Reception of Tagore in Indian Literature: Manipuri

L Joychandra Singh *

Manipuri Nrityashram Dance recital on Guru Rabindranath Tagore's poems on 20 March 2012 :: Pix - Nicky Chandam

Tagore has transcended all barriers of language and region. We continue to revel in Tagore's works. The magic of Tagore, in fact, continues to enthrall the Manipuri readers for years. He was adored, emulated, owned and imitated freely. Tagore became a symbol of culture, excellence and great taste for the Manipuri educated class. Tagore's love for Manipur was discernible quite early.

"Rabindranath Tagore wrote a small article entitled Manipurer Barnana (Description of Manipur) in Sadhana, a Bengali monthly in 1891. He started the article with the expression that he was very sad when he happened to read an account of Manipur by Sir James Johstone that appeared in the journal Nineteen Century." (N. Kunjamohan Singh).

Again, the greatest exponent of Manipuri dance in Bengal was Tagore himself. The poet's understanding of Manipuri dance began in 1919 when he visited Sylhet, Bangladesh where he had the chance to see a demonstration of Manipuri dance by Manipuri boys and girls. Then, he visited Agartala, Tripura where also he had the opportunity to see some Manipuri dance performances. The poet afterwards requested the Maharaja of Tripura Brajendra-Kishor to send a Manipuri dance teacher to Santiniketan.

Accordingly, Rajkumar Budhimanta was sent to Santiniketan. In 1925, Guru Nabakumar Singh and his brother Baikantha were sent from Agartala to teach Manipuri dance to the students. Since then, Manipuri dance has been taught at Visva­Bharati and now, it has been developed to a full fledged department. This was a great gift of Tagore to the world of Manipuri dance and music.

Tagore described the beauty of Manipur in some of his works like "Chitrangada" without seeing it physically for he was not allowed to visit Manipur by the then British Political Agent. However, the works of Tagore made their way to the heart and mind of the Manipuris and had a permanent stay in the pens of Manipuri writers.

Ashangbam Minaketan Singh (1906-1995), a pioneer Manipuri poet, admitted that his first poetry book "Vasanta Sheireng" (Spring - Muse) published in 1930 was inspired by Tagore's "Gitanjali." From the third decade of the 20th century, we see Tagore becoming the most vibrant presence in Manipur and his influence gaining in depth and width in the Manipuri milieu.

Around 1940, Hijam Irabot Singh (1896-1951), a prominent poet and a political reformist, gave a befitting eulogy to the poet in his poem "Amar Rabindranath." Hawaibam Nabadwipchandra Singh (1897-1946) wrote several poems under the influence of Tagore. In his poems like Punshi Hidom (Solitary Boat of Life), Nanaida Pinare Maktraba Thonjal (You have shown me your unblemished kindness), Phaobiro Ibungo Thammoigi Mapu (Reveal to me, Lord of my heart) Takpiri Nahakna Khudamna Uttuna (You reveal by example), Thijaba (Quest), there are lines reminiscent of Tagorean strain. In the poems of Rajkumar Shitaljit (1913­2008), Rajkumar Surendrajit (1925-1982), Shijagurumayum Nilbir Shastry (1927-2005),

Tagore's poetic ideas are clearly visible. Shitaljit's Geetikavya (2005) and some other smaller poems, Surendrajit's Shatningbi (Eager to Blossom, 1947), Vasantagi Vansi (Flute of Spring, 1978), Nilbir Shastry's Ahing Likla (Dews at Night, 1951), Ethak-Epom (The Waves, 1972), Sandhyagi Ishei (Evening Songs, 1990), Rajani Gandha (2001) reflected some of the sweetness and felicity of expression associated with Tagore in his poetry. They are also marked by a deep sense of morality charged with the spirit of universalism and the readers will always find a deep yearning and quest for beauty, terrestrial harmony and spiritual vales in their pages.

Tagore's poetic philosophy points to a mystical vision in which he could intensely imagine the pervasive presence of a spiritual guidance of an unseen power for the fallible mortals. This vision led him to his mystical insight that everything is the manifestation of God whose glory we should sing and attain our peace which is nothing but a final confirmation of his spiritual faith after a long journey of doubt and anxiety. We are not sure if the Manipuri poets imbibed the spirit of the Upanishad like Tagore.

But there is no doubt that they were pure Vaishnava in belief and deed who had a firm belief for an idealised world and who always extolled the beauty of human values, dignity and love as the supreme qualities of life. Tagore said, "To live the life of goodness is to live the life of all."

Perhaps this assertion of Tagore made a deep impression on the mind of the Manipuri poets. They believed that beauty and truth are intimately connected with goodness. Good is that which is desirable, not for our lesser self but for our greater self. Goodness emerges only when the finite man feels that in essence he is the universal man. The Manipuri poets moulded their poems in tune with this philosophy.

In the poem "Leela", Shitaljit expresses the mystical insight of his poetic thought: "The music of thy drum, the rhythm of thy song, are the music and rhythm after my heart. In this transitory life, I have no special wish, thy wish is my wish too." Expressing his Vaishnavite humbleness and humility, Nilbir Shastry wrote thus: "I am dust of the road, trampled over ages after ages, heard abuses of different times, am I dust of the road."

Surendrajit identified himself always with spring, the eternal spring, the harbinger of hope, youth and the new message: "I am spring personified, a seeker, an endless player of the flute of the infinite." Conceiving the matrix of God's creation and the wonder of the universe, Nabadwipchandra sings: "Reveal to me, Lord of my heart, to the core of my heart, the matrix of your creation, who has not been unearthed by anybody, assign me your chosen duty, which I may. accomplish in this humble life."

Swayed by the unseen presence of the Almighty in every leaf of life, Arambam Dorendrajit (1907-1944) addresses Him thus: "In the stillness of the spring night, in the silver-soaked bright moonlight, when the southern wind breezes it's way, when not a single soul cares to venture out, nature's hidden music tunes thy glories, where art thou, my Lord?"

Another Manipuri renaissance poet, Ashangbam Minaketan Singh (1906-1995), expresses the restlessness of spirit and strong desire for the merging of his soul with the infinite. Like a Vaishnava poet, he surrenders everything at the feet of the Lord: "Thou art the Lord of my life, the pulse in the vein, throbbing throughout my body, I come at thy command, I stay at thy command, distance not from me, thou art the root, I am the flower, with multiple leaves, thou art the expanse, I am the bubble, distance not from me." These poems are in a sense faint echoes of Tagore's poetry mostly in "Gitanjali"

The works of Rabindranath constituted in themselves a body of tradition, extending the horizon of Bengali minds to wider audience. A major fiction writer of Manipur, M.K. Binodini Devi (1922-2011), who confessed that she had read much of Rabindranath, wrote short stories, short plays and a novel of exquisite grace. Her collection of short stories "Nungairakta Chandramukhi" (Chandramukhi among the rocks, 1967) and a short play "Ashanba Nongjabi" (The Azure Sky, 1967) depicted vividly the emotional warmth, the intense poetic vision, the enchanting music and deep humanism one finds so passionately in the works of Rabindranath.

But a Manipuri poet whose style and language comes mostly under the spell of Rabindranath was Elangbam Nilakanta (1927-2000). In his collection of poems "Pukning Leikolgi Athuppada" (In the solitude of mind, 2000), he offers plainly his obeisance to the poet: "Rabindranath, how could I forget you, you always reside in my voice, in the solitude of my heart."

Romantic in style, his sweet and spontaneous verses haunted Manipuri readers of the post-independence period for years. His poems record a yearning for light and integrality, a longing and home-sickness for a fuller order. These are reflected in his poetry collection "Chatlasine Kadaidano lbani" (Let us go then, You and I, 1971) and "Tirtha Yatra" (1985).

His poems again express the poet's nostalgic yearning for a home amidst all homelessness. Like a tired sojourner, the poet strives to come to his moorings after a restless quest. He expresses his aspiration for something afar thus: "Let us go then, you and I, in the moon-lit expanse where the sailors cannot reach, to the realm unseen and unheard, only let us go and do not ask, why is this?"

This reminds one of the lines in "Gitanjali": "Early in the day it was whispered that we should sail in a boat, only thou and I, and never a soul in the world would know of this our pilgrimage to no country and to no end." This also is similar to Tagore's off­quoted world "Not here, not here, but in the bosom of the far-away."

The examples may go on. The reception of Tagore in Manipuri literature was extended to other literary genre like translation and critical writings. The publication of Manipuri version of select writings of Rabindranath in 1971 and 1978 into two volumes under the title 'Rabindra Nachom' has heightened the interest of the great poet among Manipuri readers. They got by heart the songs and poems, characters of his stories and plays, and implanted them into the native soil.

Writers and poets like Krishnamohan, Surchand Sharma, Nutanchandra Sharma, Brajabidhu Sharma, Rajkumar Shitaljit, Rajkumar Jhaljit, Shyamsunder, Dhanachandra, Haricharan, Rajkumar Snahal, Iboyaima, Minaketan, Biramani, Pishak, Nilamani, Thoibi Devi, I.R. Babu, Kunjamohan, Tombi have translated various works of Rabindranath.

A few Manipuri writers from Assam, Tripura and Bangladesh have also joined in this task. Shyam Sharma rendered some good Rabindra­ songs into Manipuri and Tagore's dance-dramas have been presented in ballet-forms by various cultural organizations in Manipur. Some of Tagore's short stories like 'Kabuliwala' and 'Hungry stones' have been dramatized and successfully performed before appreciative audiences.

Well-known theatre Directors like Lokendra, Kanhailal, Ratan Thiyam and others have presented Tagore's plays into Manipuri even in places outside Manipur. In 1962 and 1968, two publications brought out highlighting seminar papers on Tagore presented on the 100th and 125th birth anniversary of the poet held in Manipur.

Poet Tagore, in his last moment, faced the crisis of civilization but he refused to lose hope. He believed that the sun would rise again in the East. Manipur, with her rich heritage of culture and traditional sensitiveness to beauty and humane feeling, should come forward to fulfill this fond dream of the poet. With these few words, once again I pay my humble homage to the memory of the great soul of humanity, Rabindranath Tagore.