How the Tagore women redeemed the Nobel Laureate

Many iconic artistes have sought their inspiration in women and took the fairer sex for their muses -- Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore was no exception.
In Aruna Chakravarti's semi-fictional "Daughters of Jorasanko", it is evident that the poet's life wouldn't have panned out the way it did, had it not been for the women in it.
After sketching the history of the Tagore family in "Jorasanko", Chakravarti's latest takes the narrative forward to redeem Rabindranath in particular, and the Tagore household in general, of their sins of patriarchy.
"The Tagore household, though somewhat more educated and liberal, was no different from others of the time, in its attitude to women, under the stewardship of the formidable Maharshi Debendranath Tagore," Chakravarti told PTI.

Yielding to the rules set forth by the Maharshi dictating the conduct of the women of the house, Rabindranath had married his daughters off at the ages of ten and thirteen and also prevented the remarriage of the 15-year-old widow Shahana.
However, towards his later years, the writer strived to put things right by marrying his only son to a widow, taking away his youngest daughter from an insensitive husband and allowing his granddaughter to marry a Sindhi.

"He suffers acute pangs of conscience in his later years and strives to set it at rest by atoning for it in his own ways," says Chakravarti.

The book is titled after the 'daughters' of the family, but what it really captures is the journey of the poet's spiritual transformation -- "from a male psyche exhibiting stereotyped patriarchal attitudes, to one acutely sensitive to the subordinate status of women and the agony of suppression they go through".
The bestselling writer has dug through archival material and books on the Tagores and strung the facts together with "creative imagination" to make the narrative flow.
She has revived the tongue of 19th century Bengal in modern day English and interspersed it with Bengali phrases and kinship terms to recreate the milieu of the period.

"There are no fictional characters in my book, barring a few, who are entirely peripheral. There are no external plotlines either. The main events are based on recorded fact.
Chakravarti's major sources of research were the numerous biographies of the poet, but to track down the women of the household who have rarely found mention in the pages of history, the 77-year old writer relied on the words of the women themselves.
"References to the women of Jorasanko are few and far between. Fortunately, some of the Tagore women have written autobiographies and articles, that offer excellent insights into their lives and thoughts. The letters exchanged by these women with Rabindranath provide adequate if not abundant information," she says.

It was only Ranu Adhikari, an ardent follower and admirer of the poet, about whom very little archival material was available, the author says.
Ranu's love for the Gurudeb, as the poet is referred to in the book, was profound enough for him to have conjured up numerous songs from the tip of his pen.
"The only person about whom very little is recorded barring what is contained in her letters to Rabindranath and his replies, compiled in 'Bhanu Singh er Patrabali', is Ranu Adhikari. Consequently, her character has been conceived and presented in the book entirely through the imagination," says Chakravarti.

The letters, written and received by the poet, and the songs and poems penned by him have been placed like pivots, around which the life stories of multiple characters revolve.
While most of these letters have been sourced directly from archives, there are few which the author has manufactured to suit the tale.
The letters that were actually written in the past include the one Rabindranath wrote to Lord Chelmsford renouncing his knighthood, his letter to Rothenstein, to Beli begging her forgiveness, the letter Ranu wrote to Rabindranath on the train journey from Bolpur to Banaras, and his reply.
Others, such as one Sarat wrote to his father-in-law complaining about Nagen's behaviour and the reply sent by Rabindranath are fictional. As is the one written by the poet to Ranu's prospective mother-in-law Lady Mookerjee, says Chakravarti.

She says it was conspicuous from several books including, Jagadish Bhattacharya's "Kabi Manasi" that some of the songs were written for certain people, but in the absence of similar knowledge, the author took the liberty of associating a song with a character, if she found it suitable for the situation and the mood.
One such instance from the book is the scene where Abanindranath Tagore sings 'Dinguli mor shonar khanchai' on the morning of his last day in Baithak Khana Bari.
"This was one of many such personal decisions taken by me," says Chakravarti.
The over-300 page book by Harper Collins was launched here last evening by veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, who has her origins in the Tagore family.