? A day was when with outspread wings I attained the heaven of my flight. Today my wings are folded; I lie in my little nest. But my heaven remains ?.
Farewell my Friend was the first book of Tagore that I read. This is not his finest work but it is beautiful nonetheless. For people like me who rely on abridged versions and translators to make the reading easier this book is a good read. A warning though, like other Tagore books this would make you wish you learnt Bengali to relish the original work. This was called ’’Shesher Kavitha’’ -Last poem in Bengali.
Amit, the hero of this book is an oxford educated rich intellectual often hated for his condescension, he engages all women around him but never showing interest in one particular woman, and is in the habit of presenting his view which is quite opposite to the generic view in a rude shocking way. He even goes to the length of creating a poet who is a figment of his imagination and pitches him against Rabindranath Tagore. That’s right, Tagore makes himself an object of mockery for the hero of his book. The shocking part is the argument against Tagore is almost convincing.
Amit, the eligible bachelor, to escape his prospective mothers-in-law Who were queuing up to give their daughter’s hand in marriage lands up in shillong where he meets Labanya. Predictably he falls for her. Labanya is an intelligent, sensible girl who is a private tutor to a children of a respectable family run by Yogamaya.
Labanya is the daughter of a professor who bestows his liberal affection on a student of his, Shobhanlal. This sours the sentiments of Labanya who is a proud, overconfident and independent woman as she realizes that Shobhanlal is better knowledgeable than she is. she begins to hate Shobhanlal, on the contrary he loves and respects her. She insults Shobhanlal and leaves to shillong to be a private tutor.
At first Labanya is oblivious to Amit’s affections. Amit succeeds in working his charm on Yogamaya and her son. They, now very much impressed by Amit try to play Cupid. After much apprehension, Labanya relents, not before exposing to him his shallowness. In bringing out his new found sincerity and setting aside his sophisticated demeanor, Amit cuts a sorry figure. The arrival of Amit’s sister and an old girl friend of Amit causes a hindrance to this otherwise smooth sailing romance. To make matters worse arrives a letter from Shobhanlal to Labanya.
There are many short and beautiful poems in this book. There are many instances where Tagore looks at both sides of the coin, like the way he makes a case for and against Tagore(himself), comparing a lotus to separation when it has always been considered an object of beauty and even union.
It must also be added that I read other books by Tagore translated by other English authors but none revealing the depth of the actual poems. Krishna Kripalani the translator of this book succeeds in keeping the melody of the poems intact and maintaining the reader’s interest.
?Let your tender touch rest on this bowed head
At the foot of your throne
Wherever you reign in glory,
Let my adoration find a place.?