When Rabindranath Took A Pen Name
Young Rabi was full of ideas. He was travelling and visiting places. He was learning new things, developing his sensibilities. It was round about this time and he was still very young when he came in contact with Vaishnavism. It was through songs. In his memoir, "JeevanSmriti" or "Reminisces of Life", he mentions about a collection by the name "Prachin KavyaSangraha" authored by AkshayChandra Sarkar and Saradacharan Mitra. This collection contained poems written in a dialect called Maithili. The language was extremely hard for the young boy to understand. However, he continued. He persisted to make something out of these verses. At this point in time, he came to know about Thomas Chatterton, a young poet, who used to imitate older poets with such precision that readers could not make out any difference.
So, Shree Sarkar, Shree Mitra and then Mr Chatterton - these were the singular sources of inspiration for Tagore to venture into an hitherto unknown territory.
This was approximately the year 1877, Tagore was probably 16. It was a day when the sky was filled with clouds. Young Rabi took a slate and a pencil and lying down on his bed composed the following lines :
"Gahan Kusum Kunja Majhe
Mridul Madhur Bansi Baje
Bisari Tras Lok Laje
Sajani Aao Aao Lo"
The tune to this was set much later though.
Gahana Kusuma Kunja Majhe by Rezwana Choudhury Bannya
As luck would have it, he got hold of an old book from a library when he found some leaves with some verses written by a certain Bhanu Simha. Bhanu Simha therefore became the final inspiration and somewhat on the lines of Chatterton, Tagore took the pen name "Bhanu Simha".
It is possible that during his travel to Ahmedabad Tagore started writing songs in Brajabuli. Brajabuli is a language, which is artificial and literary, primarily created under the influence of Vidyapati, a poet of the medieval era who wrote verses based on the love of Radha and Krishna. One could say that Brajabuli was some kind of an extension of what he found from Bhanu Simha's text. It is however, quite clear that both the original and now the young Bhanu used words from Bangla (Bengali) and mixed those together with Maithili to have an amalgamation of Bhava and Bhasha (mood and language) and one by one, he ended up creating around 20 gems.
All of the above is documented and I just wrote them down to get you all the historical background.
What I start from here on is my own imagination and we shall see where it leads us to. Tagore, who would have been 155 years, always wanted us to imagine, so I will do no harm on that front at least. I go one after the other at that. My view is that a young Rabindranath was an uncertain person. Though the poet inside him had arrived, but that poet did not quite make out in which way it would appear to the world. In other words, I would like to imagine that Tagore wanted to write in a language of his own - in a language that can reach anyone.
In the house, he had his elder brother's wife, Kadambari Devi, who was apparently eager that Rabi's 20 verses, under the name "Bhanu Simha Thakurer Padabali" get published. Tagore was deeply admired and patronized by Kadambari and my imagination wants me to believe that a good deal of these songs happened under her tutelage. I also tend to think that Kadambari wanted Tagore to be famous, and not be left out like a certain Bhanu Simha. All in all, my reasoning makes me think that Tagore wanted to continue on this path, writing songs in Brajabuli, composing the tunes and maybe at a later point evolve as the next Vidyapati or a Chandidas, thereby becoming a pan-India poet. I would take it to the next level saying that perhaps India, as an entity, missed Rabindranath Tagore, the Hindi poet!
Life could be very ruthless - it has been so time and again. "Bhanu Simha Thakurer Padabali" was released in July 1884. But one of the biggest inspirations behind it, Kadambari Devi, was no more - she had died a year before. My view is that Tagore gave up the idea of reaching out, went back to Bengali, and continued thenceforth in that language. The clearest case of pushing the envelope was no longer evident, for, the primary guide and friend had left him.
Years passed, Tagore did not even want to set tunes to many of the written verses. Clearly, his focus was no longer there. A wanderer had left one hut and was in search of another. A sage was seeking refuge in another place. Still some more years passed. In the meantime, Tagore matured. He became a World Poet, attained superlative fame and recognition. Success was running after him. My research says that Tagore would often, in his lonely quarters, flip through the pages of these songs, make a small change here and there, adjust the tune, sing a bit, look at the open window and try to find his "Bouthan" Kadambari Devi. He would do all that under the "nom de plume" Shri Bhanu Simha.
So, Shree Sarkar, Shree Mitra and then Mr Chatterton - these were the singular sources of inspiration for Tagore to venture into an hitherto unknown territory.
This was approximately the year 1877, Tagore was probably 16. It was a day when the sky was filled with clouds. Young Rabi took a slate and a pencil and lying down on his bed composed the following lines :
"Gahan Kusum Kunja Majhe
Mridul Madhur Bansi Baje
Bisari Tras Lok Laje
Sajani Aao Aao Lo"
The tune to this was set much later though.
Gahana Kusuma Kunja Majhe by Rezwana Choudhury Bannya
As luck would have it, he got hold of an old book from a library when he found some leaves with some verses written by a certain Bhanu Simha. Bhanu Simha therefore became the final inspiration and somewhat on the lines of Chatterton, Tagore took the pen name "Bhanu Simha".
It is possible that during his travel to Ahmedabad Tagore started writing songs in Brajabuli. Brajabuli is a language, which is artificial and literary, primarily created under the influence of Vidyapati, a poet of the medieval era who wrote verses based on the love of Radha and Krishna. One could say that Brajabuli was some kind of an extension of what he found from Bhanu Simha's text. It is however, quite clear that both the original and now the young Bhanu used words from Bangla (Bengali) and mixed those together with Maithili to have an amalgamation of Bhava and Bhasha (mood and language) and one by one, he ended up creating around 20 gems.
All of the above is documented and I just wrote them down to get you all the historical background.
What I start from here on is my own imagination and we shall see where it leads us to. Tagore, who would have been 155 years, always wanted us to imagine, so I will do no harm on that front at least. I go one after the other at that. My view is that a young Rabindranath was an uncertain person. Though the poet inside him had arrived, but that poet did not quite make out in which way it would appear to the world. In other words, I would like to imagine that Tagore wanted to write in a language of his own - in a language that can reach anyone.
In the house, he had his elder brother's wife, Kadambari Devi, who was apparently eager that Rabi's 20 verses, under the name "Bhanu Simha Thakurer Padabali" get published. Tagore was deeply admired and patronized by Kadambari and my imagination wants me to believe that a good deal of these songs happened under her tutelage. I also tend to think that Kadambari wanted Tagore to be famous, and not be left out like a certain Bhanu Simha. All in all, my reasoning makes me think that Tagore wanted to continue on this path, writing songs in Brajabuli, composing the tunes and maybe at a later point evolve as the next Vidyapati or a Chandidas, thereby becoming a pan-India poet. I would take it to the next level saying that perhaps India, as an entity, missed Rabindranath Tagore, the Hindi poet!
Life could be very ruthless - it has been so time and again. "Bhanu Simha Thakurer Padabali" was released in July 1884. But one of the biggest inspirations behind it, Kadambari Devi, was no more - she had died a year before. My view is that Tagore gave up the idea of reaching out, went back to Bengali, and continued thenceforth in that language. The clearest case of pushing the envelope was no longer evident, for, the primary guide and friend had left him.
Years passed, Tagore did not even want to set tunes to many of the written verses. Clearly, his focus was no longer there. A wanderer had left one hut and was in search of another. A sage was seeking refuge in another place. Still some more years passed. In the meantime, Tagore matured. He became a World Poet, attained superlative fame and recognition. Success was running after him. My research says that Tagore would often, in his lonely quarters, flip through the pages of these songs, make a small change here and there, adjust the tune, sing a bit, look at the open window and try to find his "Bouthan" Kadambari Devi. He would do all that under the "nom de plume" Shri Bhanu Simha.
Intriguing! thanks Annwesh.
ReplyDeleteHi Hetty, I feel honored and humbled to see your comments. I get the feeling that you are a follower and admirer of Tagore like me and like many others on this planet. If possible, please let us continue conversing on topics related to his outstanding contribution to the world of literature.
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