A tribute to Tagore

Bhupinder Singh Raina

sarbarinder. singh3@gmail.com

Book :--- Tagore and Me (A poetical Tribute to the Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore.

Poetess :---Promila Arora

Publsher:--L G Publishers Distributors Delhi

This book is a poetical Tribute to Rabindranath Tagore written by a versatile writer Promila Arora a retd.principalof Kaputhala, Punjab. She is born at Sultanpur Lodhi a place where Guru Nanak Dev ji got enlightenment to become a saint devoted to Almighty. It is a coincidence that Rabindranath Tagore had great impact of Guru Nanak Dev ji's Gurbani on his life and literature and followed The Gurbani by his head and heart. His father Debender Nath Tagore often visited Golden Temple Amritsar and stayed there for months together to understand the truth of life through Gurbani scriptures .Rabindra Nath Tagore learnt Gurmukhi and would read Guru Granth and follow the virtues and teachings of Gurus.

This book contains some quotes of Tagore's poetical thought to which Promila Arora has attributed poems from her heart and vision to make them to be understood by any reader such as:--

I run as a musk deer runs mad with it's own perfume. (Tagore)

I run....run ...and....run

Looking for fragrance

Explored the sky

Watched the birds fly.

Roamed the whole universe

All the planets on convass.

Frangrance was all around

But where the musk to be found

Sat down and closed my eyes

I my God !A gleam of light

Flashed on my inward eye

Amazed in utter silence

Lo! Saw musk full of fragrance.

Incense it was emitting I found

Oh! Fragrance all around.

Another quote is-

If thou speakest not I will fill my heart with thy silence and endure it (Tagore)

O my Lord !!

I came to your door

Knocked at it

Nobody answered.

I called you Incessantly

But no response

My voice grew louder

Oh no stir

I shouted and shouted

My heart clutched

I cried

I wailed

I burst

I sobbed with folded hands.

I lay at your feet

And filled my heart

With thy silence.

Lo ! I was drenched

In deep love

Oh ! my Lord !!

Is it thy way to shower love?

Another exploration of the same quote :--

If though speakest not I will fill my heart with Thy silence and endure it (Tagore)

'S..I..L..E..N..C..E..

It is amazing..it conveys a lot..it speaks

Silence is. turbulent if it is full of annoyance

Oh !To endure it..so arduous

It eats the self bite by bite

O yes !!provoked by ego

Fills the heart with bitterness

Silence in prayer is full of concentration

Devotion to Almighty

Fills the heart with fragrance.'

Mrs.Promila Arora has elaborated the quotes of Tagore beautifully in simple language to be understood by any reader.

I looked at the picture of life painted on the canvass of death, it seemed beautiful. (Tagore)

Rises like the sun- glow

And sets like it slow and slow

Then shines like stars in the sky

Darkness vanishes as the moon rises high.

Comes a sailor in a boat of love

The spirit of life flows,wafts afloat

The love sprinkles colours in a row

Lo ! Life seems like a rainbow .'

Another quote on woman is deeply explored just see -

O Woman,you are not merely the handicraft of God but also of men.These even endow you with beauty from their own hearts.You are one half woman and one half dream (Tagore)

Man dumbfounded

Looking at the beauty

Fascinated, captivated

Smiled in the eyes adorably

And silently waited

For the beauty to smile.

Lord charmed at the beauty of His own creation

Entered her womb

And came out as her child

And sought her to feed

Moved by passionate affection.

She took him in her lap

Thus she fed the Lord.

Jumped and shouted

O Woman !

Thou art not not merely handicraft

Thou art beauty

Reflecting through the hearts of men

He wooed and transformed

Thy structure to a woman. '

This book has many such poems elaborating Tagores' verses. Exploring Tagore's philosophy is a challenging task and the poetess has done it successfully.Really it is an amazing literary work of Mrs Promila Arora and should be read by one and all literary persons.I congratulate her for a wonderful and classic contribution to the literature.

(The author is a Punjabi novelist)