By Uma Purkayastha
The great poet and laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, enriched Shillong with his gracious presence and presentations of his classic literary works on the city. He visited Shillong thrice, and during his consecutive sojourns to the hill town, he had contributed salubrious poetic treasures to the newly built town which expanded its popularity to a great extent. This aided ‘Shillong’ in finding its place in the literary world, since the early 20th century.
Tagore remains one of the most famous tourists to visit Shillong during the early 20th century, when Shillong, though a capital city by name, was not at all equipped with citylike amenities. There was no proper communication and transportation, no electricity or medical facilities; in a word it was an under-developed town. Barring a few residential localities, the town area was covered with dense forest, and at night the shrill cries of jackals from the thickets would give the place a ghostly eerie look! But ignoring all those ordeals and drawbacks Tagore visited Shillong in the years 1919, 1923 and 1927, respectively.
The great poet highly appreciated Shillong for its serenity and enchanting natural beauty, which inspired him to create a new youthful poetic world. Among them, one of his best creations based on Shillong is, ‘Shesher Kobita’ (Farewell My Friend), a classic novel where ‘Shillong’ is the hero of the piece. The novel earned international popularity and has been translated into different languages to quench the thirst of curious non-Bengali readers.
The ‘Brookside’ bungalow of Zig-Zag Road in Rilbong plays a paramount role in the novel, though there is no mention of the bungalow in the book, by name; but its natural surroundings the eucalyptus and pine trees, hillocks, gurgling sounds of the river (as mentioned in several chapters of the book) vividly resemble the Brookside Bungalow. The eucalyptus tree in the complex reminds its readers of the sweet but tragic memories of Amit and Labanya, the lead characters of the novel, who fell in love at first sight but eventually bid farewell to each other. But even now, the ‘Brookside’ bungalow still carries the memory of Amit and Lavanya and the essence of their immortal true love!
Tagore’s love for nature and the poetic environment of ‘Brookside’, inspired him to create the romantic atmosphere of ‘Shesher Kobita’. The novel was translated into English as ‘Farewell My Friend’ by Krishna Kripalini in 1946.
The bard collected all the vital information and details of the novel, ‘ShesherKobita’ from Shillong during his first sojourn in October 1919, and completed the book in 1928.
The lyrical novel in a theatrical performance was played in the ‘Brookside’ complex, by some local artists arranged by ICCR Department Shillong in 2011, the year of Tagore’s sesquicentennial celebration. It was indeed an exceptional performance in the complex, with the concrete bungalow as the background.
The ‘Brookside’ bungalow, till date, attracts innumerable tourists to visit the Rabindra Memorial, and at the same time reminds the readers of ‘Shesher Kobita’, the sweet but tragic memory of Amit and Labanya, and their immortal love, one of the best creations of Tagore.
Tagore made significant contributions for Shillong during his second sojourn to Shillong in 1923. He spent almost two months of summer in ‘Jitbhumi’ and composed many songs, lyrics, poems and dramas. A few to be mentioned are ‘Red-Oleanders’ (Rakta Karabi) and the lyrical poem ‘Shillong-er Chithi’ (Letter from Shillong) which proved invaluable assets for Tagore’s literature.
The poem ‘Shillong – er – Chithi’ was composed by Tagore, on June 9, 1923, while he was staying at ‘Jitbhumi’ Rilbong. It was excessively hot in Bengal during the summer of 1923, and feeling exhausted, Tagore set off for Shillong. He expressed his emotional feelings through this poem and admired Shillong for its enchanting natural beauty, pleasant climes especially during summer. As he expressed in the 5th paragraph of the poem ‘Shillong-er Chithi’:-
— “When the burning heat of scorching summer,
Couldn’t be ebbed by cool sherbets and fan;
Exhausted, I rushed to the Shillong hills,
To be soothed by a pleasant chill!” —
[Originally written in Bengali]
In the end he remarked humorously –
“Shillong is a beautiful place
Full of glamour and serene grace
Let what critics say be ignored;
To me, Shillong is quite a good place!”
[Originally written in Bengali]
The poem was highly appreciated hundred years ago, and inspired tourists particularly in the summer to visit Shillong. Till date, the poem, ‘Shillong-er Chithi’,tempts the tourists, particularly during summer, to visit Shillong!
His other classic drama ‘Raktakarabi’ was also composed during his stay at ‘Jitbhumi’, though Shillong finds no mention in the drama.
‘Raktakarabi’ (Red-Oleanders) represents, more than any of his plays of the symbolical type, Rabindranath Tagore’s dramatic genius in its fullest maturity. It has all the lyrical beauty of the earlier plays and dramatic sketches and also the spiritual depth of his developed thought. It has for its main theme the conflict between the true spirit of man and a materialistic and mechanical order of society. It is only natural that a play with such an avowed purpose by a man who has always held very Independent ideas on most things, social or political, and has frequently expressed himself strongly on the problems of modern civilisation, should have a genuine present-day interest.
Tagore discussed philosophy and aesthetics with Nandini, the leading lady of the play – a woman so beautiful that even the King was enamoured by her. Nandini had a lover, named Ranjan, whom she adored and loved and longed for him to come to liberate the people. Ranjan called her his ‘Red Oleanders’ because the colour of his love was red like the oleanders she wore on her neck, her breast, and her arms. The redness of the oleanders was intended to suggest not only beauty and love but a foreboding of the strange and fearful things that are about to happen. Nandini tried to bring a revolutionary change through her message of love, she was partially successful but young Ranjan had to be sacrificed! The power-loving King killed him; killed the love of Nandini!
There is a history behind the composition of the drama ‘Raktakarabi’, as narrated by Tagore’s biographer, Prabhat Kumar Mukhapadhyay that during the poet’s second visit to Shillong, Radha Kamal Mukhopadhyay, a renowned professor and researcher, would often visit the poet and talk to him about the sufferings of the wretched labour class in the big industries of Bombay (now Mumbai); and how the industrialists were making money at the cost of the blood and sweat of the labourers. This touched the poet’s heart and he sketched an image of it in dramatic form, and that might have been the origin of ‘Raktakarabi’. [Ref:- ‘Ravi Jeevani’ Part 9 Pg. 3]
About Nandini he said,
“Nandini is the bearer of the message of reality, the saviour through death. But she deals with the conflict between the complexity of the consumption driven industrial world and the simplicity of nature; the greed of the capitalist society, stealing the freedom and joy of the human spirits”. [Ref:- http://en.wikipedia/wiki/
Tagore stayed for a maximum period in Shillong’s ‘Jitbhumi’ during his second stint in 1923. The bungalow of ‘Jitbhumi’ still exists keeping the bard’s memory alive.
The drama ‘Raktakarabi’ was first staged in Shillong 1954, on September 5 and 6 in The Shillong Club premises and it was a collaborated effort of the ‘Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Shillong’, ‘Baitanik’ and ‘Chhabi Gaan Kavita’, three cultural organisations of Shillong, which was well received by the people.
Tagore formed a deep connection with Shillong so much so that he desired to visit again in 1934 as well as 1937, but could not fulfill it owing to his physical inabilities.
The people of Shillong irrespective of caste, creed and tribe fondly think of Tagore, pay their tributes to the great soul, especially on his birth anniversary every year. This is usually orchestrated by singing his songs in different languages. Rabindranath Tagore is immortal here through his vast literary contributions.
His valuable comment on Shillong, is echoed in the hearts of the Tagore Lovers of Shillong!
‘Moter upor Shillong Bhalo,
Jai na boluk ninduke!’
Let what critic says be ignored;
To me, Shillong is quite a good place!”
****