Shah Jahan poem, Tagore
06/04/2020
11.50
Dear students,
Few thoughts in Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel _The Final Question_, is relevant for the study of our poem "Shah Jahan".
In the novel, two characters talk about Taj Mahal and Shah Jahan.
One asks Shah Jahan had multiple wives, so do you think his reason of building Taj Mahal was soley love for deasesd wife! It can be an answer to war or religion or something political.
The other says is not it nice to think about it as for love! The first character answers, "a love which is so fixed and immutable is not worthy of our admiration. Human beings change, love too much change...must attavh itself to new objects in order to live and grow".
We can think about the poem in different levels. Taj Mahal as a political symbol to mark the emperor's glory or like the world knows Taj Mahal for...symbol of love.
So from the understanding of the poem Shah Jahan by Rabindranath Tagore in the first page that is page number 153, initial lines talk about the ephemeral nature of life's events.
Tagore says, the emperor knew nothing will stay forever...all glory, power, youth etc...
Poet, through the medium of emperor's mind says 'everything float down the stream of time but Taj Mahal will stay on the cheek of time' which will denote emperor's agony of losing the empress.
Or, is it the agony of the world forgetting the emperor himself?
(Pay attention to such imageries.
Eg. Cheek of time.)
Next lines in the same page says, Human heart has no time for anything. Because life drives us quick. Flowers bloom. In the twilight they shed. No time for anything. Things happen faster.
Next page that is 154, it is said that we have no time to look back on what withered away. 'All that you gather is thrown to the edge of depart by the end of each night and day so you have no time to look back again'.
Till now emperor is in sorrow that he will be forgotten no matter who he was...
Then, line 40 of the same page says...that is why the emperor wished to built a monument to preserve him and his world in time's memory...because he feared that his own heart may forget the glorious time he went through.. everything will be forgotten.
So he thought he can conquer peoples heart and its true beauty in a way...he thought all those feelings he expressed for his love in the moonlight nights in in particular chamber can live through the 'stones'.. then he forms the idea of building the eternal monument-The Taj Mahal.
...and he says that this way he will be carrying a message that 'I' have not forgotten you my love I have not forgotten you'....'
this line has another implication too..
One, Emperor talking to the lover that 'I have not forgotten you'...Next, that history is talking to the emperor that ...'you know I will not forget you ....because you have built something credible, something substantial...you have build something powerful when you look back into the pages of history people can remember you through this stone monument...
In page number 155, line number 75 onwards we can find the poet talks directly here...
Poet says now your 'Empire has been dissolved like a dream... you are thrown and shattered is your armies whose marching shook Earth earlier...
now everything is just blown into dust on the delhi roads'... (because Mughal Empire was built in and around Delhi!)
Again, poet's voice says prisoners no long no longer sing for you... your musicians no longer mingle their tunes...poet says to the reminisced image of the poet that..
you are no longer powerful your all go gone...
The poet says through the ages, the same continuous message of eternal mourning, eternal sadness, goes on that 'I have not forgotten you my love I have not forgotten you'
Poet says actually you are being forgotten that's what poet says in line number 95.
He says that the 'cage of memory is now open, nobody can hold memory for so long you are being forgotten you are now in the dark pages of history which are falling'.
And the poet goes on to say the 'tombs remain forever with the dust of the earth and he says death can be preserved in memory but who can hold life....'
He goes on to say that everything is lost in the lane of memory and you are no more remembered. In page number 156, line number 120 'your relics, (remains after death) live here, but you are gone...
After lines 125 in the nxt page poet says to the people who visits Taj Mahal- 'no matter how distantly, how much ever you want to stare you can stare...'but that traveller is no longer here no longer hear his beloved too did not keep him...he flew breaking all the possible bars...and he is no longer here...
To the end when you find, something is not getting connected....even after these explanation...this is Tagore's mysticism in the poem. He is known for mysticism. You can refer to what mysticism is in the introduction to Tagore lecture.
Thanks.
11.50
Dear students,
Few thoughts in Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel _The Final Question_, is relevant for the study of our poem "Shah Jahan".
In the novel, two characters talk about Taj Mahal and Shah Jahan.
One asks Shah Jahan had multiple wives, so do you think his reason of building Taj Mahal was soley love for deasesd wife! It can be an answer to war or religion or something political.
The other says is not it nice to think about it as for love! The first character answers, "a love which is so fixed and immutable is not worthy of our admiration. Human beings change, love too much change...must attavh itself to new objects in order to live and grow".
We can think about the poem in different levels. Taj Mahal as a political symbol to mark the emperor's glory or like the world knows Taj Mahal for...symbol of love.
So from the understanding of the poem Shah Jahan by Rabindranath Tagore in the first page that is page number 153, initial lines talk about the ephemeral nature of life's events.
Tagore says, the emperor knew nothing will stay forever...all glory, power, youth etc...
Poet, through the medium of emperor's mind says 'everything float down the stream of time but Taj Mahal will stay on the cheek of time' which will denote emperor's agony of losing the empress.
Or, is it the agony of the world forgetting the emperor himself?
(Pay attention to such imageries.
Eg. Cheek of time.)
Next lines in the same page says, Human heart has no time for anything. Because life drives us quick. Flowers bloom. In the twilight they shed. No time for anything. Things happen faster.
Next page that is 154, it is said that we have no time to look back on what withered away. 'All that you gather is thrown to the edge of depart by the end of each night and day so you have no time to look back again'.
Till now emperor is in sorrow that he will be forgotten no matter who he was...
Then, line 40 of the same page says...that is why the emperor wished to built a monument to preserve him and his world in time's memory...because he feared that his own heart may forget the glorious time he went through.. everything will be forgotten.
So he thought he can conquer peoples heart and its true beauty in a way...he thought all those feelings he expressed for his love in the moonlight nights in in particular chamber can live through the 'stones'.. then he forms the idea of building the eternal monument-The Taj Mahal.
...and he says that this way he will be carrying a message that 'I' have not forgotten you my love I have not forgotten you'....'
this line has another implication too..
One, Emperor talking to the lover that 'I have not forgotten you'...Next, that history is talking to the emperor that ...'you know I will not forget you ....because you have built something credible, something substantial...you have build something powerful when you look back into the pages of history people can remember you through this stone monument...
In page number 155, line number 75 onwards we can find the poet talks directly here...
Poet says now your 'Empire has been dissolved like a dream... you are thrown and shattered is your armies whose marching shook Earth earlier...
now everything is just blown into dust on the delhi roads'... (because Mughal Empire was built in and around Delhi!)
Again, poet's voice says prisoners no long no longer sing for you... your musicians no longer mingle their tunes...poet says to the reminisced image of the poet that..
you are no longer powerful your all go gone...
The poet says through the ages, the same continuous message of eternal mourning, eternal sadness, goes on that 'I have not forgotten you my love I have not forgotten you'
Poet says actually you are being forgotten that's what poet says in line number 95.
He says that the 'cage of memory is now open, nobody can hold memory for so long you are being forgotten you are now in the dark pages of history which are falling'.
And the poet goes on to say the 'tombs remain forever with the dust of the earth and he says death can be preserved in memory but who can hold life....'
He goes on to say that everything is lost in the lane of memory and you are no more remembered. In page number 156, line number 120 'your relics, (remains after death) live here, but you are gone...
After lines 125 in the nxt page poet says to the people who visits Taj Mahal- 'no matter how distantly, how much ever you want to stare you can stare...'but that traveller is no longer here no longer hear his beloved too did not keep him...he flew breaking all the possible bars...and he is no longer here...
To the end when you find, something is not getting connected....even after these explanation...this is Tagore's mysticism in the poem. He is known for mysticism. You can refer to what mysticism is in the introduction to Tagore lecture.
Thanks.
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