Tagore in the land of Arabian Nights
15 December 2011
b rahman
If they answer not to thy call walk alone, যদি তোর ডাক শুনে কেউ না আসে তবে একলা চল রে
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
-- Rabindranath Tagore
NO sooner had the Nobel Committee announced, on 13 November 1913, that Rabindranath Tagore had won the Nobel Prize for Literature than the news was broadcast to every country around the world. The Arabic-speaking world expressed its enthusiasm in an appropriate manner: The dailies of Egypt, Lebanon and several other Arab countries published the news with zeal and enthusiasm, presumably because Tagore was the first Asian to receive the award.
In addition to the Egyptian daily al-Ahram, many Egyptian journals of repute -- including al-Hilal, Saut al-Sharq, al-Jinan and al-Muqtataf -- published articles about Tagore. The next year, Wadi al-Bustani, a Lebanese writer and translator of Umar Khayyam's Rubaiyat from Persian to Arabic, travelled to Calcutta and stayed as Tagore's guest for two days. He was so charmed by his host's disposition and erudition that he compared him to an angel on earth.
Al-Bustani was perhaps the first Arab to meet Tagore after he'd won the Nobel Prize and, after reading Gitanjali, The Gardener and Sadhana in English, he wrote a wonderful article in Arabic about the laureate. This homage was published in al-Hilal late in 1916. Soon afterwards, Bustani became the first to translate Gitanjali into Arabic.
Tagore travelled to Egypt in 1926 but did not mention this visit in his writing, except for a passing reference in Pareshey. Arabic sources reported that he landed at Alexandria and presented a lecture at the al-Hamra opera on 27 November 1926, during which he talked about the existence of God in every living being. On 29 November of that year, he gave another lecture, this time at Cairo's Hadiqa al-Uzbukiyya opera; he spoke about the differences between Western and Eastern philosophies. Reporters for dailies from Egypt -- such as al-Balagh and al-Ahram -- and other Arab countries covered his talks with zeal.
Muhibbuddin al-Khatib wrote about these discourses for al-Zahra. Two years later, he published a brief butcomprehensive and scholarly treatise called Taghur. The book threw light on the Indian poet's childhood and family background and showcased his patriotism and philanthropy, his message of love and cooperation between countries. It also briefly discussed how Tagore felt aggrieved by the British partition of Bengal. Al-Khatib, like later Arab translators of Tagore, praised not only Gitanjali, but many of the poet's other writings.
Tagore's visit to Egypt has been documented by many Arab writers, poets and thinkers. For example, Hussain Shawqi, son of the great Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi, recalled it in his book, My Father Shawqi. He wrote that his father had held a reception for Tagore, which was attended by many Arab poets, litterateurs and dignitaries; the presence of Saad Pasha, the chief of the Egyptian parliament, added lustre to the gathering. Tagore wore Indian national dress to the reception and, with his great stature and curly locks, resembled a prophet from the Torah, according to Shawqi. Egyptian writer Taha Husain mentioned this reception in his 1926 autobiography, al-Ayyam.
Another writer, Syed Qutb, applauded Tagore's poetic qualities in his book on literary criticism and praised the bard's works for a kind of solemn tranquillity and peace. He also admired the poet for his inherent capacity to bring before readers a world beyond their ken. Tagore was truly a philanthropist and ambassador of the message of love and peace, marked by his profound humanism, democratic outlook and hatred of oppression. He is adored around the world for his efforts to create an atmosphere of mutual trust, friendship and cooperation among nations.
Quite naturally, Tagore's poems and songs overflow the valleys, hills and deserts of the Arabic-speaking world. Not only Gitanjali, many of his poems, dramas, short stories, novels and memoirs -- almost all of his writings, in fact -- are now available in Arabic. In his 1928 treatise, Al-Khatib mentioned that al-Bustani had translated The Gardener, Tanius Abdadah had translated Ghare Baire, Mahmud al-Manjury Al-Afindi had translated Citra and Azmi al-Dawary Afindi had begun translating Sadhana.
A host of Tagore lovers from Arabic-speaking countries have translated Gitanjali and many of his poems and songs. Some have even seen several editions. The translators have included: Hazim Nazim Fadil, Adnan Bagjati, Mishal Ubri, Suhaila al-Husaini, Musa al-Khuri and Najib Zabi. Abdur Rahman Sidqi has translated five of Tagore's plays. The best translation of Tagore's Religion of Man was rendered by Mishel Ubri. Badi Haqqi produced exquisite translations of Gitanjali and Fruit Gathering in 1955.
Three years later, he published Rawai Taghur fi al-Shi'rwa al-Masrah, which included translations of The Gardener, The Crescent Moon, The Spring, Chitrangada, and Gitanjali, with a review by Mustafa Habib from Damascus.
Another wonderful Arabic translation of Gitanjali was done by Khalifa Muhammad at-Tillisi of Libya, who describedTagore as a worshipper of nature, divine love and humanism. Tagore's humanitarian outlook has been praised by people of all religions. His spirituality was compared to that of Sufi ibn al-Arabi. But Tagore never advocated an inactive, secluded life. At-Tillisi rightly observed that pessimism had no place in Tagore's life and work. He was, instead, a spokesman for hope and aspiration, love and happiness -- the key to which lies inselfless service to mankind and the denunciation of ego. At-Tillisi echoed WB Yeats when he compared Tagore with Chaucer and said, "He writes music for words."
Tagore's lyrics are full of subtlety, with delicacies of colour and metrical inventions in simple diction. At-Tillisi also discussed Tagore's role in India's independence movement, and his awareness of Western culture and civilisation.
In India, too, the late Arabic scholar Professor Rahatulla of Calcutta University, and young scholars -- such asHarun al-Rashid, of the University of English and Foreign Languages in Hyderabad and Mirza Nihal Ahmad Baig of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi -- wrote their PhD theses in Arabic on Tagore.Aspirants often translate Tagore's short stories into Arabic and get them published in Arabic magazines in India ~ mainly Thaqafatul Hind, a quarterly of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in New Delhi.
Tagore has always been a subject of interest in the Arabic-speaking world and to the Arabists of India. And why not? He has the unique distinction of being the only poet in the world whose poems are sung as the national anthems of two independent countries (India and Bangladesh), crossing geographical, linguistic and intellectual boundaries.Even the National Anthem of Sri Lanka was composed by a Lankan student of Tagore's Santniketan and inspired by Tagore.
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
-- Rabindranath Tagore
NO sooner had the Nobel Committee announced, on 13 November 1913, that Rabindranath Tagore had won the Nobel Prize for Literature than the news was broadcast to every country around the world. The Arabic-speaking world expressed its enthusiasm in an appropriate manner: The dailies of Egypt, Lebanon and several other Arab countries published the news with zeal and enthusiasm, presumably because Tagore was the first Asian to receive the award.
In addition to the Egyptian daily al-Ahram, many Egyptian journals of repute -- including al-Hilal, Saut al-Sharq, al-Jinan and al-Muqtataf -- published articles about Tagore. The next year, Wadi al-Bustani, a Lebanese writer and translator of Umar Khayyam's Rubaiyat from Persian to Arabic, travelled to Calcutta and stayed as Tagore's guest for two days. He was so charmed by his host's disposition and erudition that he compared him to an angel on earth.
Al-Bustani was perhaps the first Arab to meet Tagore after he'd won the Nobel Prize and, after reading Gitanjali, The Gardener and Sadhana in English, he wrote a wonderful article in Arabic about the laureate. This homage was published in al-Hilal late in 1916. Soon afterwards, Bustani became the first to translate Gitanjali into Arabic.
Tagore travelled to Egypt in 1926 but did not mention this visit in his writing, except for a passing reference in Pareshey. Arabic sources reported that he landed at Alexandria and presented a lecture at the al-Hamra opera on 27 November 1926, during which he talked about the existence of God in every living being. On 29 November of that year, he gave another lecture, this time at Cairo's Hadiqa al-Uzbukiyya opera; he spoke about the differences between Western and Eastern philosophies. Reporters for dailies from Egypt -- such as al-Balagh and al-Ahram -- and other Arab countries covered his talks with zeal.
Muhibbuddin al-Khatib wrote about these discourses for al-Zahra. Two years later, he published a brief butcomprehensive and scholarly treatise called Taghur. The book threw light on the Indian poet's childhood and family background and showcased his patriotism and philanthropy, his message of love and cooperation between countries. It also briefly discussed how Tagore felt aggrieved by the British partition of Bengal. Al-Khatib, like later Arab translators of Tagore, praised not only Gitanjali, but many of the poet's other writings.
Tagore's visit to Egypt has been documented by many Arab writers, poets and thinkers. For example, Hussain Shawqi, son of the great Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi, recalled it in his book, My Father Shawqi. He wrote that his father had held a reception for Tagore, which was attended by many Arab poets, litterateurs and dignitaries; the presence of Saad Pasha, the chief of the Egyptian parliament, added lustre to the gathering. Tagore wore Indian national dress to the reception and, with his great stature and curly locks, resembled a prophet from the Torah, according to Shawqi. Egyptian writer Taha Husain mentioned this reception in his 1926 autobiography, al-Ayyam.
Another writer, Syed Qutb, applauded Tagore's poetic qualities in his book on literary criticism and praised the bard's works for a kind of solemn tranquillity and peace. He also admired the poet for his inherent capacity to bring before readers a world beyond their ken. Tagore was truly a philanthropist and ambassador of the message of love and peace, marked by his profound humanism, democratic outlook and hatred of oppression. He is adored around the world for his efforts to create an atmosphere of mutual trust, friendship and cooperation among nations.
Quite naturally, Tagore's poems and songs overflow the valleys, hills and deserts of the Arabic-speaking world. Not only Gitanjali, many of his poems, dramas, short stories, novels and memoirs -- almost all of his writings, in fact -- are now available in Arabic. In his 1928 treatise, Al-Khatib mentioned that al-Bustani had translated The Gardener, Tanius Abdadah had translated Ghare Baire, Mahmud al-Manjury Al-Afindi had translated Citra and Azmi al-Dawary Afindi had begun translating Sadhana.
A host of Tagore lovers from Arabic-speaking countries have translated Gitanjali and many of his poems and songs. Some have even seen several editions. The translators have included: Hazim Nazim Fadil, Adnan Bagjati, Mishal Ubri, Suhaila al-Husaini, Musa al-Khuri and Najib Zabi. Abdur Rahman Sidqi has translated five of Tagore's plays. The best translation of Tagore's Religion of Man was rendered by Mishel Ubri. Badi Haqqi produced exquisite translations of Gitanjali and Fruit Gathering in 1955.
Three years later, he published Rawai Taghur fi al-Shi'rwa al-Masrah, which included translations of The Gardener, The Crescent Moon, The Spring, Chitrangada, and Gitanjali, with a review by Mustafa Habib from Damascus.
Another wonderful Arabic translation of Gitanjali was done by Khalifa Muhammad at-Tillisi of Libya, who describedTagore as a worshipper of nature, divine love and humanism. Tagore's humanitarian outlook has been praised by people of all religions. His spirituality was compared to that of Sufi ibn al-Arabi. But Tagore never advocated an inactive, secluded life. At-Tillisi rightly observed that pessimism had no place in Tagore's life and work. He was, instead, a spokesman for hope and aspiration, love and happiness -- the key to which lies inselfless service to mankind and the denunciation of ego. At-Tillisi echoed WB Yeats when he compared Tagore with Chaucer and said, "He writes music for words."
Tagore's lyrics are full of subtlety, with delicacies of colour and metrical inventions in simple diction. At-Tillisi also discussed Tagore's role in India's independence movement, and his awareness of Western culture and civilisation.
In India, too, the late Arabic scholar Professor Rahatulla of Calcutta University, and young scholars -- such asHarun al-Rashid, of the University of English and Foreign Languages in Hyderabad and Mirza Nihal Ahmad Baig of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi -- wrote their PhD theses in Arabic on Tagore.Aspirants often translate Tagore's short stories into Arabic and get them published in Arabic magazines in India ~ mainly Thaqafatul Hind, a quarterly of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in New Delhi.
Tagore has always been a subject of interest in the Arabic-speaking world and to the Arabists of India. And why not? He has the unique distinction of being the only poet in the world whose poems are sung as the national anthems of two independent countries (India and Bangladesh), crossing geographical, linguistic and intellectual boundaries.Even the National Anthem of Sri Lanka was composed by a Lankan student of Tagore's Santniketan and inspired by Tagore.
He is equally well-loved in the land of the Arabian Nights: a number of Arab countries celebrated the 150th anniversary of his birth with gaiety and respect.
The writer is a professor and former head, Arabic and Persian Department, University of Calcutta
The writer is a professor and former head, Arabic and Persian Department, University of Calcutta
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