Rabindranath and Nazrul

Treatment of nature

Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, the two iconic figures of Bengali literary renaissance, played the most vital role to introduce Romanticism in Bangla literature. Nature is the focal point of Romanticism. Individual imagination, subjective experience, appreciation of landscape, passionate ardour, revolt against fixed social norms, nostalgia are some other traits of Romanticism. The ideas of Romantic poets get mixed with natural flora and fauna, and there is an enlightenment in their heart that inspires their love. These elements can be found in numerous artistic creations of Rabindranath and Nazrul, chiefly in their poems and their songs.
Rabindranath Tagore shows most close affinity with nature. He saw manifestation of the whole being in the richness of nature. Nature touched the deepest realm of his consciousness. So, nature guides almost every literary genre of Tagore. Like Wordsworth, a pantheistic view of nature is present in his writings. He delights in the subtle touches of nature. Like Keats, he reiterates an aesthetic value of nature. He immerses in mystified nature and sees it as a living being, finding an anthropomorphic reality in it. Nature is his infatuation, the central field of his imagination and literary journey. He does not only see nature from an aesthetic sense, in an active way, he wants to save it. He took many initiatives to protect nature _ from this point of view, Tagore is an environmentalist, too. Apart from aesthetic and emotional treatment of nature, Tagore shows some obvious ecological consciousness, in a large scale, in his myriad poems, dramas, essays and songs.
His essays ‘Palli Prakriti’ (Rustic Nature), ‘Aranyadebata’ (The God of the Forest), ‘Tapoban’, ‘Sriniketan’, ‘Halakarshan’(Tilling Land), ‘Banobani’ (The Message of the Wild), as well as some of his memorable speeches make his environmental concept and concerns very clear. His short story ‘Bolai’ and his poem ‘Two Birds’ bear obvious ecological awareness. In his famous dance-dramas ‘The Waterfall’ (Muktadhara) and ‘Raktakarabi’, Tagore symbolically delineates the threats from science and commercial mentality that destroy nature in the name of development and civilization.
Rabindranath sees nature as a purifying force to cleanse all the dirt and mental fatigue and refresh life  anew. We find it in his characteristic song of Pahela Boisakh ‘Esho, Hey Boisakh’:

“Let the debris of the whole world be driven far away
Let distance memories go, let dimming melodies fade
Let weariness be wiped away, let decay be dispelled.”

The call of beauteous nature brings the poet out of his abode. His whole essence is mixed with joy seeing an animated nature, as in the song ‘Aj Dhaner Khete’, where the poet pays top adulation to the beautiful nature he encounters:

“Over paddy fields this day, sunlight and shadows play hide-and-seek
This day bees hum about, heedless of honey, drunk with light.
This day ducks and  drakes flock to sandbanks.
For sure, this day I won’t ssta, won’t stay indoors.”

‘To Civilization’ (Sabhyatar Prati) is a notable poem. The fatigue of modern life is so benumbing that Tagore plainly wants back the sylvan period of innocent strength to be freed from the stone-hearted, all consuming modern civilization:

“Give back the wilderness; take away the city
Embrace if you will your steel, brick and stone walls
O newfangled civilization! Cruel all-consuming one
We’d rather get back the strength that we had.”

Perhaps, in ‘Palli Prakriti’, another essay preoccupied with ecological concerns, Tagore shows his geo-environmental awareness and aesthetic sense in the same place:

“The food that the earth gives us is not only for satisfying our hunger; it soothes our eyes and our mind is motivated by its beauty. Science has given man super power. When this power will be utilised for the whole society, the true time would come in our way. Today the eternal call is impending. It may prevail in our activities and in our ethics.”

Tagore’s treatment of nature in all forms of literary works _ and in his paintings _ demonstrates that apart from being spiritually motivated by nature, he was also aware and critical of the uncontrolled devastation done to nature. Human life is dependent on nature, so we cannot brutally exterminate it and break the intricate bond. Thus, his tireless endeavour was to save  Mother Earth from an impending catastrophe, which was very much in the process. So, Tagore’s 100-year-old vision is still very much relevant to the present day perspective. What he did from a cultural framework, the importance he showed to nature is  gradually becoming more essential now. His treatment of nature is praiseworthy because besides admiring its aesthetic value, he emphasises that we should love and take care of nature which sustains us mentally and spiritually, and is essential for our survival.
On the other hand, Kazi Nazrul Islam, like Tagore, was a poet, musician and novelist, too. His writings against fascism, oppression and any kind of discrimination made him the ‘Bidrohi Kobi’ (Rebel Poet). Nazrul was very much fond of Tagore, who returned the affection, and nature is also a recurring theme in his literature.
To Nazrul, nature is an inseparable part of life. His romanticism gets focussed through nature. When Nazrul writes on nature, he invests nature with a personality. Even in his love songs, metaphors are taken from nature _ bird, star, flower, sky, sun, rain, sea, and so on_ all these objects are presented in human terms.
In his poem ‘Jhingey Ful’ (Cucurbitaceous flower), he gives a delightful picture and description of the beautiful ‘jhingey ful’ that shows the poet’s love for nature. Again, in the poem ‘Choiti Hawa’, the poet does not only give a mature and wholesome picture of nature in springtime, but  makes it immortal, like the nature of Keats in the poem ‘Ode to Autumn’.
In the song ‘Dur Dip O Basini’, Nazrul is enmeshed with his unseen and unknown beloved, who lives on a far away island. There is influence of Hafez in the rendition of the song. We also see some striking similarities with Coleridge’s poem ‘Christable’. Also, like Tagore and Lalon, Nazrul is found here in a mystic state. Some uncanny feeling like Coleridge’s supernaturalism is evident as well.
In the poem ‘Batayan Pase Gubak Torur Sari’, or ‘The Array of Nut Trees beside the Window’, Nazrul addresses the trees as friends and when the time of separation from the place comes, he does not mourn for any human being, but mourns for the trees. Thus, the poet attributes human qualities to the trees. The symbol of ‘weeping moon’ and the similarity between the trees and his lost beloved is  reminiscent of Frost’s poem ‘Tree at my Window’. Actually, both poems showcase their composers’ fondness for nature.
In Nazrul’s famous poem ‘The Rebel’, which is a fierce verse against all types of oppression that subjugate humanity, symbols from nature are used as well, as the poet says: “I am the wild fire of the woods/ I bring earthquakes upon this world!”
For another look into Nazrul’s love for nature, the following lines from his poem ‘Akashey Helan Diye’ (Leaning against the Sky) may be quoted:

“There the hill sleeps leaning against the sky
Never homebound, I am the spring on that hill.”
 
Nazrul Islam’s poems on love are highly emotional. His poem ‘Bhalo Lagar Smriti’ (Memories of Liking) carries some memorable nature imagery:

“The curved moon still rises in the sky
The purple flower blooms in my garden
The light that plays on its flute at radiant dawn
Now overflows my heart with endless joy.”

This theme is also common in John Keats’s poem ‘I stood tip-toe upon a little hill’: “I stood tip-toe upon a little hill/ The air was cooling, and so very still/ That the sweet buds which with a modest pride/ Pull droopingly, in slanting curve aside/ I gazed awhile, and felt as light, and free.”
  But in the poem ‘Krishaner Gan’ (The Peasants’ Song), Nazrul seems to shift his imaginative natural journey and is more attentive to the reality of materiality. In the very opening of the poem, the poet’s closeness to the earth is remarkable: “Rise up O cultivators, the sons of earth / hold your plough strong/ we are about to die/ and let us die a befitting death.” Importantly here, Nazrul’s nature is infused with his class consciousness.    
Romantic poets of both East and West made nature repository of their imagination. Nazrul’s infatuation for the beauty found in nature makes him comparable to Keats and his fiery attitude makes him the Shelly of Bangla literature. Interestingly, in Nazrul’s works, some affinity with the writings of other major Romantic poets, like Robert Frost and ST Coleridge, is present which connects them inter-textually. Arabian and Persian literature also influenced him deeply.
Kazi Nazrul Islam should be included like Tagore in any type of literary and cultural discussion on Bangla literature. His poems were inspirational against British oppression and played a substantial role in our glorious Liberation War of 1971. In fact, any great literary work must include nature and humans as its pivotal figures and in this case, Nazrul was not an exception. Nazrul’s rich literature, with diverse significance, allows more opportunity to exhibit his literary brilliance to new generations.

The writer is an assistant professor of English.  
Photos: Internet

Rabindranath and Nazrul

Treatment of nature

Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, the two iconic figures of Bengali literary renaissance, played the most vital role to introduce Romanticism in Bangla literature. Nature is the focal point of Romanticism. Individual imagination, subjective experience, appreciation of landscape, passionate ardour, revolt against fixed social norms, nostalgia are some other traits of Romanticism. The ideas of Romantic poets get mixed with natural flora and fauna, and there is an enlightenment in their heart that inspires their love. These elements can be found in numerous artistic creations of Rabindranath and Nazrul, chiefly in their poems and their songs. Rabindranath Tagore shows most close affinity with nature. He saw manifestation of the whole being in the richness of nature. Nature touched the deepest realm of his consciousness. So, nature guides almost every literary genre of Tagore. Like Wordsworth, a pantheistic view of nature is present in his writings. He delights in the subtle touches of nature. Like Keats, he reiterates an aesthetic value of nature. He immerses in mystified nature and sees it as a living being, finding an anthropomorphic reality in it. Nature is his infatuation, the central field of his imagination and literary journey. He does not only see nature from an aesthetic sense, in an active way, he wants to save it. He took many initiatives to protect nature _ from this point of view, Tagore is an environmentalist, too. Apart from aesthetic and emotional treatment of nature, Tagore shows some obvious ecological consciousness, in a large scale, in his myriad poems, dramas, essays and songs. His essays Palli Prakriti (Rustic Nature), Aranyadebata (The God of the Forest), Tapoban, Sriniketan, Halakarshan(Tilling Land), Banobani (The Message of the Wild), as well as some of his memorable speeches make his environmental concept and concerns very clear. His short story Bolai and his poem Two Birds bear obvious ecological awareness. In his famous dance-dramas The Waterfall (Muktadhara) and Raktakarabi, Tagore symbolically delineates the threats from science and commercial mentality that destroy nature in the name of development and civilization. Rabindranath sees nature as a purifying force to cleanse all the dirt and mental fatigue and refresh life anew. We find it in his characteristic song of Pahela Boisakh Esho, Hey Boisakh: Let the debris of the whole world be driven far away Let distance memories go, let dimming melodies fade Let weariness be wiped away, let decay be dispelled. The call of beauteous nature brings the poet out of his abode. His whole essence is mixed with joy seeing an animated nature, as in the song Aj Dhaner Khete, where the poet pays top adulation to the beautiful nature he encounters: Over paddy fields this day, sunlight and shadows play hide-and-seek This day bees hum about, heedless of honey, drunk with light. This day ducks and drakes flock to sandbanks. For sure, this day I wont ssta, wont stay indoors. To Civilization (Sabhyatar Prati) is a notable poem. The fatigue of modern life is so benumbing that Tagore plainly wants back the sylvan period of innocent strength to be freed from the stone-hearted, all consuming modern civilization: Give back the wilderness; take away the city Embrace if you will your steel, brick and stone walls O newfangled civilization! Cruel all-consuming one Wed rather get back the strength that we had. Perhaps, in Palli Prakriti, another essay preoccupied with ecological concerns, Tagore shows his geo-environmental awareness and aesthetic sense in the same place: The food that the earth gives us is not only for satisfying our hunger; it soothes our eyes and our mind is motivated by its beauty. Science has given man super power. When this power will be utilised for the whole society, the true time would come in our way. Today the eternal call is impending. It may prevail in our activities and in our ethics. Tagores treatment of nature in all forms of literary works _ and in his paintings _ demonstrates that apart from being spiritually motivated by nature, he was also aware and critical of the uncontrolled devastation done to nature. Human life is dependent on nature, so we cannot brutally exterminate it and break the intricate bond. Thus, his tireless endeavour was to save Mother Earth from an impending catastrophe, which was very much in the process. So, Tagores 100-year-old vision is still very much relevant to the present day perspective. What he did from a cultural framework, the importance he showed to nature is gradually becoming more essential now. His treatment of nature is praiseworthy because besides admiring its aesthetic value, he emphasises that we should love and take care of nature which sustains us mentally and spiritually, and is essential for our survival. On the other hand, Kazi Nazrul Islam, like Tagore, was a poet, musician and novelist, too. His writings against fascism, oppression and any kind of discrimination made him the Bidrohi Kobi (Rebel Poet). Nazrul was very much fond of Tagore, who returned the affection, and nature is also a recurring theme in his literature. To Nazrul, nature is an inseparable part of life. His romanticism gets focussed through nature. When Nazrul writes on nature, he invests nature with a personality. Even in his love songs, metaphors are taken from nature _ bird, star, flower, sky, sun, rain, sea, and so on_ all these objects are presented in human terms. In his poem Jhingey Ful (Cucurbitaceous flower), he gives a delightful picture and description of the beautiful jhingey ful that shows the poets love for nature. Again, in the poem Choiti Hawa, the poet does not only give a mature and wholesome picture of nature in springtime, but makes it immortal, like the nature of Keats in the poem Ode to Autumn. In the song Dur Dip O Basini, Nazrul is enmeshed with his unseen and unknown beloved, who lives on a far away island. There is influence of Hafez in the rendition of the song. We also see some striking similarities with Coleridges poem Christable. Also, like Tagore and Lalon, Nazrul is found here in a mystic state. Some uncanny feeling like Coleridges supernaturalism is evident as well. In the poem Batayan Pase Gubak Torur Sari, or The Array of Nut Trees beside the Window, Nazrul addresses the trees as friends and when the time of separation from the place comes, he does not mourn for any human being, but mourns for the trees. Thus, the poet attributes human qualities to the trees. The symbol of weeping moon and the similarity between the trees and his lost beloved is reminiscent of Frosts poem Tree at my Window. Actually, both poems showcase their composers fondness for nature. In Nazruls famous poem The Rebel, which is a fierce verse against all types of oppression that subjugate humanity, symbols from nature are used as well, as the poet says: I am the wild fire of the woods/ I bring earthquakes upon this world! For another look into Nazruls love for nature, the following lines from his poem Akashey Helan Diye (Leaning against the Sky) may be quoted: There the hill sleeps leaning against the sky Never homebound, I am the spring on that hill. Nazrul Islams poems on love are highly emotional. His poem Bhalo Lagar Smriti (Memories of Liking) carries some memorable nature imagery: The curved moon still rises in the sky The purple flower blooms in my garden The light that plays on its flute at radiant dawn Now overflows my heart with endless joy. This theme is also common in John Keatss poem I stood tip-toe upon a little hill: I stood tip-toe upon a little hill/ The air was cooling, and so very still/ That the sweet buds which with a modest pride/ Pull droopingly, in slanting curve aside/ I gazed awhile, and felt as light, and free. But in the poem Krishaner Gan (The Peasants Song), Nazrul seems to shift his imaginative natural journey and is more attentive to the reality of materiality. In the very opening of the poem, the poets closeness to the earth is remarkable: Rise up O cultivators, the sons of earth / hold your plough strong/ we are about to die/ and let us die a befitting death. Importantly here, Nazruls nature is infused with his class consciousness. Romantic poets of both East and West made nature repository of their imagination. Nazruls infatuation for the beauty found in nature makes him comparable to Keats and his fiery attitude makes him the Shelly of Bangla literature. Interestingly, in Nazruls works, some affinity with the writings of other major Romantic poets, like Robert Frost and ST Coleridge, is present which connects them inter-textually. Arabian and Persian literature also influenced him deeply. Kazi Nazrul Islam should be included like Tagore in any type of literary and cultural discussion on Bangla literature. His poems were inspirational against British oppression and played a substantial role in our glorious Liberation War of 1971. In fact, any great literary work must include nature and humans as its pivotal figures and in this case, Nazrul was not an exception. Nazruls rich literature, with diverse significance, allows more opportunity to exhibit his literary brilliance to new generations. The writer is an assistant professor of English. Photos: Internet