The Capricious Poet Laureate and Bard of Bengal

The Capricious Poet Laureate and Bengal Bard Rabindranath 

Dr. Sushil Rudra 19.08.2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2. Mania of Poet 3. Various types of Mania 4.Conclusion

INTRODUCTION :

Poets and artists are generally used to sink into imagination. They love to live in the fantasy world. Their willingness and unwillingness are not limited to common things. So artists and poets won’t live like common people. They desire to spend their time in various ways. In a word, they’re capricious. Today, I am going to depict here in regards to our Capricious Poet Laureate and Bengal Bard Rabindranath Tagore. 

 MANIA OF POET:

 Rabindranath Tagore was ridden by some manias. He was a maniac of Biochemic treatment and used biochemical medicine. So You can say him a hypochondriac. He used to treat others also. But it’s a special matter to mention when and how he used this biochemic medicine. Truly it was very astounding. What it is? 

   1ST MANIA

 There were a lot of Homoeopathic and Biochemical books and medicines on the writing table in front of him. He used to talk 4 to 5 white tablets of Biochemical medicine. Before taking it, he took the little phial ( bottle) by his left-hand plate and stroked the bottle over his right-hand plate. Then he took the medicines on his tongue occasionally. 

 It’s not sure how much these medications impacted his health, may it be mental or physical health, he might know it. Perhaps he used it for the development and rejuvenation of the mind or physical health. He could have understood it. But it was certain that he had a deep faith in the efficacy of Biochemic medicine. Sometimes Rabindranath Tagore called Professor Sushil Bhange of Sangit Bhawan ( Music Department) to discuss Homoeopathy. 

  THE CAPRICIOUS LAUREATE POET

His temperament was somewhat whimsical. He was deeply concerned with his health. Health care was prime to him. Eventually, he did never neglect it. Gurudev used to follow all the advice whatever was advised by the people. 

 Someone told him to have Amloki fruit paste regularly for enhancement of his lungs and belly. There are so many Amloki trees there in Ashram Premises. Under the trees, there were scattered unbranched Amkoki fruits around the trees. Gurudev ordered his servants to provide him with pasted Amloki. 

   After a few days, they were to visit Kolkata ( then Calcutta) to staring a drama. Gurudev must go there. He didn’t go alone, he took a bag of Amalaki. Servants had to be busy pasting a lot of fruits for Tagore and other companions. All of them were surprised to see it. What are doing, poet? But who heard of it! Just passes some days. But health can bear a certain level of limitations. Suddenly disturbed his health and became ill,  and fixed on the bed. They ran to call a Doctor. Doctors came and advised me to take some medications. That was great tension. 

 As ill luck would have it, the drama program was stopped for this reason. Our poet became angry because of postponed. Eventually, he stopped to have Amloki pastes. Let’s drop it. But still, even 3 / 4 years before death, Tagore strictly followed to take green salad, and green mustard leaves for his health. He took the raw mustered leaves with boiled rice. Muster leaves used to pluck from the garden and he ate them fresh. These fresh leaves were beautifully decorated on the dish on the dining table. 

 Apart from that, our poet had another fascination. What it was? He capriciously used to build new houses and occasionally lived in different houses. The sensualist and the lover of diversities, Rabindranath built various types of buildings in Shantinekatan, Bolpur. He used to stay some days in one house, then changed it and stayed in another. 

        He lived in almost all of the houses of the Ashram. Not a single old house, where the poet lives. Dehali is one of the houses. When he lived here, he used to compose poems sitting on the Varanda in the summer noon. Bolpur is a very hot place in Summer. Despite of extremely hot noon, he never quit his writings. Commonly we take a short rest after lunch. But he used to start writing. It’s heard that the poet got inspired in the such scorching heat. 

      It was a daily routine for the people of this locality to close their room’s doors and windows when the sun rays get too hot in this area. Most people would take rest or little sleep. But our poet was busy ting. He used a hand-made fan in his left hand and a pen in his right hand. This was his regular practice. 

    Even during his last few years, he stayed in different houses. Sometimes he lived in Uttarayan, after some months he spent in Udayan, sometimes in Konark. These houses are very tiny. Although Uttarayan is a big one.  

    Next, he made another hut, he named it Mrinmoyee, then Shyamali. Shamali is a mud house. As a result, it was demolished portions in heavy rains. Next he built a new house. It is Punashcha. There the poet stayed some months. After a few months he felt there monotonous and again built Udichi. It was the last one he built and spent there sometimes before his death. 

    Our poet was unrest not only changing his one house to another, but  also changes  his writing and living rooms from one place to another, from first floor to second or third floor. Oneday he servants made arrangements writing table, books and writing pads and other apparatus on the Varanda of Shyamali, somedays after he changed his place and settled in the second floor of Uttarayan, next third floor and again in first floor. 

  Oneday he took shelter in Chitrabhanu which was his daughter- in -laws studio, but staying there sometimes he left it and placed his writing apparatus to Japanese room of Udayan. 

      In front of his every House, there’s yard where varities of flowers trees, may be there were bunches of wooden rose. There are blossoming heaps of wood – roses. A straight red stoned – made road in front of every house which is decorated with green grasses both sides of the roads. It is fabulous and attractive.

Rows of  Himjhuri and great neem trees are beautifying the roads. All these big trees are capturing the space of the sky. Somewhere is widen meadows which attracts the eyes. 

 The capricious Laureate poet had another hobby. That was the decorations of the rooms. Occasionally he used to change his room’s decorations. He changed his  writing table, book almirah and bed positions. 

Oneday he thinks to decorate his room with hanging rope – shelf. As soon as he thought it, the entire room was filled  with the lots of hanging rope -shelves. Every corners and placed are full of hanging rope – shelves. Books, notebooks, bedding and towels everything were in the rope shelves . 

     Suddenly he changed it. He ordered to make cementing khat, chair, desk and table of cement. Still, it is found in Shyamali. 

  The capricious Laureate poet never spent in a place or a house at a stress. When he felt monotonous in Shantiniketan, he tried to go Sriniketan, or Chandannagar or Jorasanko or Chowrangi. 

     During summer vacation, hostel students returned to their respective home . The capricious Laureate poet Tagore also used to travel in Darjeeling, Mongpu or Kalimpong. So the poet was to some extent a whimsical person. 

   Probably this incident took place in Jorasanko at his last few years. He decided to use rags on the bed. Eventually, made order in the shop. Without delay, bundles of rags had stored in the room. His servants made arrangements bed with 25 rags.

The capricious Laureate poet spent some days lying on it. But he felt uncomfortable due to pokes of rags stings. He thought that it was due to bug. All the rags were given under the rays of the sun. But the problem didn’t solve. Lastly he ordered to change his bed. The rags didn’t use afterwards. 

     These are the instances of poet’s whimsical nature. Hope my readers will have enjoyed this saga. If you like, feel free to contact me. Advice me if you like. I will try my best to depict such kind of sagas accordingly. Read more: Rabindranath Tagore On Jesus Christ. 2. VICTORIA OCAMPO AND RABINDRANATH 3. THE BONDAGE AND THE FREEDOM: THE TWO FACETS OF SOUL 

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