Tagore'sshort stories belong to that genre of Indian literature which are evergreen. Decades later, they have lost neither the flavour nor the grip on the mind of the reader. They deal with human relations and emotions, involving people we see daily in our lives. One of Tagore'sstories ?The Postmaster? was filmed by Satyajit Ray. Rupa has come out with reproductions of the English translations of Tagore. The titles received for review are Mashi and other stories, Two Sisters and the play The Post Office.
The collection of 14 stories under the title Mashi and other stories is a prized possession. The translations have been done by such stalwarts as Jadunath Sarkar and Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadyay. The stories have retained their original style and spirit because the translations have been done by Bengalis.
This collection was first published in 1918.
The play The Post Office, written in 1912 is one of the most poignant of Tagore'sstories. The story line is simple. It portrays the agony of a boy Anmol, who is in his last days, as he is suffering from terminal illness. He is bedridden and the windows have been shut to keep the draught out. But through one open window he calls out to people on the road, a curd seller, a flower-seller girl, the postman and the village head. Each he envies and vows that he would become that when he grows up so that he can travel all over and gain knowledge. The play ends in a poignant note, when he dies, while waiting for the king to come. The play is symbolic of a man'syearning for reaching things far and his curiosity about the ?beyond.? The dialogues of Anmol bring out the suppressed desire of the human to reach higher and greater.
Two Sisters is one of the last three novels by Tagore. Its original Bengali Dui Bon was published in 1933 and its translation by Krishna Kriplani in 1943. The theme of the novel is the search of the man to find two identities in one woman, that of a mother and a sweetheart. In the novel, the elder sister represents the former and the younger one the latter. It'sa rhythmic spin of the storyline. Not involving too many characters. It is one of the finest novels by Tagore.
In reprinting the Tagore translations, in paparback and at very reasonable prices, Rupa has rendered a service to the readers who are unluckily unable to read the great writer in his native tongue.
