BLiterature-Apratim

14
The Romantic Age or The Age of Tagore
(1890-1936)
Romanticism can be defined as an idealized and lofty vision of the temporal
world which, to the general mind, may seem bizarre or unfamiliar. The origin of this
concept may be dated back to the antique philosopher Plato’s time.
In Bangla literature, Romanticism was introduced by Bankim and it reached
an incredible height in Rabindranath Tagore’s (1861-1941) era. It came possible
not only through his outstanding individual achievement but also through ambitious
efforts of many other writers of the age who were influenced by his style and diction.
Tagore’s age started with the publication of his Manashi (1890), a lyrical
poetical work. It came to an end in 1936 with the coming to light of Jibanananda’s
book of poems entitled Dhushar Pandulipi.
The difference between Bankim and Tagore is not only artistic but also
ideological. While Bankim was an admirer of Geeta, Tagore was a Brahmo and his
philosophies were based on the Upanishadas. He had a universal vision and loved
this world much more than any other poet has ever done till today. This is why he is
called “Biswa Kavi” (i.e. Poet of the World).
Tagore’s Manashi (1890), Sonar Tori (1894), Chitra (1896), Gitanjali (1912),
Balaka (1916), Punascha (1932), Prantik (1938) are significant contributions to
romantic and mystic poetry. He was awarded the Nobel Literature Prize in 1913 for
Gitanjali, a collection of his mystic poems which he himself translated into English
entitling Song Offerings. Chokher Bali (1903), Gora (1910), Chaturanga (1915),
Shesher Kabita (1929) are his famous novels. He introduced short story in Bangla
and took it to its supreme shape. His short stories are collected in an anthology titled
Galpaguccha. Further, he is also our greatest dramatist; his Chitrangada (1892),
Dakghar (1912) and Raktakarabi (1926) are remarkable plays of world drama.
Three leading literary journals of the era were Bharati, Sabujpatra and Kallol.
Bharati was the early haven of Tagore and some other young writers who wanted to
free themselves of the strong reign of Bankim. Sabujpatra introduced the movement
of a new standard of Bangla prose (called ‘Chalita Bhasha’) led by Pramath
Chowdhury (1868-1946). Tagore himself was engaged with that movement. And
Kallol was the leading journal of the rebels against the dominant literary trend.
Dwijendralal Roy (1863-1913), famed for his historical plays and songs, was
an early literary rival of Tagore. The works of the Tagorean school seemed
extremely modern to the conservatives and they developed as a different group with
Roy – their leader.
The other poets of Tagore’s era gave birth to more or less individualistic styles
but failed to exceed his artistic halo. Among them, Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976)
stands next to him in many respects. He achieved the glory of ‘Rebel poet’; no other
poet has yet succeeded to express so artistically the tone of political rebellion. He
assimilated Hindu, Greco-Roman, Christian and Islamic cultural heritages and thus
exposed himself as a model of non-communal Bengali writers. But unfortunately his
non-communal humanism was turned into sick Pakistanism (influenced by Jinnah’s
two-nation theory) by some later Muslim poets [e.g. Farrukh Ahmad (1918-’74)].