Book Review, Kabuli Wala, story by Tagore, Review by Ranu

KABULIWALA

So far I read twenty books for the 2016 Reading Challenge.

Today it gives me pleasure to write a review of my favourite author, Tagore’s story Kabuli Wala.

Rehmat came all the way from Afghanistan to a community in Bengal, to earn money. Times were difficult back home so he and some of his friends went to Bengal to earn their living by selling shawls and some nuts and raisins.

Rehmat was a very honest man, he was simple and trusted every one he met. He let them have the shawl and nuts, even if they couldn’t pay on the understanding they would give the money at a later date.

Some  people cheated him they claimed they did not owe anything to the Kabuliwala ( Rehmat) and that he  was lying.

During this time he met a little girl named Mini, he called her Khuki(a child). Mini and the Kabuliwala became good friends, he’d give her nuts and raisins free and the two played some simple games.

The maid servant of Mini’s parents, was very suspicious, she told the mother that Kabuliwala will take her daughter away and sell her. At first the mother did not pay attention, but the maid convinced her it was true. This created a misunderstanding, the mother refused to let her daughter see the nice man.

Kabuliwala actually had a daughter Mini’s age. He felt better interacting with his little friend, who was so much like Rabeya his daughter.

Tagore’s portrayal of Kabuliwala and the little girl Mini was excellent.

The message I get from the story is we humans have a tendency to suspect someone who is different from us, especially if they are poor speak a different language, we think they should not be trusted.

The father liked the man but the mother did not. It took the mother a long time to realize how innocent the man was. She showed it by giving him the money she saved for her daughter,Mini’s wedding ceremony.

Kabuli Wala went to see Mini before he left to go back to his home in Afghanistan, it was tough for him to see his little friend had grown up.

It made him realize he missed seeing his own daughter growing up.

Tagore loved the poor people regardless of where they came from, he used to move around with them whenever he went to take care of his family’s lands.

………………………………….. 🙂

Writing 101,day, 17: A map your muse

Assignment: Today let a map be your muse.

Tell us about your connection to a place.

I have decided to choose Bangladesh as the place ,  the lyrics  of  the song I am about to post are by  Rabindranath Tagore. I have translated the Bengali words into English.My connection is I am a Bengali and was raised in Bangladesh. My ancestors are from Bangladesh.

Map of Comilla

Pen a poem inspired by the area’s topography.

TRANSLATION:

Mother means Bangladesh in this poem.

Today, from the heart of Bangladesh

O Mother, when did you appear in such an exceptional way!

O Mother I repeatedly  gaze at you,

I cannot have enough of you.

O Mother the doors of your temple are unlocked today!

Your right hand carries the blazing sword,

Your left removes fear and apprehension.

Your eyes reveal affection,

while your forehead conveys fierce resolve.

O ,Mother what an image of you,

I behold today.

O my dear Mother your untied hair conceals thunder

The edge of your garment glitters in the sun.

I neglected to look at you,

thinking my sad mother ,

Is alone in the deserted house .

There is no end to her misfortune.

But where is your miserable attire?

Where is that  sad smile?

The sky is adorned with

The lustre of your feet.

On this night of misery

Flood the world with the flow of happiness,

Your courage resonates in  my heart!

……………………………….. 🙂

 

 

 

Blogging 201, Day Five

Day Five: Make the Most of Your Archives.

Today’s assignment: Integrate a feature to draw traffic to your older content like a widget,related posts, or a “Best  of “Page.

From The Archives

English: Rabindranath Tagore Русский: Рабиндранат Тагор (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Rabindranath Tagore Русский: Тагор, Рабиндранат (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In his lifetime Tagore wrote in all sorts of literary forms. Despite that, the name of poet stuck to him. He was called viswa-kabi(the universal poet) by his own people. He was certainly one who wrote variety of poems.When one surveys his poems, one could exclaim as Dryden did about Chaucer,’Here is God’s plenty.’He began writing poems at a tender age. It is said that when he lay dying,poems kept coming to him. Although he was incapable of writing himself,he dictated the poems,he checked them to be sure they were formed perfectly.

I have read many poems of Tagore.I never thought of translating them.To me they were there to read and enjoy.The feeling that I should translate them to show the beauty of his work,came to me only lately.In English there are limited words one can use to translate Bengali prose,poetry or songs. I am aware,my translation will fail to catch the depth of Tagore’s poetry. I have finally found a poem,Tagore wrote,The title is “To Remember”.

“To Remember”

I do not have any recollection of my mother.

Only when I go out to play suddenly without any reason

A kind of tune keeps ringing in my ears,

as if the sound mixes with my mother’s words in the middle of my game.

Did my mother sing while rocking my swing–.

My mother has gone but, as she was going she left the song.

I do not have any recollection of my mother;

Only in September, early in the morning in the garden of the white flowers,

the wind spreads the smell of the flowers wet with dew;

Why then does my mothers words,echo in my mind;

perhaps when my mother carried the decorated basket of flowers—-

The smell of Pooja transformed into my mother’s smell and came to me.

I do not have any recollection of my mother;

Only when I sit in the corner of my bedroom;

I look far-away at the blue sky from my window—

All of a sudden I feel my mother is looking at me very intently;

She used to have me in her lap and look at me,

that is the look she left all over the sky as a reminder for me.

I have tried to translate the Bengali poem written by Tagore into English. I hope it is okay!

Ranu

An example of handwritten Bengali script. Part of a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1926 in Hungary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel prize for literature. It is the first Nobel prize won by Asia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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Blogging 201, Day Two: Audit Your Brand

Today’s assignment: Audit your  _ look all the ways you communicate information about your blog to make sure they’re focused and consistent.

I go with my tagline,” Savor kindness because cruelty is always possible later.”

I started blogging by translating the poems of Tagore, and also by translating a lot of his songs. My intention is always to entertain my readers. If I only embed his songs and fail to translate, it leaves the reader wondering, could she not translate it. It was to remove doubts that I’m a real Bengali, who lives and breathes the language, and also to find out for myself if I really can translate into English, Tagore’s Bengali lyrics.

As far as branding goes my blog is an assortment of everything. It has fiction and non-fiction, my likes and dislikes, recipes of foods the reader may enjoy reading or even try.

I hope my posts truly explains, whether I’m kind or the opposite.

Will it be appropriate if I write my blog’s branding as “A medley of different posts?”

Sorry for not posting it yesterday, I had issues with my internet connection, which could not be fixed. 😦

Please leave your comments, thanks.

………………………………. 🙂

Daily Prompts: The Sincerest Form of Flattery

Publish a post in the style of a favorite author/blogger or photographer.

I have so many favorite authors I find it difficult to combine their style and make it  my own. However that being said let me try Rabindranath Tagore. Although he has written fiction and non fiction, most of his writings that I know of are poetry and song lyrics.

I have translated a number of his poems and song lyrics. I’d like to write a poem using his style.

Maple tree: standing on one leg

Taller than others

Peeping at the sky.

Heart’s desire:  pierce through the black clouds,

All at once fly away_

Where will it get the wings.

This is why:        Right on top of its head

On its flat leaves

It spreads its wish

In its mind:        It thinks the leaves are its wings,

There is no  problem flying

Leaving its home.

All day:              split split(sound of dripping water)

trembles the leaves,

It feels its flying__

Imagines:           It will roam around in the sky

Avoid the stars

As if it will go somewhere.

Afterwards:     When   the breeze stops

The leaves stop trembling,

Its mind returns ___

The moment it thinks: The earth is its mother,

Loves it again

This world’s corner.

………………………………….   🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogging 101,Day Four: Identify Your Audience

Today’s assignment: publish a post you’d like your ideal audience member to read, and include a new-to-you element in it.

Today I have chosen Rabindranath Tagore my favorite poet to write about. Tagore’s poems and song lyrics portrays everything from nature, to human misery, to happiness, he has covered it all.

I will write his poems and song lyrics which is all about nature. I am positive, he felt the same as William Wordsworth who wrote and I quote here: The world is too much with us ; late and soon, getting and spending , we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon.

Tagore loved Nature which is why he hated to study in an enclosed building. Humans should have the freedom to enjoy nature. With this in mind, he built the school named, Shanti Niketon(house of peace) here students studied outdoors, they had the freedom to move around.

Tagore loved children, he wrote song lyrics and poems with children on his mind.One reason could be he lost his mother when he was very young, this probably encouraged him to write poems about the interaction of a child with his/her mother.

I have known Tagore’s poems from a very early age, partly because the poet and I speak the same language i.e. Bengali ,I lived in Bengal, my parents were Bengalis. I am very fond of poetry and Music, Tagore’s work provided all of that.

Today I have embedded  a children’s song , the lyrics are written by Tagore. The subject is “Freedom”.

This is my translation:

Let us have freedom,do not hold us back

just like the birds in the woods that  fly around happily

Like the heavy rain, that falls without resistance

Like the  bondless  clouds and wind that move around in the skies

Like the dance of the firewood that encircles everything

Like the thunder that roars from the cloud

Like the roar of uncontrolled laughter where there is no barrier.

Let us have freedom, do not hold us back!

 

This is my day four assignment. I have tried to attract those adults who are children at heart as I am.

…………………………………………….. 🙂

 

 

Blogging 101,Day one: Introduce yourself to the world

Today’s assignment: Write and publish a “who am I and why I’m here” post on your blog.

My name is Ranu, I am a Bengali from Bangladesh. My Father was Abdus Sabeth and my mother was Tahira Khatun. I am my parents seventh child.

In my country we all have two names, one is used at home and among relatives and the other is used outside home i.e school , certificates. It’s considered a formal name.

Like others in my homeland I too have two names, Ranu is my nick name and Chaman is my name which is used in my certificates and other documents.

When I started blogging I felt comfortable using Ranu as my user name.It’s short and easy to pronounce.

I studied in schools where the medium of instruction was English. I was able to take my mother tongue  Bengali as one of the subjects .

I am blogging publicly because it motivates me to write. Before becoming a blogger, I did not write a personal journal, I did not think about it and was not interested.

My blog’s focus is mainly on writing fiction, sometimes I like writing recipes, I also like translating poems and song lyrics of Rabindranath Tagore. He was a famous Bengali poet. I enjoy reading his poems listening to his songs and translating them, my aim is to let other bloggers enjoy Tagore’s poetry and songs, which is why I like translating them.

There are a few sports, I am interested to watch, one of them is Tennis and other is Ice Hockey, especially when my favorite team  or my favorite player is playing.

In Tennis my favorite players are  Roger Federer among men and Maria Sharapova among women. If they lose early in tournaments, I’m disappointed and lose my interest.

I love cooking spicy food, and have posted some recipes on my blog.

I’m also participating in online courses since 2011, it is the study of Allama Iqbal one of Pakistan’s most favorite and well-known poet and Philosopher. It is offered by Khurram Ali Shafique, he has devoted a long time studying about Iqbal and is the perfect facilitator for all of us.

Lastly I’d like to write about  my blog name  Sabethville, I  used my father’s last name Sabeth and added ville to it.

I hope to meet a lot of other bloggers and also read their posts.

…………………………………….. 🙂

DP Daily Prompt: New Skin

If you could spend the next year as someone radically different from the current “you”–a member of a different species, someone from a different gender or generation, etc.– who would you choose to be?

I’d love to be Rabindranath Tagore, to see if all his creativity rubs off on me. His poems, his stories, his non-fiction and his songs is what makes him who he was.

For starters I’d like to concentrate on his songs and pay more attention to the lyrics. I’m always motivated by his songs, the soft melody makes the songs beautiful.

I always wanted to learn singing, but could not my mom was too scared for she thought I may not get the kind of education she wanted me to have.

Now it’s different I can live in the world of fantasy for a while and be what I’d like to be, a singer, who is able to play as many musical instruments as is humanly possible. Pull out of the archives some of the best songs of Tagore and sing them with ease much like a professional. That will be awesome for me!

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/dp-daily-prompt-new-skin

 

 

 

 

Tagore song: Eai monihaar amai nahi shaje posted and translated by Ranu

Rabindranath Tagore wrote this song somewhere overseas, he received an overwhelming welcome from the people who gathered to receive him ,at that point he hadn’t received the Nobel Prize for literature  for his work in Gitanjoli.He was so surprised he wrote this song asking forgiveness from God.

This expensive garland does not suit me,

When I try to wear it, it hurts,

If I try to tear it, it rings,

It blocks my voice

and words do not come out

I cannot concentrate on my work,

because my mind is attracted there.

This is why I am waiting

If I can put this expensive garland

on you my Lord, I will get relief

accept me with the string of this

garland of flowers.

I am embarrassed to show you this garland

This garland does not suit me!

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/12/20/tagore-song-ea…slated-by-ranu/

365 Writing Prompts: It builds Character

Tell us about a favorite character from film,theater or literature, with whom you’d like to have a heart-to -heart.What would you talk about?

My favorite author is Rabindranath Tagore from Bengal. He has written a lot of poems, song lyrics and stories. I read a lot of his writings, one of the poems I liked most was his portrayal of a servant named Keshto.

This poem is full of humor and is sad as well. I read this poem when I was a very young child. We had moved from Rawalpindi  to Comilla Bangladesh after my father passed away.

Tagore is with whom I’d love to have a heart to heart. I’d discuss his poem: “puraton Bhrittho”( old servant) it is one of my favorite poems. I’ll discuss about the poem.

Ranu: Thank you Mr. Tagore for agreeing to see me.

Tagore: It is my pleasure to meet my fans, I do it whenever I have time .

Ranu: I want to discuss your poem, ‘old servant with you.’

Tagore: This is my favorite poem too, what do you want to know?

Ranu: Is it real or imaginary?

Tagore:Why do you ask?

Ranu: The way you have described him sounds like you really had a servant named Keshto.

Tagore: No it’s not real, I did not have a servant named Keshto, but there are Keshto’s in real life who work for people in our homes. They are paid very little, yet they are expected to do a lot more. Whenever anything is missing in the house the servant is the one everyone in the family blames.

Ranu: Why do you think they are always blamed?

Tagore: The answer is simple, they are poor and they cannot say anything, also they are afraid to lose their job.

Ranu: Do you think no one treats them well?

Tagore: There may be some who are kinder than others but in general it is the case.

Ranu: In the last verse of the poem you mentioned Keshto was ill and died soon after. The poem was sad in the end,

Tagore: In the verse before I mentioned he took care of his master, who had a contagious disease, Keshto was loyal he was not afraid to catch the disease, he spent day and night looking after his master.

Ranu: Do you think the servants are expected to look after their masters if they’re suffering from a contagious disease?

Tagore: Yes they are, because no one cares, when they get sick they are not given proper care, and they die, they are replaced at once and the poor souls are never mentioned.

Ranu: Thank you Mr. Tagore for taking your valuable time talking to me.

Permalink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/365-writing-pr…ilds-character