Analysis of Rabindranath Tagore as Dramatist

 NAME :- ASHISH B. PITHADIYA
ROLL NUMBER :-2
TOPIC NAME :- Rabindranath Tagore as Dramatist
PAPER NAME :- INDIAN ENGLISH LITERATURE 
SUBMITTED TO :- DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
G-MAIL ID :- ashvribhay@gmail.com
Enrolment no :-2069108420190037

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                     Rabindranath Tagore as Dramatist

Introduction :-

Tagore, Rabindranath (1861-1941) poet, prose writer, composer, painter, essayist, philosopher, educationist, social reformer. It is basically as a poet that he gained fame all over the world. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913, the first Asian writer to have been awarded this distinction.

Rabindranath's achievement as a writer can only be viewed correctly in the context of his whole life since his philosophy and his poetics changed as he moved from one phase of his life to another. Through constant study and ceaseless experimentation he mastered the transformations that had taken place in world literature, culture, civilization, philosophy and knowledge over the ages. Consequently, one can trace the content and form of his art evolving ceaselessly.

The result can be seen in his countless poems, songs, short stories, novels, essays, plays, musical dramas, dance dramas, travel narratives, letters, and the innumerable speeches that he delivered at home and abroad. Nevertheless, Rabindranath's philosophy of life itself lay on solid foundations that were built on his own ideas despite his openness to changes coming from the outside world. Remarkably, his creativity always tended to flow into ever-new channels. He was a poet not only of his age but also for all ages. Certainly, his genius was a transcendent one. His arrival in Bangla literature heralded a new era.

Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 (25 Baishakh, 1268 in the Bangla Calendar) into the affluent and culturally rich Tagore family of Kolkata's Jorasanko. His grandfather was Prince dwarkanath tagore and his father was Maharshi debendranath tagore. His ancestors had moved to Kolkata from East Bengal to serve their business interests. The efforts of Dwarkanath Tagore led to an increase in the family's wealth as well as its landholdings. Growing up in an atmosphere steeped in western learning and culture, this self-made man not only prospered in business but also involved himself in many philanthropic movements. The Jorasanko Tagores played a major role in the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth century and in the movement for reforms in religion and society going on at that period. The leading reformer and monotheist of the day, Raja rammohun roy was his close friend. Rammohun's ideals had a profound influence on Dwarkanath, his son Debendranath, and his grandson Rabindranath Tagore.

A pioneering figure in the awakening of the Bengalis Rabindranath father Debendranath Tagore studied in Kolkatas famous hindu college, When Dwarkanath was busy in extending his estates and in business. his son Debendranath had been devoting himself to cultivating the life of the spirit, Desire for God led him to a study of european well as Indian philosophy. In the end his soul found peace in the study of the upanisads Contemplating Truth in its purest formed gave him inner strength and This aspect of Debendranath's characters attracted his son Rabindranath and so his found the meaning of figure.

His father influence can this be seen in Rabindranath cultivation of the spiritual life as well as in his everyday conduct. In his father the poet found a role modl someone that was focuss and yet detached very logical and yet very emotional,

Dwarkanath Tagore was once legendary for his wealth and expensive lifestyle, In fact. that is why he was known as Prince Dwarkanath, However. on 1840 the prevailing economic depression in the country made him suffer severe financial losses.

When Dwarkanath died in 1846 he left a heavy burden of debts on his son Debendranath. The latter, however, was able to pay off his father's debts on his own although this meant that Debendranath had to practice financial austerity for a while. Indeed, Debendranath had a unique reputation for honesty, spirituality, saintliness, and liberal refinement. The father influenced the son's taste in life as well as literature. In that age the Jorasanko Tagore family was the locus of literature and culture, liberal thinking and progressive ideas in the region. On the one hand, Debendranath's pursuit of the religious life, on the other, the family's nationalistic zeal, and an atmosphere where music, literature and the arts flourished, and the many transformations taking place in the country shaped Rabindranath's consciousness decisively.

Debendranath was involved in various philanthropic ventures in his country. He had his own educational philosophy; he also went steadily ahead in introducing religious and cultural reforms in his circle. He would often retreat from the hustle and bustle of life to the Himalayas for meditation and for pursuit of the holy life. In 1856 while on such a trip to Raipur from Bolpur he stopped in Bhubandanga village to rest there for a while. This place was a part of the Raipur estate. At that point he suddenly felt like establishing an ashram (hermitage) here. In 1863 he purchased the land and established Santiniketan asram on it. In 1888 he dedicated this asram to the worship of Brahma through a trust deed. In subsequent years Rabindranath built a study centre for Brahmos here which eventually was transformed into Visva-Bharati.

Rabindranath was the youngest of Debendranath Tagore's fourteen children. Rabindranath's oldest brother Dwijendranath Tagore was a philosopher and a poet. Another brother, satyendranath tagore, was the first Indian member of the ICS. Yet another brother, jyotirindranath tagore, was a composer and a playwright. Among his sisters, swarna kumari devi earned fame as a novelist. The Tagore family home resounded with musical, literary, and theatrical activities. Moreover, the family had close links with the world outside. Male members of this large family were brought up in an austere atmosphere under the supervision of sympathetic servants. Rabindranath has recorded the story of his boyhood superbly in his memoirs, Jivansmrti [translated by Surendranath Tagore as My Reminiscences (1917)]. In the palatial Tagore house in Jorasanko were water tanks, gardens, and all kinds of enchanting spots that allured the young boy. However, the child was not allowed to stray away from the servants who had been assigned to look after him. As a result, the child's fertile imagination constantly concocted images of the outside world that he found so fascinating. In his subsequent life, his attraction for this world is reflected in innumerable ways in his verse and in the songs that he composed and the journeys he undertook.

Rabindranath's formal education began in Kolkata's Oriental Seminary. Then, for a few years, he studied in Normal School, the institution established by iswar chandra vidyasagar. Next he went to St Xavier's School, but because he was irregular as a student he was not able to continue with his studies here. However, he continued to pursue his education at home.
By the time Rabindranath returned from the Himalayas, he seemed to have left his childhood behind him. From this time onwards his education and study of literature became free of institutional bounds. He now had tutors to teach him Sanskrit, English literature, Physics, Mathematics, History, Geography, Natural Science, etc. In addition he studied drawing, music, and gymnastics. Although he had stopped going to school, he continued to study literature. Rabindranath published his first poem, 'Abhilas' in the tattvabodhini patrika in Agrahayan 1281 (1874), although some believe that the first poem that he was able to publish was 'Bharatbhumi' in the bangadarshan in 1874.

At this point of time Rabindranath gave himself fully to general studies. But he was also writing creatively regularly. Some of his literary works were published serially at this time in some periodicals. Thus in the bharati he published Kavi Kahini (1878) and in Jnanankur and Pratibimba he published Banaphul (1880). It may be mentioned here that Bharati was edited by Dwijendranath and published by the Tagores while Jnanankur was a magazine where famous writers of the period used to publish their works. Rabindranath's poem 'Hindu Melar Upahar', read before the hindu mela, and bearing the mark of the nationalistic spirit of Debendranath's family, earned him early fame and made it possible for him to publish his work in such a distinguished magazine.

Noticing Rabindranath's disdain for established methods of education in Bengal, his brother Satyendranath proposed to Debendranath that his brother be sent to England to become a barrister. And so in 1878 Rabindranath sailed for England with his brother. At first he studied in a public school in Brighton. Later, he was admitted to London's University College. However, he did not complete his education here and left England after being in the country for over a year. Nevertheless, in the time he spent in England he was able to observe the life and culture of the country with an acute eye proof of which is his Europe-Prabasir Patra (1881). Although Rabindranath was not awarded any degree in England he was stimulated creatively by his stay in the country in important ways. Thus his immense interest in music made him study its manifestations in England in his own way. One result of this was the musical drama Valmiki Pratibha that he composed in 1881 on his return to India. In it he set some of his lyrics to western tunes. The play was performed for 'Bidvajjan Samagam' in the Tagore home. Rabindranath himself performed the role of Valmiki. His niece Pratibha acted the role of Saraswati. Rabindranath mentioned the performance in his autobiography. However, he had acted previously in a role in a play by his brother Jyotirindranath. From this period Rabindranath concentrated his creative energies on composing poems and songs. He soon published Sandhya Sangit (1882) and Prabhat Sangit (1883).

At this time a remarkable event occurred in the poet's life that he has described vividly in his autobiography. He was then staying with his brother Jyotirindranath in a house in Kolkata's Sudder Street. One evening as the sun was 

                Most of his finest short stories and which examine humble more and their small miseries date from the 1895s and have a poignancy, laced with gentle irony, that is unique to him though admirably captur by the director Satyajit Ray in later film adaptations. Tagore came to love the Bengali countryside, most of all the Padma River, an often-repeated image in his verse. During these years he published several poetry collections, notably Sonar Tari (1894; The Golden Boat  plays, notably Chitrangada (1892; Chitra). Tagore’s poems are virtually untranslatable, as are his more than 2,000 songs, which achieved considerable popularity among all classes of Bengali society. he was a musician and a painter; he was an educationist, a practical idealist who turned his dreams into reality at Shantiniketan; he was a reformer, philosopher, prophet he was a novelist and short story wrote and a critic of life & literature he even made occasional incursions into nationalist politics although he was essentially and  internationalist. He wrote many plays like, Chitra, The Post

Office, Sacrifice, Red Oleanders, Chandalika, Mukta Dhara, Natir Puja, and The king of the Dark Chamber.
So let’s have a look on one by one on his plays and dramas.

Conciusion:-

          In short, Rabindranath Tagore was a man of a versatile genius who achieved eminence in almost all the literary genres. His literary works were rendered into English by diverse hands, with himself also contributing to this procedure to some extent.

                Tagore’s drama is realistic drama; but the realism in his plays is a realism of the mind, not so much of external physical action as of emotional or spiritual action. Infact, he achieves his most intense realism when his symbolism is most complex.