Noted author and poet Sunil Gangopadhyay tells Kareena N Gianani how he rediscovered Tagore after his initial scepticism
You have researched extensively on Rabindranath Tagore’s life. Did he ever mention how he wished to be remembered best?
Rabindranath Tagore always maintained that few will sit by their windows and read his poems. He said he would be remembered for his songs and paintings — and he was right about this. I don’t know how many people read his books today, but I know that Rabnidra Sangeet plays in many homes, and I’m not just speaking of Kolkata. Over the years, it has been easier to introduce Tagore through his plays.
Tagore himself was iconoclastic. Do you feel a better way to ‘celebrate’ someone like him would be to, for instance, provide his readers with better translations, or work harder towards such endeavours?
I can see that people outside Bengal cannot reach out to Tagore in the same way because of poor translations out there. But, I also think that the ways we celebrate him create curiosity in the minds of those who haven’t read his works. There are more chances that someone watching his play, or attending a seminar, will be curious enough to read his books. I am in talks with Jawahar Sarkar, the Union government’s secretary of culture, and we plan to soon start the Rabindranath Tagore Asian Nobel Prize that will, in turns, be awarded to musicians, painters and writers.
India remembers him for his contribution, though erecting a statue of him would not be fitting. In fact, in the 50s, I was anti-Rabindra! I helped produce the Krittibas magazine and was vehemently against people’s obsession with Rabindranath, that mindset they carried where he was the only poet who ‘existed’, and no one else stood a chance. Everyone after him imitated only his style. That’s what we protested. But in the evenings, we all got together and sang his songs, and I can sing nearly a thousand even today. Of course, things changed with time, I studied him deeply and discovered a new person
What did you rediscover about Tagore?
What struck me about Tagore was his brilliant sense of humour, and his sensibilities when he so carefully chose his words. To be honest, I don’t care much for his heavy ideas. But his descriptions of intimate life, the mystery he brings out in relationships are timeless. That’s why, Tagore is relevant. His writing and paintings will always be ‘modern’, they are eternal. You can read a Tagore in any era, and he always sounds so valid.
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