with one another must perish or live in a state of degradation. Only those people have
survived and achieved civilization who have this spirit of cooperation strong in them. So, we find that
from the beginning of history men had to choose between fighting with one another and combining,
between serving their own interest or the common interest of all.

In our early history when the geographical limits of each country and also the facilities of
communication were small, this problem was comparatively small in dimension. It was sufficient for
men to develop their sense of unity within their area of segregation. In those days they combined
among themselves and fought against others. But it was this moral spirit of combination which was
the true basis of their greatness, and this fostered their art, science and religion. At that early time
the most important fact that man had to take into account the fact of the members of one particular
race coming in close contact with another. Those who truly grasped this fact through their higher
nature made their mark in history.
The most important fact of the present age is that all the different races of men have come close
together. And again, we are confronted with two alternatives. The problem is whether the different
groups of people shall go on fighting with one another or find out some true basis of reconciliation
and mutual help; whether it will be interminable competition or cooperation.

I have no hesitation in saying that those who are gifted with the moral power of love and vision of
spiritual unity, who have the least feeling of enmity against aliens, and the sympathetic insight to
place themselves in the position of others will be the fittest to take their permanent place in the age
that is lying before us, and those who are constantly developing their instinct of fight and
intolerance of aliens will be eliminated. For this is the problem before us, and we have to prove our
humanity by solving it through the help of our higher nature. The gigantic organizations for hurting
others and warding off their blows, for making money by dragging others back, will not help us. On
the contrary, by their crushing weight, their enormous cost and their deadening effect upon the
living humanity they will seriously impede our freedom in the larger life of a higher civilization.

During the evolution of the Nation, the moral culture of brotherhood was limited by geographical
boundaries, because at that time those boundaries were true. Now they have become imaginary
lines of tradition divested of the qualities of real obstacles. So, the time has come when man's moral
nature must deal with this great fact with all seriousness or perish. The first impulse of this change of
circumstance has been the churning up of man's baser passions of greed and cruel hatred. If this
persists indefinitely and armaments go on exaggerating themselves to unimaginable absurdities, and
machines and store-houses envelop this fair earth with their dirt and smoke and ugliness, then it will
end in a conflagration of suicide. Therefore, man will have to exert all his power of love and clarity of
vision to make another great moral adjustment which will comprehend the whole world of men and
not merely the fractional groups of nationality. The call has come to every individual in the present
age to prepare himself and his surroundings for this dawn of a new era when man shall discover his
soul in the spiritual unity of all human beings.
WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

[He is talking about an India where people are without any fear and they are confident and proud. ]

Where knowledge is free

[ Where education is free for all]

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

[ He is talking about an India that is united and undivided.]

by narrow domestic walls;

[ Undivided by casteism / religion / language / region / superstition / culture / gender / race /

mindset / economic status ]

Where words come out from the depth of truth,

[ Freedom of speech, truthfulness , authenticity, honesty for the people of India.]

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

[ He wants an India where the people are hardworking, working towards perfection, people who are
success-oriented, people who want to progress , people who are determined to achieve perfection,
dedicated towards the success of the nation.]

Where the clear stream of reason

has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

[ He wants the people to have strong reasoning and logical thinking. He wants people to be rational
and open minded. He does not want people to be trapped by superstitious thoughts, false beliefs
and not to be blind followers of destructive/ habits/ trends/ rules/ prejudices of a country.]

Where the mind is led forward by Thee

[ He talks about a country that is God- fearing, spiritual in nature and who’s thoughts are inspired by
God. American coins have the words “In God we trust”. He wants a country that is led by spirituality
and not superstition.]
into ever-widening thought and action

[ He wants the people’s thoughts and actions to be influenced by their spirituality and belief in God.
He wants God to broaden their horizon/ scope of thought and actions.]

Into that Heaven of freedom

[He wants God and their spirituality to lead them to a free India. A heaven of freedom.]

My Father, let my country awake.

[ He prays to God to enlighten the country men , to wake them up from the slumber of ignorance,
superstition, false beliefs , laziness…etc.]
THINKING ABOUT OURSELVES

In your crew, discuss what Freedom means to each one of you. Then fill in the table, thinking
about the advantages and disadvantages of this idea. What are the possible responsibilities that
arise from this idea of freedom?

FREEDOM PROS

RESPONSIBILITIES CONS

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1.“ Where the mind is led forward by the ….. let my country awake.”

a. What does the poet mean by “ever widening thought action” ?

b. Describe any two traits of character that the poet wants to inculcate in his countrymen.

c. What does the poet mean by “let my country awake”?

d. What is heaven of freedom according to the poet?

2.Bring out the significance of the title.

Read the following extracts and answer the questions with reference to context.

A. Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

by narrow domestic walls;

a. What does ‘fear’ mean in the context of the poem?

b. What are the ‘fragments’?

c. Why are the walls called narrow?

d. Identify the figure of speech in the last line of the extract.

B. Where words come out from the depth of truth 

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection 
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way 
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

a. What do you understand by ‘clear stream of reason’?

b. What is the “dead habit” according to the poet? 

c. How do the dead habits obstruct the realization of freedom? 

d. Identify the figures of speech in this extract.

C. Where the mind is led forward by Thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that Heaven of Freedom

My Father, let my country awake.

a. Who is the poet addressing as ‘Thee’? What is this figure of speech called?

b. What do ‘thought and action’ mentioned in the second line symbolise?

c. What is the ‘slumber’ the country is in?

d. Identify the figure of speech in the third line.

THOU HAST MADE ME ENDLESS

Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest

again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.

This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through

it melodies eternally new.

At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to

utterance ineffable

Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and

still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.

Read the following extracts and answer the questions with reference to context.

A. Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and

still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.

a. Who is referred to as ‘Thy’?

b. What does the poet mean by ‘infinite gifts’?

c. What is the significance of the phrase ‘very small hands’?

d. Identify a figure of speech in the above lines.

B. At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to

utterance ineffable.

a. Who is referred to as ‘Thy’?

b. What does the poet mean by ‘utterance ineffable’?

c. Why is the narrator joyful?

d. Identify a figure of speech in the above lines.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1.The poet places blind faith in God by being the receiver of all that God has to give. Do you think
this takes away from human agency in leading a fulfilling life?

THINKING ABOUT OURSELVES

List out the talents/ qualities/ skills you have List out the talents/qualities/skills you have
been told you are gifted with: acquired through practice:

1.Which of these are you proud of? Which of these form an integral part of your personality?

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2.Read “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. How would you compare the ideas of the two writers? How
are they similar or different in essence?

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