Participation in a celebration of the “Rabindra Jayanti” (Tagore’s birthday) a couple of weeks ago prompted me to think about Tagore songs and write this essay. If you are born in West Bengal, especially in Kolkata, you cannot escape Tagore songs. I was no exception and grew up listening to hundreds of Tagore songs even when I did not want to. Whether it was a college reunion function, a would-be bride demonstrating her singing skill to an entourage from the groom’s house, a musical festival of any kind or background music in a movie, Tagore songs were the automatic choice.
I must confess that although I liked the lyrics, I was not a fan of Tagore songs mainly because of the slow, monotonous and similar sounding tunes. The use of musical instruments was very limited, reportedly because of restrictions imposed by the Viswa Bharati University because they owned rights to all these songs at the time. There was no song which aroused a feeling of unbridled joy or intense passion or an urge to get up and dance. I got hooked on Bollywood songs during my teenage years and the choice of musical genres was limitless when I came to the US. I never understood the obsession of Bengalis with Tagore songs. It is so blatant and obvious that people from other parts of India make fun of the lack of diversity in our musical taste. For a long time, I believed that the reason for this obsession was Tagore receiving the Nobel Prize and the Knighthood (which he subsequently relinquished) for his work in the era of British rule when such global recognition of native talents were unheard of.
Bengalis were so proud of his international fame that they accepted him as the master and the one to follow no matter what he wrote. Also, traditional puritanical mindsets precluded them from listening to Bollywood songs because of perceived lewdness and opportunities for listening to Western or other foreign music were very limited. It is only recently, in my late life, that I started to appreciate the reason behind this Tagore-mania. I believe that it has more to do with the volume and variety of messages of his work than the music itself. Tagore reportedly wrote and composed music for 2,232 songs (according to Wikipedia). He wrote songs for virtually every occasion and every emotion that a Bengali person goes through in his/her life.
By contrast, the Beatles who also composed songs for a variety of circumstances have only 188 original songs. As a result, regardless of the situation you are in, physically, emotionally or geographically, you can find a Tagore song you can identify with. Of course, the slow tempo of the song resonates with the chords inside our Bengali hearts. I do like many Tagore songs and have analyzed them to understand why I like them. My most favorite one is “Tui phele esechhis kare mon monre amar, tai janam gelo shanti peli na re”. It is a perfect description of emotions of an immigrant Bengali growing old in this country and moves me like no other Tagore song.
Of course, I knew that I left behind my family, friends, neighbours and familiar things when I came to the US, but there was always hope for something better. Now in old age, I look behind and realize that there was nothing significantly better and I will never be able to regain what I left behind; but I cannot put my fingers around who or what that was. Was it the soft soil with green rice fields, was it the monsoon season or was it a part of my soul? I will never attain that bliss I was hoping for. The lyrics capture this sentiment perfectly. Another of my favorites is “Jhara pata go, Ami tomari dale”. This song is a perfect metaphor for my thoughts at the present age. I have enjoyed my life – the joy and the sorrow; and now the time has come to leave the branch of the “tree” that kept me grounded, wearing a saffron-coloured outfit, and being blown away in the wind.
I love music and find it to be the medium for expressing romantic feelings. Whenever I developed a fondness for a woman, I could only say my thoughts silently in my heart, using the lyrics and tune of a song, even when the woman had no idea about my emotions and was not probably that crazy about music. Tagore said it perfectly, “Ami tomari sange bendhechi amar pran….tumi jano na”. I remember whenever I was sad during my teenage years, I would just listen to “Baje koruno sure”, simply to weep silently because it gave me a cathartic cleansing. My thought of divorce is reflected in the song, amar e path tomar pather anek doore”. What can express my infatuation with American women better than the line, “Ami chinigo chini tomare ogo bideshini”? On numerous occasions in my life, I had to make decisions about some tasks going against the recommendations and preferences of others; I just remembered the line, “jodi tor dak shune keu na ase”.
Then there are songs with messages of hope and optimism amid pain and misery as in, “Ananda dhara bohiche bhubane”. I can probably think of more examples. However, my point is not that I can correlate almost all of my life experiences with lyrics of a Tagore song. I can probably do that with Bollywood or Beatles songs as well. My point is that Tagore has composed so many songs that it is not just me, but every Bengali who can identify with a song regardless of his/her state of mind: joy, sadness, romance, spirituality, patriotism, enjoyment of nature, love for children, travel and so on. This is why he is universally popular with almost all Bengalis, regardless of their social status, educational level, age etc. An analogy comes to mind.
You are part of a large group planning a meal at a restaurant. You may prefer Indian food because of your upbringing and may want to go to an Indian restaurant. A friend of yours may prefer a French restaurant. Some may like Mexican food and so on. Now imagine a restaurant offering all kinds of food imaginable in one place. So, there will be no argument; everyone in the group will agree to go to this restaurant and enjoy the meal. Moreover, if you are planning to throw a party with catered food, you will probably go to the owner of this restaurant to supply food because you know that no one will then complain about the food. Also, whenever you are feeling hungry, you are likely to go to this restaurant because you know that you will find something you like there. Yes, Tagore songs provide that smorgasbord of food for the soul.
I wish that Tagore songs would be translated into multiple languages which would be recorded with an assortment of musical instruments. Some compositions could even be changed a little bit to increase the pace of the song. It has already started to happen. An example is the song “Piyu bole, piya bole” from the Bollywood movie “Parineeta”. Perhaps someday music of all of India and not just Bengali music will belong to Tagore. (The writer, a physicist who worked in industry and academia, is a Bengali settled in America.)