rabindra jayanti
DESCRIPTION
A Celebration of Rabindranath Tagore’s work and philosophyThis slideshow contains translations of Rabindranath’s poems made by a few people who put together a presentation to celebrate his life. Note that these slides were meant to accompany singing performances for the benefit of the audience. All translations are imperfect and should be considered as evolving work. Please feel free to copy and improve this as you see fit.TRANSCRIPT
A Celebration of Rabindranath Tagore’s work and philosophy
This slideshow contains translations of Rabindranath’s poems made by a few people who put together a presentation to celebrate his life. Note that these slides were meant to accompany singing performances for the benefit of the audience. All translations are imperfect and should be considered as evolving work. Please feel free to copy and improve this as you see fit.
Version 1.0
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is freeWhere the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truthWhere tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfectionWhere the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habitWhere the mind is led forward by Thee Into ever-widening thought and actionInto that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
From- Rabindranath Tagore's Geetanjali
Hey Nuton Dekha Dik Aarbaar Janmero Prothomo Shubhokhaan
Hey nuton,Dekha dik aar-baarJanmer pratham subhokhan.Tomaro prakash hog,Kuhulika kori udhgatanShurjer moton.Riktata-r bakkha bhediAapnar-e karo unmochan.Byakta hok jivener jaya,Byakta hokToma-majhe asima-r chir-bismay.Uday-digante shankh baaje,More chitta-majheChir-nutoner-e dilo daakPacchis-e baisakh.
O invigorating one,Reveal yourself again-and-againBeautiful first moments of your birthMay your light manifest itselfTo penetrate the mistLike the Sun.Piercing the embodiment of emptinessReveal yourself to us.Let there be assertion of Life’s triumphIn you, let there be expression Of that ever-wondrous limitless.In the morning horizon,The conch plays within my heart.Ever-new has been calledthe 25th of Baisakh.
Amaar Maatha Nato Korey
Amaar maatha nato korey dao hey tomarCharano dhularo toleyShakalo ahankaare aamaarDobaao chokher jale amaarNije rey korite gauraba daanNije rey kebali kori apamaanAponaare shudhu gheriya gheryiaGhure mori paley paleyAmare na jano kori prochaarAmaro apono kaajeyTomari iccha koro hey purnaAmaro jibano majheyJachi hey tomaro charomo shantiPoraney tomar karamo kantiAmare Aar Koriya DaaraoHridaya Padda Daley
Lower my headBeneath the dust of Thy feetDrown my self-conceitIn the depth of my tears.In order to glorify myselfI constantly insult my (inner) selfDead tired I become, revolving around myself.May I not promote myselfIn any of my deeds.Fulfill Thy mission, O Lord,Through this life of mine.Grant me Thy ultimate peace, Thy permanent grace in life.Let the lotus heart feel Thy presence As the shield of love.
Bajilo kahar bina, Modhur swareyAmar nibhrito nabo jibon poreyProbhat kamalsamo Uthilo Hridoy
MamoKar duti nirupamo charantoreyJege otho sab shova, sob madhuriPalokey palokey hia, pulokey puriKotha hotey somiron, aaney nabo
jagoranPoraner aboron mochano koreyLaage bukey, sukhey dukhey kato je
bethaKemoney bujhaye kabo na jani kothaAmar basona aaji, tribhuboney uthey
baajiKaapey nodi banoraji,bedonabhorey
Whose lyre(veena) is playing such a sweet tune
At the feet of my silent, new lifeLike a morning lotus, my heart blossomsFor whose two beautiful feetWake up all slumberers, all inebriatedWakes up every moment my heart and fills my
homeFrom where the wind brings a new awakeningBreaking the cover of lifeMy heart feels the pain of happiness and
sorrowI do not have words to explainMy desire today rings out in the three-worldsCausing the river and the forests to tremble in
pain
Bajilo Kahar Beena
Tum Kaise Sur Mein Gaa Rahey Hey Guni
Tum kaise sur mein gaa rahe, Hey guniMain to awaak, hoke sunoo, kewal sunooSur ki abha chaye bhuvan meinSur ki hawa bahe gagan meinPathar toote vyakul veg meinBahe jaa rahi sur ki surdwani Man karta hai tere jaisa gaaoonKanth mein main swar khoj na paaoonKehna kya hai kehte kanth roondheHaar maankar praan merae royeMujhpar tune daale kaise phandeChouhun ho rahi sur ki jaalbuni
How dost thou sing so melodiously,O Talented One!Amazed, I listen captivated, I simply listen.The glow of your melody pervades this UniverseThe breeze of Your melody floats across the skyStones break in its gutsy forceAnd it flows on,The sound of melodies.My heart yearns to sing like you,In my throat, I cannot find my voiceMy voice chokes as I try to utter your words,Failed, my being weepsWhat noose have you thrown around my neck?Everywhere You weave this web of melodies.
Deconstructing the role of the
Female Heroine in Rabindranath Tagore’s Works
Tagore and Feminism:Deconstructing the role of the
Female Heroine in Rabindranath Tagore’s Works
Tagore and Feminism:
Overview
• Feminism as a central aspect within all modes of Tagore’s work
• Construction of the Female Heroine:– Female’s emotions– Feminine empowerment
• “Performing Rabindranath” as a feminist construct
Females in the Limelight
• Short Stories• Drama• Dance• Rabindrasangeet and Poetry• Viswa Bharathi and Shantiniketan
Charulata• Based on Tagore’s "Nastanirh“ (“The Broken Nest”)
• Satyajit Ray’s Adaptation– 1870s, India under British rule– Charu, “The Lonely Wife”– Bhupati, her husband and an intellectual– Amal, Bhupati’s younger cousin– Charu transcends her role as wife– Through writing, she is liberated, but is
society willing to accept this new woman?
Charulata• Themes
– Female emotion• Love
– Female empowerment• Liberation through writing• Is Charu ultimately seen as an equal by her
husband? By society?
• Emergence of the modern woman in the upper-class of colonial India
“Performing Rabindranath”
• Women performers of Tagore’s works in the forefront– Great performers, teachers, musicians– Female actresses as empowered
leaders
Global Perspectives• Women’s movement as a humanist
construct
• Role of women– Intrinsic to Bengal– Comparison to rest of world
“Kadombini moriya proman korilo je she more nai”
“Kadombini commits death to prove she was alive”
-Tagore, Chokher Bali
Conclusion:Conclusion: Is the world yet able to accept Tagore’s vision of the
strong, liberated woman?
Shuneel shaagorer shyamal kinarey
Dekhechhi pothey jete tulonahinari
E kotha kobhu aar paari naa ghuchiteyAachhe she nikhiler madhuri
ruchiteyE kotha shikhanu je amar binaryGanetey chinalen se chiro chinareyShe kotha surey surey chhorabo pichhoneySwapanofasoler bichhoney
bichhoneyModhupgunjey se lahari tulibeyKusumkunje se pabaney dulibeyJhoribey shraboner badolosichoney
Walking by the dark banks of the blue ocean
I saw the incomparable ladyI am unable to organize my thoughtsShe is the loving idea of the endless I taught this to my lyre (veena)I introduced the ever-known through my
songsThese words shall follow my tunesIn the beds of fruits of dreamsIn the garden of love, they will ride the
wavesThey will roll in the winds of the flower
gardensThey will shed in the rains of the monsoon
Shuneel Shagorey
Aami Chini Go Chini Tomaarey, Ogo BideshiniI know you, I so know you, O Lady of the Foreign Land
I know you, I so know you, O lady of the foreign land. Across the ocean, you liveO lady of the foreign land.
On a soft wintry morning I see you,I see you in those inebriated nights,I see you in the center of my heartO lady of the foreign land.
Lending my ears to the skies,I hear your songs.I have surrendered my life to you,O lady of the foreign lands.
Traversing the whole WorldI have come to this new country.I am guest at your door,O lady of the foreign land.
Ami chini-go-chini tomare Ogo BideshiniTumi thaako sindhu pare Ogo bideshini. Tomaye dekhechi sharad-pratey,Tomaye dekhechi madhobi-raatey,Tomaye dekhechi hridi-majhareyOgo bideshini. Aami aakash-e patiya kaan,Shunechi shunechi tomar gaan,Aami tomare sonpechi pran Ogo bideshini. Bhubano bhramiya seshey,Aami eshechi nuton deshey,Aami atithi tomari dware Ogo bidesini.
Aaguner Parasmoni Chhoao Praaney
Touch my soul with the magic of your fire.Make my life a pious offering.Lift me in your armsMake me the flame to light your temple,Day and night, let me burn in your songsIn every dark corner I sense your touch,Night is replete with new stars.From these enlightened eyes, Darkness shall vanishWherever my sight rests, I will see light.Let my pain burn away with the flame.
Aaguner parasmani chuaao praneEy jiban punna karoDahan dane.Amar-e deho-khani tule dharo,Tomare-e devalaye pradip karo-Nishidin aalok sikha jaluk gane.Adhare-r gaye gaye parash tavSara rat phutak tara nav nav.Nayane-r drishti hote goonchbe kalo,Jekhane porbe sethaye Dekhabe aalo-Betha mor uthbe jale urdhva-pane.
Purpose of Education
Achieving unity with truthHarmony with all existenceAcquiring fullness in person
Freeing the soul
What should such an education be?
• Freedom of thought• Freedom of movement • Freedom to create
“To discover freedom of outlook, the mind must soar into the upper air of abstraction, swim into the very heart of the infinite for the mere joy of it, and then fly back to its nest in the world.” …Tagore in “My School”
The ‘School’
• Alienates the child from nature– Stresses humankind’s superiority;
defines a hierarchy that restricts freedom and the learning process
• Alienates the child from itself– Uniformity and averages– Transmitting information– Standardized curriculum and
examinations
“A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.”
…. Rabindranath Tagore
Shantiniketan
The teacher as friend & guide: liberates individual initiative and enterprise
Nature as an unending source of learning
Shantiniketan
Children should be free To organize their own environment
No desks, chairs or classrooms
Shantiniketan
• Education: gradual and progressive• Begin with the training of instincts and
emotions and in self-reliance and communal cooperation
• Next: art, music and play• Medium of instruction to be the mother
tongue• Opposed religious instruction
Vishwa-Bharati: The University
• Vishwa-Bharati - ‘Knowledge of the World’ – a new kind of ‘university’
• Motto: “Yatra Vishwum Bhavatyekanidam” – all the world in one place. Emphasized the need for a mutually beneficial relationship between the east and the west.
• “a school in which men of different civilizations and traditions may learn to live together.”
• Sriniketan – center for helping rural and village community developments.
What can we learn?
• We must be willing to engage in processes of negotiation and redefinition– What should progress and civilization be?– How important are power and success to true
development?
“…respect all the differences that are real, yet remain conscious of our oneness; and to know that perfection of unity is not in uniformity but in harmony.”
…. Tagore in Creative Unity
You stand on the other side of my songs
My tune finds their hold, I cannot find you
Wind blows softly, do not bind me anymore
Come, come, cross over, into the center of my heart
With you I play the game of songs, but this game is still at a distance
All day, the flute plays in my sadness
When will you take my flute and play it yourself
In the happy and quiet darkness of the night
Daariye aachho tumi amar gaaner o paarey
Aamar surgulee paaye charan aami paayine tomaarey
Baataash bohey mori mori, aar bedhe rekho na tori
Esho esho paar hoye mor hridoy-o majhamre
Tomar saathey gaaner khela, durer khela je
Bedonate baasi bajaye sakol bela je
Kobey neeye amar baasi, bajabe go aapni aasi
Anondomoy neerob raater goviro aadhaarey
Dariye Aachho Tumi Aamaar
Klaanti Meri Kshama Karo Probhu
Klanti meri kshama karo prabhuPath mein peeche peeche rahun kabhiHriday mera thara tharaKaampe aaj rahe raheYehi vedna kshama karo kshama karo prabhuMeri deenta kshama karo prabhuPeeche dekhu murhke jo kabhiDin taape yeh rudra jwaalaSukhi tere pooja maala Yehi mlanta kshama karo
Forgive my fatigue, O Lord,If I’ve fallen behind on my journeyForgive my fatigue, O Lord.My body shivers today all overForgive my pain, Forgive me, O Lord.Forgive my destitution, O Lord,If I look back sometimes.In the dreadful heat of day,Your garland has dried up.Forgive my soiled offering, O Lord.
Tobey poran khuley O Tui Mukh phutey tor moner kothaEkla Bolo ReyThen, open your heart, and speak your mind on your own
Tobey Pother Kaanta O Tui Raktomakha Charan ToleyEkla Dolo Rey Then with your blood-soaked feet,Trample the thorns in your path and move on
Jodi Jhor Badoley Aandhar Raatey Duaar Daye GhoreyIf on a stormy night, all have shut their doors to you
Jodi Jhor Badoley Aandhar Raatey Duaar Daye GhoreyIf on a stormy night, all have shut their doors to you
Tobey bajra noley, Aapon buker paanjor jaliye neeyeEkla jolo rey Then, let the lightning set your breastbone ablaze and shine on alone
Jana Gana Mana A Spiritual Prayer
The people of this land celebrate the glory of the controller of their destiny!
From Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, to the Southern lands and Bengal, from the Vidhyas, Himachals, the rivers Yamuna and Ganga, the tricolor flutters in the wind.
Thy name arouses all, from the hearts of the Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, to the Southern lands Orrisa and Bengal, from the Vindhyas, Himalayas, the rivers Yamuna and Ganga, to the Indian ocean.
Glory to the well-wisher of this sea of humanity, the controller of India’s destiny.
Glory to thee, Glory to thee, Glory to theeGlory to thee!
Jana Gana Mana
Adhinayaka Jaya Hey
Bharata Bhagya Vidhaata
Glory to the ruler of the minds of all
people, the controller of India's
destiny.
Punjaaba Sindha Gujarata
Marathaa Dravida Utkala
Banga
Vidhya Himachala Yamuna
Gangaa
Ucchala Jaladhi Taranga
Tava Shubha Naame Jaage
Thy name arouses all,
from the hearts in Punjab, Sindh,
Gujarat, Maharashtra, to the
Southern lands, Orissa and Bengal,
from the Vidhyas and the
Himalayas, to the dancing waters
of the Yamuna and Ganga
Jana Gana Mangala Dayaka
Jaya Hey,
Bharata Bhagya Vidhaata
Jaya Hey, Jaya Hey, Jaya Hey
Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey
Glory to the well-wisher of this
sea of humanity,
The controller of India’s destiny.
Glory to thee, glory to thee,
glory to thee, glory to thee!
Stressed Synthesis of cultures
“To get on familiar terms with the local people is a part of your education. To know only agriculture is not enough; you must know America too. Of course if, in the process of knowing America, one begins to lose one's identity and falls into the trap of becoming an Americanised person contemptuous of everything Indian, it is preferable to stay in a locked room.”
… to his son-in-law Nagendranath Gangulee who had come to America in 1907 to study Agriculture
Rebelled against strongly nationalist form of independence movement
“He was afraid that a rejection of the West in favor of an indigenous Indian tradition was not only limiting in itself; it could easily turn into hostility to other influences from abroad, including Christianity… Judaism… Zoroastrianism… and most importantly, Islam.”
… Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, on Tagore
Criticized Patriotism
“Patriotism cannot be our final spiritual shelter; my refuge is humanity. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds, and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live.”
… in a letter, responding to the criticism of Abala Bose, wife of scientist J. C. Bose
Criticized Patriotism
“I am willing to serve my country; but my worship I reserve for Right which is far greater than my country. To worship my country as a God is to bring a curse upon it.”
… the protagonist in Tagore’s novel, The Home and the World
Gandhi & Tagore
Tagore popularized the term “Mahatma” when referring to Gandhi
“Great as he is as a politician, as an organizer, as a leader of men, as a moral reformer, he is greater than all these as a man, because none of these aspects and activities limits his humanity. They are rather inspired and sustained by it.”
… Tagore in the essay, “Gandhi, the Man”
Gandhi & Tagore
Gandhi and Nehru both appreciated the important role Tagore played in the national freedom struggle, although Gandhi and Tagore shared serious differences on nationalism, patriotism and vision.
… Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, on Tagore
On Freedom
“When Freedom is not an inner idea which imparts strength to our activities and breadth to our creations, when it is merely a thing of external circumstance, it is like an open space to one who is blindfolded.”
…Tagore in his essay, “The Spirit of Freedom”
On the West and India
“The civilization of the West has in it the spirit of the machine which must move; and to that blind movement human lives are offered as fuel, keeping up the steam-power.”
…Tagore in his essay, “The Spirit of Freedom”
On the West and India
The present civilization of India has the constraining power of the mould. It squeezes living man in the grip of rigid regulations…
…Tagore in his essay, “The Spirit of Freedom”
On the West and India
In both of these traditions life is offered up to something which is not life…
…Tagore in his essay, “The Spirit of Freedom”
On the West and India
The West is continually producing mechanical power in excess of its spiritual control, and India has produced a system of mechanical control in excess of its vitality.
…Tagore in his essay, “The Spirit of Freedom”
FreedomWhere the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is freeWhere the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truthWhere tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfectionWhere the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habitWhere the mind is led forward by Thee Into ever-widening thought and actionInto that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
-- Rabindranath Tagore's Geetanjali
The Indian Ethos
“I do not think that it is the spirit of India to reject anything, reject any race, reject any culture. The spirit of India has always proclaimed the ideal of unity. The ideal of unity never rejects anything, any race, or any culture. It comprehends all, and it has been the highest aim of our spiritual exertion to be able to penetrate all things with one soul, to comprehend all things as they are, and not to keep out anything in the whole universe – to comprehend all things with sympathy and love. This is the spirit of India… India is there to unite all human races.”
…Tagore in his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
An International Hymn
“Hark O children of the Immortal,
Listen O Divine beings,
I have known Him –
The One beyond all illusion,
Beyond darkness, ever resplendent-
Know Him, look at Him.
That’s the only way to transcend death.”
SRinvantu viswe amRitasya putraaH
vedehametam purusham mahaantam aditya varnam tamasa parastat tvameva viditvaa amRitvameti
…Shwestashwara Upanishad
Tera yeh ath haiIti hai yeh meraTum hum mile yunhiBehti rahe dhara Tere jale baatiTere ghar saathiMere yahan raatriMere rahe taara Tera hai kinaaraMeri jaldhaaraRehna tera nishchalMera yeh chala chal
Rahe jo tere kar meinKshay ho mere kar meinBhay hai tere man meinMain hoon bhayahaara
Thine is the beginning,My lot is endingYou & I thus mingling, Like a stream ever flowing.
For you there’s lamp, You have your friend, For me there’s darkness For me stars are twinkling.
For you there’s land, I have water below,For you there is waiting, For me is endless rolling.
In your hands is creation, In my hands is dissolution, In your mind is fear,I am fearless.
Tera Yeh Ath Hai, Iti Hai Yeh Mera