– Saumya Dey
Translator’s Note
Rabindranath Tagore had a romantic fascination for the Rajputs and their noble gallantry. He often gave this fascination the most exquisite creative expression. Here are a couple of instances. The first is a song written by a very young Rabindranath. It was included in a tragic play called Sarojini written in 1875 by his elder brother Jyotirindranath Tagore. The heroine of the eponymous play is the princess of Mewar, daughter of Rana Lakshman Singh. Sarojini commits jauhar at the end of it when her father is defeated by Alauddin Khilji. The song by Tagore describes the very moment when she is about to enter the fire. You can find a very good rendition of it on YouTube by the late maestro Debabrata Biswas. Maani, the poem that follows, is from a collection of poetry titled Katha o Kahini. Tagore published it in 1899. It describes the capture of the Chief of Sirohi Rajputs and his production in the court of Emperor Aurangzeb. He so impresses Aurangzeb with his bravery and nobility that the Emperor returns him his redoubt, the fort of Achalgarh. Tagore was not the antiseptic proto-liberal, the counter of Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhyay, which he is made out to be today. He felt passionately for the past of Bharata and all that she had endured through its course. By the way, Bengali is the not the language I speak. I am a Sylheti speaker from Tripura. So I request the Tagorephilic purist to kindly excuse whatever errors and sloppiness there might be in these translations.
A song from Sarojini in the voice of Debabrata Biswas
A Song from Sarojini
(Bengali Original)
Burn bright, o flames of the pyre!
A widowed lass comes to grant you her life.
Burn, burn, o flames of the pyre!
Quench the burn with which her soul is rife.
Heed o yavans, heed you all,
The flames that you have lit in her heart,
You must pay for it all, her gods do chart.
Look o world, do not your eyes avert.
Watch o moon, watch o sky,
May the gods watch too from the heavens high,
Their gaze must to the earth apply!
Write what you see in letters that shine,
Do not ignore, o wanton yavan, this duty is thine,
To keep her honor today, without a doubt,
A brave Rajput, a woman chaste and proud,
To roaring flames will she her life consign.
Maani – The Proud One
(Bengali Original)
Long ago, in the age when,
Bharata neath Aurangzeb lay broken,
The master of Mewar unto him called
And said, ‘My lord, hearken!
In the dark of the night concealed,
Whom in Achalgarh Nahar seized,
That Chief of the Sirohis is in my quarters incarcerated.
O Sultan, your wish now you tread,
‘Tis the time your orders for him you said.’
Aurangzeb heard all and spoke –
‘These words upon oddness choke.
Has finally been grabbed from the high
The lightening that lay in the sky?
With a few hundred hill folks as his troops,
He always traversed crests and woods,
As a desert mirage he was free, one of the Rajputs!
Yes, seeing him is forsooth necessary.
Fetch him, dispatch a royal emissary.’
Joining his palms, Jaswant, the ruler of Mewar said –
‘A lion cub, a Kshatriya brave, unabashed
To my dwelling today he has a visit paid.
O Badshah, you will see him for sure,
If you give your word and do ensure
That with honor alone he will be treated.
Only then to your court
Respectfully will I bring him forth.
Aurangzeb laughed and thus did he say –
‘What strange words do you speak today.
O King of Mewar, an elder you are,
And a brave so indomitable, truly rare.
Such words when from your tongue fell,
In my heart shame did swell.
To hurt the pride of the proud
Does not behove me, for I too am so proud.
So, let me assure, have no worry,
Bring him to the court, do not be chary.
At the court, the Chief of Sirohis was finally biding,
With the King of Mewar he had come striding.
High was he holding his head,
His unfearing gaze he had cast ahead.
‘Bow to the Badshah,’ the court thundered and chimed.
But, leaning on Jaswant’s shoulder, gently he rhymed –
‘My head bows upon, my respects meet,
Only and only my elders’ feet.’
With eyes blood shot due to anger
Was every royal retainer.
Said they, ‘We can teach you how
To make a head roll, this moment, now!’
But the Chief of Sirohis laughed and said –
‘Let it never ever be that
Out of fear I bow to the great.
To know fear is not my fate.’
The above words after he had said,
The Chief stood with the support of his sword’s blade.
The Badshah then brought the saviour of the gods
To his seat and spoke these words –
‘Tell me, o brave, in this Bharata enormous, wide
What country you desire, have in sight?’
Replied the Raja, ‘Achalgarh, most precious in all the land
In my eyes does verily stand.’
The court heard and silently jeered,
But these words from the Badshah’s mouth reared –
‘May in Achalgarh you dwell immobile forever,
Your ties with your land never you sever.’