Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore, Poem 12, 36 and 63, Indian Writing in English & in Translation, M.A English Literature

Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore

About Poet:

Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7, 1861 in Calcutta and died on August 7, 1941.

He was a Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist, and painter who introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature

Tagore's most notable and popular contribution to the world of literature is his collection of poems entitled 'Gitanjali', written in 1912. He became the first Asian to receive the Noble Prize in 1913 for 'Gitanjali'. It is a collection of 103 poems in English, mainly translations.

Poet’s Works:

Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, he was first of all a poet. Among his fifty and odd volumes of poetry are Manasi (1890) [The Ideal One], Sonar Tari (1894) [The Golden Boat], Gitanjali (1910) [Song Offerings], Gitimalya (1914) [Wreath of Songs], and Balaka (1916) [The Flight of Cranes]. The English renderings of his poetry, which include The Gardener (1913), Fruit-Gathering (1916), and The Fugitive (1921), do not generally correspond to particular volumes in the original Bengali; and in spite of its title, Gitanjali: Song Offerings (1912), the most acclaimed of them, contains poems from other works besides its namesake.

Tagore’s major plays are Raja (1910) [The King of the Dark Chamber], Dakghar (1912) [The Post Office], Achalayatan (1912) [The Immovable], Muktadhara (1922) [The Waterfall], and Raktakaravi (1926) [Red Oleanders]. He is the author of several volumes of short stories and a number of novels, among them Gora (1910), Ghare-Baire (1916) [The Home and the World], and Yogayog (1929) [Crosscurrents].

About Gitanjali:

Tagore's most notable and popular contribution to the world of literature is his collection of poems entitled 'Gitanjali', written in 1912. He became the first Asian to receive the Noble Prize in 1913 for 'Gitanjali'. It is a collection of 103 poems in English, mainly translations. The word Gitanjali is derived from 'Gita' meaning song and 'anjali' mainly offering and thus signifies 'An offering of songs', but the word for offering anjali has strong devotional connotation, so the title can also be interpreted as prayer offering of song.

The English collection is not a translation of poems from the Bengali volume of the same name. Half the poems (52 out of 103) in the English text were selected from the Bengali volume, others were taken from Gitimalya (1914-17), Naivedya (1901-15), Kheya (1906- 11) and a handful from other works also. The translations were often radical and executed fusion or blending of two separate poems.

The translations were mostly carried out by the poet himself and were undertaken prior to a visit to England in 1912, where the poems were greatly appreciated. He met and mixed with the intelligentsia of London, who came to know his work and greatly admired it. One of them was the Irish poet and near-contemporary W. B. Yeats, who wrote a generous preface to the volume when it was published in 1913.

Theme of the Poems:

The poems are intensely personal, some addressed to a deity and others to a human beloved. However, the tone is very similar and addressed, leading to the conviction that human and divine love are to be seen in the same light. Indeed, Tagore’s message is that it is through human love that love for the divine can be achieved.

Poem 12

THE TIME THAT my journey takes is long and the way of it long.

I came out on the chariot of the first gleam of light, and pursued my voyage through the wildernesses of worlds leaving my track on many a star and planet.

It is the most distant course that comes nearest to thyself, and that training is the most intricate which leads to the utter simplicity of a tune.

The traveller has to knock at every alien door to come to his own, and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end.

My eyes strayed far and wide before I shut them and said 'Here art thou!'

The question and the cry 'Oh, where?' Melt into tears of a thousand streams and deluge the world with the blood of the assurance 'I am!'

Poem 12 - Summary:

Tagore first talked about his journey that he pursued in the wilderness of worlds. Since the journey has been descried as long, that it will take a long time and the way is also long.

The poem line ‘leaving my track on many a star and planet’ is evident that he is not far away from the starting point.

Then, he talked about the troubles he had but later on, he successfully encountered it. He says that he learned more about himself by going through all his troubles of life.

It wasn’t as easy as he thought because he had to go through lots of experiments. And he has become aware of what life is and what one hopes to achieve in life. And with this awareness he begins his quest for the master.

He finally realizes that He can reach the innermost divinity at the end. So, he said 'Here art thou!' Here you are.

He gets answer for the question, where you are? And his tears melt into severe flood. The answer he finds is 'I am!'

That Rabindranath Tagore emphasizes the spiritual journey. It is also describing the human journey of life. The poet tried to add positivity by telling the nature’s connection with human, which we ignore in our fast pace of life. We missed to find What we.   

 Poem 36

THIS IS MY prayer to thee, my Lord-strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart.

Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.

Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.

Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might.

Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles.

And give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love.

Poem 36 - Summary:

"This is My Prayer to Thee" the poet prays to the Almighty to grant him power to bear joys and sorrows of life with poise.

In the first line, Tagore prays that he will one day be rid of the corruption inherent within his heart. As human beings, all of us are bound to have imperfections and are vulnerable to varying degrees of temptation and corruption.

These lines appear to suggest that seeking comfort in spirituality can guide us away from the bad things in this world, thus striking at the root of extreme poverty inherent in all our hearts. One may be wealthy and affluent in the eye of the world, but if one is not spiritually strong, one may still be considered poor. All our materialistic possessions and earthly achievements will one day perish and what saves us from suffering and pain that human life is heir to is spiritual strength which is reflected in goodness of heart.

In second line, the poet implores God to grant him the strength of mind and heart not to be overly and unduly affected by both joys and sorrows. Let God bless us with equanimity – the ability to accept and respond to both pain and pleasure with the same sense of detachment. Our heart will then be light and will have room enough for the Lord to reside inside.

In third line, the poet requests God to bestow on him the strength to translate his love for God into service to humanity. Helping fellow human being is equal to or even more worthy than simply praying to God and is deserving of God’s grace.

In the fourth line, the poet begs God to grant him the strength to always take the side of the poor and the underprivileged, never forsake them. Further, he prays to God to give him the will power and strength of character to resist against repressive commands of the people in power. He should be able to resist and fight back injustice even if it meted out by the mightiest of the people.

In fifth line, the poet entreats God to confer upon him the strength to withstand the many troubles and travails of everyday life. Life is indeed full of troubles – petty problems and insignificant issues which can tease us and rob us of our mental peace.

The poet ends this poem by beseeches God to give him the strength to surrender himself totally before God so that at every step of life God guides him and lead him to reach his destiny safely.

Poem 63

THOU HAST made me known to friends whom I knew not. Thou hast given me seats in homes not my own. Thou hast brought the distant near and made a brother of the stranger.

I am uneasy at heart when I have to leave my accustomed shelter; I forget that there abides the old in the new, and that there also thou abidest.

Through birth and death, in this world or in others, wherever thou leadest me it is thou, the same, the one companion of my endless life whoever linkest my heart with bonds of joy to the unfamiliar.

When one knows thee, then alien there is none, then no door is shut. Oh, grant me my prayer that I may never lose the bliss of the touch of the one in the play of the many.

 Poem 63 - Summary:

        The Poet said to thee that you have made to know about me to my friends, who I didn’t know every well. You gave me shelter which is not mine. You brought me the far away to close and made someone, a brother who are stranger to me.

I feel uncomfortable at heart when I have to leave my own shelter. I forget that there will be accept without objection for the old in the new, and that there also you should be remain stable for me.

Through birth and death, in this world or in others, wherever you hold me by the hand.  You will be the companion of my endless life whoever you but your relationship is near to my heart with bonds of joy to the unfamiliar.

When one knows about you, then there will be no alien, so no door is shut.  The poet finally said that you grants me my prayer that I may never lose the bliss of the touch of the one in the play of the many.

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Detail Tamil explanation for this poem is given in this below video:

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