24 Reflections I

Loue lia Chasling and Singiung and ling ofBeud

Rabindranath Tagore

telling of beads!
Leave this chanting and singing and
dark corner of a temple
Whom dost thou worship in this lonely
with doors all shut?
not before thee!
Open thine eyes and see thy God is
ground
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard
stones. He is with them
and where the path-maker is breaking
is covered with dust.
in sun and in shower, and his garment
down
Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come
on the dusty soil!
Deliverance? Where is this deliverence to be found?
Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds
of creation; he is bound with us all for ever.
Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and
incense! What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered
and stained?
Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)was a prolific writer: he wrote poetry,drama,

novels, short stories and non-fictional prose in addition to writing both the lyrics and
music for a large number of songs. He is known for his collection of songs, Gitanjali,
published in 1912. He was also an ardent social reformer, apolitical activist, an
educationist, a painter and atranslator. He holds the distinction of being the first
Asian to get the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913.

GLOSSARY

deliverarnce freedom from a painful or bad experience

 Leave this Chanting and Snging and Telling of Beads
25

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Who do vou think the poct Is addressnge lom the poCm, plck out the
vords which revcal the dentity of the pcrson addresscd.
phrascs and
) What does the poct urgc the pricst/devotcc to do at the beginning of thc poerm
The poet creates an image of 'man', and also of God. What kind f man and Crtd
does Tagore crcate?
4 Where can God be found?
5 Do vou think the poet approves of rituals and blind worship

WRITING

Read the following quotations about religion and belief in God.

When Ido good, I feel good; when I do bad, Ifeel bad. That's my religion.
- Abraham Lincoln

one's goodness and

True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all
righteousness.
Albert Einstein

All religions are thc same: religion is basically guilt,

with different holidays.
Cathy Ladman

is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble.

Religion
Ralph Waldo Emerson

with
with any of these statements? If yes, which ot these do vou agree
Do you agree vour opinion about
these quotations, what Is
and why If you don't agrce with any of
support your viewpont:
religion? Can you think of other relevant quotations to
Write your answer in about 300 words.
 26 Relections I

VoCABULARY
u come actoss a lew wotds trom Old ig1sh in this pom. opy those
ganst the Modern English words given below:
(2)
VOur VOurs

Studr the following linc.

and stained?
"ar barm is there if thy clothes become tattered
clothes. te
A Out two more words from the poem which mean
Clothes become tattered and stained, when you work in a held or a farm, as stated
the poem. Can vou add afew more wods to describe the clothes in such a condiricet
Clothes become/get listysoilee or

4
Studr this sentence.
He is nith them in sun and in shoner.
This means that God is with the tiller all the time. Carn you find on your own, a fey
more phrases which are used in day-to-day communication to mean the phrase in
round the clock. ety t ylht ym daun ts
5. In this poem youcan see two types of verb phrases: one religious and the other not
-rcligious/secular (related to hard work). Copy them in two columns below.
6. Rcad the following statement.
Put off thy boly mantle.
The phrase put off here Is used as the opposite of put on in the case of a dress.
Another meaning of the phrasal verb put off is to postpone or to delay. Put on also
means to apply (an ointment etc.)
Eill the blanks in the following sentences using the
correct phrasal veros
choosing from the ones given above.
your jacket a n d lbl this OiNtment on Vour shoulder.
11. The mceting has to b e l since the MD hasn't come back yet.
ii. Why did you l this Tshirt? It looks
awkward.
 Leave this Chanting and Singing and Telling of Beads 27

Focus ON LANGUAGE

listencr provide any information. Such

GRAMMAR questions are called rhetorical questions.
Who cares? (Nobody cares)
command
The poem begins with a sort of Copy the two rhetorical questions
or order: Leave this chanting In Engisn, from the poem and write down their
ench sentences are called Imperatives. 1ney paraphrase as given above in brackets.
arecommands, requests, etc. beginning with 1 who dost thoe
verbs.
Write down a few more Such
imperatives from the poem. (There are
them in
more than half a dozen of
the poem). o larative 11
itesscgativc
lolesdetia
UsAGE
Write three more rhetorical questions
Study the following interrogative: of your own and paraphrase them
below.
What harm is there if thy clothes become
tattered and stained?

Though the sentence is in the form of an

interrogative, it is not a question like
Where does your father work? or How
did yougo home yesterday?
The last two interrogatives are questions
which anticipate an answer or a reply. For
Cxample, By bus', in the case of the last
one. But in the case of the tirst
Interrogative, no answer or reply is
anticipated by the speaker; nor does the