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Good morning.
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I do remember that we have been doing
the
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lectures on Indian poetry in English.
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And my dear friends, you are listening
to these NPTEL online lectures
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on Indian poetry in English.
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00:00:51,180 --> 00:00:54,040
The lectures are being delivered by
Vinod Mishra.
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00:00:55,470 --> 00:01:02,050
Prior to this, we have had two lectures
where we discussed what Indian
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poetry in English means and what
actually it means
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00:01:08,970 --> 00:01:14,210
in a broader way when we talk about
Indian literature in English.
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00:01:15,230 --> 00:01:21,650
We had the other day discussed the
historical background
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and we had also that the first Indian
English poet
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was Henry de Rosio.
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00:01:32,820 --> 00:01:38,640
My dear friends, I'm reminded of one
very important line
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by M .K. Naik in his book where he says
that the first
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period of Indian English literature or
for that matter poetry
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came to an end by 1850 now that was
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the first period of indian english
poetry now in in between
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so many things passed off
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00:02:08,810 --> 00:02:14,330
india at that time was witnessing
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the rise of nationalism and of course
the east
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india company which was ruling India had
actually a greater say.
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So many of the poets, as you remember,
who had started trying their hands,
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whether Indian or British, some of them
also happened to be British
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women poets.
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Now in 1858, you are well reminded of
the fact
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that 1857,
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mutiny that is Supai mutiny which was
called the first struggle for Indian
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independence that actually came to an
end in 1858 and the rule
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of East India Company was now on its
decline so many changes were taking
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there were many Indian voices also on
the rise especially in the field of
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of course many of them Were quite
adamant in writing.
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Their verses.
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In the regional language.
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That is especially.
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In Bengal.
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We had.
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And you well remember.
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Who had started writing.
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In English.
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Later on switched over to. Writing in
Bengali. And his seminal work.
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Had become very popular.
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But then.
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As the second phase of Indian English
poetry starts, we have some very
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voices and we can call these people as
the path breakers of Indian poetry in
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English. They were Torudat, Sri
Aurobindo, Rabindranath Tagore. My dear
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it has always been seen that whenever
there is an opposition, it is not devoid
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of its own benefits and that India also
witnessed.
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India was actually able to rediscover an
own identity and it was not only in the
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minds of Indian male poets but also in
the minds of Indian female poets.
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And it was for the first time the Dutt
came into limelight
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with their composing of the Dutta family
album and we'll talk
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in details about that.
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We have to be reminded of how some of
the British women poets, they were also
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trying their hands at writing poetry in
English.
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Now, who were these women poets?
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Majority of these women poets were
somewhere or the other the relatives or
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kinsmen of the British officials in
India.
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They were actually talking about the
themes of speciality. I mean the space
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distancing. And of course at times they
also talked about the gendered feelings.
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Some names that we can take here are
Anna Maria. Of course many of them were
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writing under their pseudonyms. They
were not actually writing in their true
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names. Some of them were still fully
publishing their poems.
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And Adela, Corey Nicholson, Mary Karsar,
Mary Elijah
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Leslie, and then Emma Roberts. These are
some of the names to be taken here.
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And some of these poets who were
writing, while many of them had the
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landscape on their mind, but there was
one voice.
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marry Elijah Leslie who was actually
born in India especially in a small town
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Mongher in Bihar and you know what
happened because her upbringing was here
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00:06:05,670 --> 00:06:10,970
started practicing her verses and in her
verses you can find a sort of
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linguistic mix both of Indian language
and also of British since
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these women poets were daughters of the
british
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officials they had in their mind certain
reservations as well because many
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of them did not want to be called as
poetess and they thought that it was
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thought it was a sort of discriminatory
word for them because they felt
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themselves inferior to and of course the
education of the women also helped in
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this regard a great deal my different
now You might be thinking that since
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were the women poets, what were they
writing? Of course, a woman poet is
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supposed to write poems which actually
border upon domestic life. Many
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of them were also writing oriental
tales.
80
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But then some of them were also writing
about the Christian devotional verses.
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On the right hand, you can see here, it
is actually a poem by Mary Elijah
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Leslie.
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about whom I said that she was born in
Bihar and because of her background,
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she does is, she actually mixes some of
the Indian words. So, Indian poetry in
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English was also seeing its own
vicissitudes through the voices of some
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people. Now, let us have a look at this
poem which is entitled Kadambini and if
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you read the poem in detail, you will
find how this British poet a woman poet
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who herself does not feel comfortable by
calling herself to be a british woman
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how she writes the raja brings to her
child a lovely one with face as
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00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:08,580
mild as chandra whom some castes address
in purnima the hand they
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00:08:08,580 --> 00:08:15,460
kiss the ladies speak the child came
near here is an english pustak dear with
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pretty stories pictures too Brought from
America for you.
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Bahat khush. Do humko. Lifts the child.
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Now you can find here a blend. Not only
of the regional language.
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That is I mean Indian language here. And
in that part. Where the words like
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Chandra. Purnima.
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Pustak. And then Bahat khush. These are
Indian. So Indian poetry in English. In
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it. I mean in the work of.
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In the poems of.
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Mary Elijah found its own tinge, the
Indian tinge.
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But then it could have been perfected.
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Nonetheless, unless and until an Indian
poet who actually belonged to the Indian
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soil, to the Indian psyche and also to
the Indian land could come to take
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her own stride. And that is how Toru
Dutt's name here comes into
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picture. But who was this Toru Dutta?
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00:09:17,730 --> 00:09:24,150
And you know, most of us remember the
Dutta family album. And this Dutta
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album was actually composed by Toru's
parents,
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00:09:30,390 --> 00:09:37,330
especially Toru's father and two of her
uncles, namely Gobind Chandra,
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Girish Chandra and there was one other
relative, Omesh Chandra.
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now these people what they were writing
they were actually writing about their
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own family we'll see but before that let
us have a look at who is this toru that
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and where was she born now you may well
remember that indian poetry in english
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could not have its own time unless and
until somebody who could work as
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if if we get we are reminded of the
quote my so a medium of intercourse or
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communication and that also resulted in
many of the poets writing in English
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with the blessings of the British people
and at that time there was actually a
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craze that children should be sent if
possible and if their financial
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so actually allowed they could go to
England and this is how it happened
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So Toru was born on 4th March 1856 in a
rich family in Calcutta and a
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father Gobind Chand, that as I said, he
himself was a poet and two of
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his brothers also were poets and Toru
was born in a family having three
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siblings. Toru had two siblings
including her becoming the third.
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So Aru Dutt and Abju. Aru was a sister
and Abju was the brother.
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But my dear friends, at times it so
happens that Toru had a very crooked
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Fine. Even though she was born in
Calcutta, the family, because of some
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or the other, they embraced Christianity
and they left for Europe in 1869. It is
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said that they were the first Bengali
family to visit Europe.
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Fine. And Toru also was the first woman,
Indian, Bengali woman to visit Europe.
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That's left for Europe in 1869.
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And then in the society, they felt
themselves alienated.
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When they went to England, when they
went to Europe, their first stay was in
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France, where Toru had her schooling.
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Fine. And then later on, she also
switched over along with her parents to
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Cambridge.
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Where she could make friendship with
Mary Martin who happened to be the
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recipient of all her letters.
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Fine? All the letters of Toru. But Toru
and her siblings had a very
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sad, bad and a very crooked fate.
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All of them were suffering from some
disease or the other.
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And you will come to know later that
Toru had a very small life. A life of
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21 years.
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first she lost her own brother and then
she lost her sister and that
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also of consumption and later on she
also succumbed to death in 1877
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a brief description about toru given by
gobind
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chandra dutt in a sonnet is purian elf
like with disheveled tresses she
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willed and sighed self -willed and
sighed Intent to pay her tenderest
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to bird or cat.
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But most intelligent.
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Toru Dutt actually was very intelligent
right from the beginning. And she had
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her passion. She had her passion and
sympathies for everything that was
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her. It is said that she even wanted a
mosquito for her canneries. She had the
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same sort of love for the birds. And
also at times.
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the nature which was around her so toru
was witty by nature fine when she had
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been living in england she had all sorts
of experiences but even when toru's
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father had embraced christianity her
mother was a very traditional indian
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and she was a traditional hindu and most
often she filled toru's mind with the
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ancient tales of indian scriptures And
that actually seemed to formulate the
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early years of Toru when she had drawn
herself to the Indian legions, Indian
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cathars and the Indian myths.
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00:14:07,170 --> 00:14:14,050
The family moved in 1871 to Cambridge
where, as I said earlier, Toru
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befriended Mary Martin who happened to
be one of the most fortunate beings to
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receive all the letters of Toru
throughout her life.
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Toru actually, it is said by many Indian
writers and poets that she was
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the one, she was the one who could be
considered that she was the first true
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authentic Indian voice, Indian voice.
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And it is said, I am reminded of what M
.K. Naik says, that from cetacism
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to an authentic.
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cetacism to an authentic utterance i
think this was actually the call of the
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second uh period of indian english
literature so from cetacism not mere
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not mere writing but there has to be
some amount of authenticity and In the
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beginning, many people considered that
Thoreau was a sort of brown English
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woman. But no, my dear friend, of
course, because of her upbringing, she
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started writing only at a very early
age, though she was quite fluent in
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English. But she exposed herself to
French as well and also to Spanish.
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And you will realize that the first work
that she did was in French.
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And the way she has done it, of course,
it was a work of translation, as you
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will see later.
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But then there are different voices.
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All the important figures of France,
right from Victor Hugo to many others,
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were actually translated in her book
entitled Asif Glynde in French field.
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About Torudatta, what Tricia Luton says
is very significant and
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all of us should try to understand.
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Domestically over -determined, yet
culturally alienating, because she was
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in England and partly in France.
185
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Toru and Arudatta turns to Western
languages helped shape an Indian
186
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I'll rather italicize the word Indian
literature, even though she was away.
187
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But the themes that were going on in her
mind were nonetheless Indian, whose
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path seems to spring not from the side
of a monolithic truth and native
189
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authenticity, but from the infinitely
more fascinating side of reinvention and
190
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improvisation. You will find that when
Toru came back to India, the family came
191
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back to India in 1873, my dear friend.
192
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They came back to India in 1873.
193
00:16:56,730 --> 00:17:02,410
And unfortunately, four years later, I
mean in 1877, Toru also died.
194
00:17:02,750 --> 00:17:09,750
And the deaths of Abju and Aru, they had
actually a very catastrophic effect
195
00:17:09,750 --> 00:17:10,750
on Toru's psyche.
196
00:17:10,930 --> 00:17:17,069
Of course, that's the family where these
people, the poets who belonged only to
197
00:17:17,069 --> 00:17:24,069
one family, and they have included their
lyric, ballad, sonnet, but it is sad.
198
00:17:24,510 --> 00:17:31,490
that this book, the Dutta family album,
which was published in 1870,
199
00:17:31,730 --> 00:17:37,390
could not succeed. Why it could not
succeed? Because even though it had a
200
00:17:37,390 --> 00:17:43,750
technical competence and all, there was
imitation, but then it could not be
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00:17:43,750 --> 00:17:50,050
successful, because as in the preface to
Dutta family album,
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00:17:50,390 --> 00:17:52,210
Govind Chand Dutta himself says,
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00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:57,360
It was actually the relationship had
been drawn closer to the holy bond of
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00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:58,740
Christian brotherhood.
205
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,680
As foreigners educated out of England,
they solicit the indulgence of British
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00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:09,040
critics to poems which on these grounds
alone may, it is hoped, have some title
207
00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:13,080
to their attention. But that family
album could not do well.
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00:18:13,740 --> 00:18:20,090
Now, having seen all this, Toru Dutta,
right from the beginning, who actually
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00:18:20,090 --> 00:18:23,830
was influenced by French, and she was a
very quick learner, my dear friend, very
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00:18:23,830 --> 00:18:24,729
quick learner.
211
00:18:24,730 --> 00:18:31,310
So, there are only two works that can be
credited to her, and those two
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00:18:31,310 --> 00:18:38,190
works which are written, the first work,
Sif Glind in French Phil, these
213
00:18:38,190 --> 00:18:45,110
are all translations, and translations
of all these 70 poets, 70
214
00:18:45,110 --> 00:18:52,060
to 100 poets rather, And in this volume,
there are 165 pieces out of
215
00:18:52,060 --> 00:18:57,100
which only eight were written, eight
were done by Aru and the remaining ones
216
00:18:57,100 --> 00:18:58,900
were done by Torudat.
217
00:18:59,340 --> 00:19:06,220
Later on, Toru also wrote a novel,
Bianca or the Young Spanish Maiden.
218
00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:13,060
Now, she also tried her hand at novel
and it is said that this was written
219
00:19:13,060 --> 00:19:14,560
in Spanish.
220
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:20,760
because it was about a Spanish maiden.
And Bianca is actually torn between the
221
00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:27,460
loves of her elder sisters, Fiance and
Lord, both of whom
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00:19:27,460 --> 00:19:32,500
wanted to marry Bianca. But the novel
could not develop further, and the novel
223
00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:34,800
suddenly got off in the middle.
224
00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:41,720
Later on, Thoreau wrote La Journal de
Mme Weisel d 'Arvers. That was actually
225
00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:42,920
in French.
226
00:19:43,220 --> 00:19:44,340
That was...
227
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:50,760
And here the heroine is Margarita.
Margarita has to choose
228
00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:55,440
between the love of Louis and Count
Dunius.
229
00:19:56,180 --> 00:20:02,180
Actually, Margarita loved Count Dunius,
but Count Dunius,
230
00:20:02,220 --> 00:20:07,380
out of jealousy, he had actually killed
his own brother.
231
00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,640
And the Count Dunius wanted.
232
00:20:12,410 --> 00:20:18,450
count dunius had his attraction or
fascination towards his own maid and it
233
00:20:18,450 --> 00:20:22,550
so happened that not only did he kill
his own brother out of jealousy but he
234
00:20:22,550 --> 00:20:29,510
also killed himself and ultimately uh
margarita had no choice than uh to
235
00:20:29,510 --> 00:20:35,870
uh marry uh the able and the worthy uh
louis so that is all about but
236
00:20:35,870 --> 00:20:42,230
there was one more important thing on
which toru's fame rests
237
00:20:42,230 --> 00:20:49,130
and but then the book came out
posthumously means after toru's death
238
00:20:49,130 --> 00:20:55,230
was it was found that toru had been
writing uh and what the and the book
239
00:20:55,230 --> 00:21:01,370
actually made her so famous as an indian
poet was ancient ballads and legions of
240
00:21:01,370 --> 00:21:07,470
hindustan which was published in 1882 i
mean after her death
241
00:21:07,470 --> 00:21:14,390
now When Thoreau wrote the first book,
that is a safe glint in
242
00:21:14,390 --> 00:21:21,370
French film, it actually had a very good
effect even upon many English writers.
243
00:21:21,690 --> 00:21:27,290
And Edmund Gosse, who being one of the
great admirers of Thoreau's writing, he
244
00:21:27,290 --> 00:21:33,410
writes, literature has no owners which
need have been beyond the grasp of a
245
00:21:33,410 --> 00:21:40,160
who at the age of 21 And in languages
separated from her own by so deep a
246
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:47,080
had produced so much of lasting worth.
Actually, he called Toru earlier as
247
00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:52,800
an exotic, exotic voice, exotic,
fragmented voice. But there were some
248
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:58,360
critics also who said that she is very
much like a French woman who can
249
00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:03,400
understand our own culture. And that is
how Toru had become very popular.
250
00:22:04,990 --> 00:22:09,550
had also been writing and publishing
some of her poems in bengali magazine
251
00:22:09,550 --> 00:22:16,290
though they were translations but then
majority of toru's poems as i said
252
00:22:16,290 --> 00:22:22,750
earlier since in toru's psyche there was
a deep imprint of indian myths and
253
00:22:22,750 --> 00:22:28,430
legion we could find that there was
wonderful mixture of a strength and
254
00:22:28,430 --> 00:22:32,790
both in toru toru could not be called
merely
255
00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:40,360
an Indian poet but she was much the same
a French writer and on which her fame
256
00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:41,360
rests.
257
00:22:41,380 --> 00:22:47,560
We find that in the ancient legions
which we had been talking about which
258
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,520
her ancient ballads and legions which
made her very popular.
259
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:55,320
There she talks about Sita, there she
talks about Savitri, she talks about
260
00:22:55,320 --> 00:23:01,540
Dhrub, she talks about Lakshman, she
talks about the Indian King Varath. And
261
00:23:01,540 --> 00:23:06,620
way she has narrated everything, because
we find that there is a sort of
262
00:23:06,620 --> 00:23:12,080
narration, there is a sort of drama,
there is actually, and you know, besides
263
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,260
all, she had her own voice.
264
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:20,060
Of course, many of her works are
suffused with Indian myths and legends.
265
00:23:20,260 --> 00:23:27,020
But then she reminds at times all the
readers of Victorian Romantic School,
266
00:23:27,020 --> 00:23:33,060
then not devoid of the use of local
color. It was actually
267
00:23:33,060 --> 00:23:39,640
Toru's endeavor to bring Hindu epics
accessible to Western readers.
268
00:23:40,140 --> 00:23:46,260
There are, in many of her works,
domestic morality through an appeal to
269
00:23:46,260 --> 00:23:47,260
Christian virtues.
270
00:23:47,300 --> 00:23:52,620
Toru did not want herself to be called
merely an Indian English poet.
271
00:23:53,070 --> 00:23:59,070
But the way she has written, it is often
said that she also tried to
272
00:23:59,070 --> 00:24:04,950
blend the two cultures together. And
that we shall see when we will find some
273
00:24:04,950 --> 00:24:06,410
Toru's poems.
274
00:24:06,730 --> 00:24:13,690
For example, the poem which made Toru
very popular and this poem, our
275
00:24:13,690 --> 00:24:19,110
Katsurana tree, which is actually
prescribed in many of the universities
276
00:24:19,110 --> 00:24:24,900
colleges. It is associated with several
layers of meaning and the moment a
277
00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:30,840
reader reads it, one can find that while
she is talking about the tree, but with
278
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:35,460
the tree is associated Toru's childhood
memories.
279
00:24:35,740 --> 00:24:40,800
While structurally she talks about the
tree, but she also talks about the
280
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:47,100
she also talks about the sweet memories
and in a way she is also talking about
281
00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:48,160
the loss.
282
00:24:48,460 --> 00:24:54,840
the despair, the frustration that she
had on the demise of two of her
283
00:24:55,080 --> 00:25:00,260
We can read a few lines of the poem in
order to understand how Toru was quite
284
00:25:00,260 --> 00:25:06,740
adept at making use of English phrases,
but with the same felicity of
285
00:25:06,740 --> 00:25:11,840
bringing some of the Indian words in
many of her poems. The poem begins with,
286
00:25:11,900 --> 00:25:15,020
the very first stanza of the poem says,
Like a huge python,
287
00:25:16,190 --> 00:25:22,070
winding round and round the rugged trunk
indented deep with the scars up to its
288
00:25:22,070 --> 00:25:28,450
very summit near the stars a creeper
climbs in whose embraces bound no other
289
00:25:28,450 --> 00:25:33,570
tree could leave but gallantly the giant
wears the scarf and flowers are hung in
290
00:25:33,570 --> 00:25:38,510
crimson clusters all the boughs among
whereupon all they are gathered bird and
291
00:25:38,510 --> 00:25:43,050
bee and oft at night the garden
overflows with one sweet song that seems
292
00:25:43,050 --> 00:25:49,370
no close now see The first stanza simply
talks about the tree, the structural,
293
00:25:49,650 --> 00:25:51,050
the objective tree.
294
00:25:51,270 --> 00:25:58,250
But as we move to the second stanza, we
can find how Toru moves and how she
295
00:25:58,250 --> 00:25:59,450
unfolds her own memory.
296
00:25:59,790 --> 00:26:06,590
Fine? When first my casement is wide
open, thrown at down, my eyes delighted
297
00:26:06,590 --> 00:26:07,489
it rest.
298
00:26:07,490 --> 00:26:14,310
See, at some places Toru has written
that she had quite a sheltered life.
299
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:19,900
And when she came out of her own
bungalow or building, there were people
300
00:26:19,900 --> 00:26:25,060
at her. So she had only the opportunity
of looking through her own windows. And
301
00:26:25,060 --> 00:26:30,520
where she says, sometimes and most in
winter, on its crest, a grey baboon sits
302
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:34,680
statue like alone, watching the sunrise
while on the lower boughs.
303
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:40,960
So Thoreau's view of the outside world,
when she is confined in her own room,
304
00:26:41,220 --> 00:26:42,760
living a sheltered life.
305
00:26:43,130 --> 00:26:49,590
His puny offspring leap about and play
in far and near Kokilas hail the day and
306
00:26:49,590 --> 00:26:51,930
to their pastures wend over sleepy cows.
307
00:26:52,270 --> 00:26:59,050
So it is it reminds us of the rural
settings of Indian life and at the same
308
00:26:59,050 --> 00:27:02,210
the child's view of the outside world.
309
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:09,600
But as the poem progresses, we can find
Toru is reminded of her own
310
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:13,500
painful and at the same time sweet sour
memories.
311
00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:19,340
So Toru has developed a sort of
association with the tree and she says,
312
00:27:19,340 --> 00:27:24,700
the shadow on the broad tank cast by
that whole tree so beautiful and vast,
313
00:27:24,700 --> 00:27:30,140
water lilies spring like snow in mass,
but not because of its magnificence.
314
00:27:30,620 --> 00:27:36,480
dear is the caturna to my soul why do i
love this tree and then she says beneath
315
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:43,140
it we have played so memory beneath it
we have played though years may roll oh
316
00:27:43,140 --> 00:27:49,860
sweet companions loved with love intense
so she she gets very
317
00:27:49,860 --> 00:27:55,000
painful she actually gets reminiscent of
the days that she had spent with her
318
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,000
own siblings
319
00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,580
Loved with love intense for your sake,
shall the tree be ever dear?
320
00:28:00,980 --> 00:28:02,620
Shall the tree be ever dear?
321
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:08,980
And then suddenly she retreats. Blend
with your images, it shall arise in
322
00:28:08,980 --> 00:28:12,860
till the hot tears blind mine eyes.
323
00:28:13,100 --> 00:28:17,000
What is that dirge -like murmur that I
hear?
324
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,700
Like the sea breaking on a single beach,
it is the tree's lament.
325
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:23,940
And here is speech.
326
00:28:24,810 --> 00:28:27,310
That happily to the unknown land may
reach.
327
00:28:27,670 --> 00:28:28,670
Unknown.
328
00:28:29,190 --> 00:28:31,970
Yet well known to the eye of faith.
329
00:28:32,590 --> 00:28:35,790
Ah, I have heard that wail far, far
away.
330
00:28:36,700 --> 00:28:42,380
Again, I have heard that wail far, far
away in distant lands by many a
331
00:28:42,380 --> 00:28:47,440
bay. When slumbered in his cave the
water rate and the waves gently kissed
332
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,460
classic shore of France or Italy beneath
the moon.
333
00:28:50,740 --> 00:28:57,280
So trying to blend both the Indian
landscape and then also the France and
334
00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:02,140
Italy. When earth lay tranced in
dreamless soon and every time the music
335
00:29:02,140 --> 00:29:04,380
before my inner vision rose.
336
00:29:04,830 --> 00:29:06,950
A form sublime. Thy form.
337
00:29:07,190 --> 00:29:10,350
O tree. As in my happy prime.
338
00:29:10,730 --> 00:29:12,210
This prime refers to her childhood.
339
00:29:12,510 --> 00:29:19,450
I saw thee in my own loved native clime.
In my own loved native clime. And
340
00:29:19,450 --> 00:29:21,650
then finally. The last stanza.
341
00:29:22,090 --> 00:29:23,370
Where she says.
342
00:29:23,950 --> 00:29:28,930
Therefore I fain would consecrate a lay
unto thy owner.
343
00:29:29,550 --> 00:29:34,030
I would consecrate a lay unto thy owner.
Tree.
344
00:29:34,730 --> 00:29:37,870
Beloved of those who now when blessed
sleep.
345
00:29:38,570 --> 00:29:41,010
Referring to her brother and sister.
346
00:29:41,350 --> 00:29:44,570
For I repose dearer than life to me.
347
00:29:44,810 --> 00:29:45,910
Alas were they.
348
00:29:46,250 --> 00:29:47,850
So her deep association.
349
00:29:48,910 --> 00:29:51,490
Mayest thou be numbered when my days are
done.
350
00:29:51,870 --> 00:29:54,910
Mayest thou be numbered when my days are
done.
351
00:29:55,630 --> 00:30:00,550
And see actually also maybe we can find
that there is a sort of premonition of
352
00:30:00,550 --> 00:30:01,519
her own death.
353
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:07,420
with deathless trees like those in
borrowdale and whose awful branches
354
00:30:07,420 --> 00:30:14,320
pale fear trembling hope and death the
skeleton and time the shadow and though
355
00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:19,700
weak the words that would thy beauty
feign oh feign rehearse may love defend
356
00:30:19,700 --> 00:30:26,420
thee from oblivion's curse here she also
reminds us of keats of
357
00:30:26,420 --> 00:30:30,300
some other poet who had seen death and
despair
358
00:30:31,070 --> 00:30:36,250
Many people often can say that he also
reminds the readers of Emily Dickinson
359
00:30:36,250 --> 00:30:40,750
who was also soaked in death like John
Key of English literature.
360
00:30:41,590 --> 00:30:48,230
Now what does this poem tell us and how
can this allow and
361
00:30:48,230 --> 00:30:52,790
enable us to understand Thoreau as an
authentic Indian English voice?
362
00:30:53,210 --> 00:30:57,450
Not only are there the Indian settings
and imageries, as you have already seen,
363
00:30:57,610 --> 00:31:01,330
the kokulas, the baboons on the trees,
which are a common sight.
364
00:31:01,650 --> 00:31:06,570
But then the beauty of the poem lies in
its picturesque quality.
365
00:31:06,970 --> 00:31:12,950
Fine. And it reminds us of the Keatsian
romanticism. So not only is Toru aware
366
00:31:12,950 --> 00:31:14,630
of at such an age.
367
00:31:14,850 --> 00:31:20,470
And, you know, Toru shared the fate of
John Keats, who also died so early, my
368
00:31:20,470 --> 00:31:21,470
dear friend.
369
00:31:21,770 --> 00:31:26,790
It is a traumatic recollection, but then
it is not devoid of the rhythmic
370
00:31:26,790 --> 00:31:33,210
quality and the musicality. So in a way,
Katsurana 3, which is one of the most
371
00:31:33,210 --> 00:31:39,770
famous poems of Tauru Dutt, not only
blends us to the Indian settings,
372
00:31:39,850 --> 00:31:46,270
but also it allows us to enter the inner
psyche of the poet
373
00:31:46,270 --> 00:31:47,890
who had preserved
374
00:31:48,620 --> 00:31:53,700
the tragedy who had preserved the
sufferings that she underwent after the
375
00:31:53,700 --> 00:32:00,320
of two of her dear and near siblings now
one can often
376
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:06,920
say that toru had the privilege of
getting education in a
377
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:12,820
foreign land but at the same time was
she also aware was there a sort of
378
00:32:12,820 --> 00:32:19,180
consciousness that she was an indian of
course In one of the poems which we have
379
00:32:19,180 --> 00:32:25,520
taken from the last collection, the
ancient ballads and legends of
380
00:32:25,620 --> 00:32:27,840
the poem entitled Lotus.
381
00:32:28,100 --> 00:32:34,780
And in this poem, not only does the poet
make use of very beautiful literary
382
00:32:34,780 --> 00:32:41,520
devices called personification, but at
the same time, she also refers to the
383
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:42,860
conflict of religions.
384
00:32:43,420 --> 00:32:49,500
And then she tries to prove how Indian
religion or Indian ethics or Indian
385
00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:55,780
settings or Indian psyche had something
that can make the world having a sort of
386
00:32:55,780 --> 00:33:00,680
wonder and awe. Let us have a look at
the lines of the poem in order to
387
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:05,600
understand not only the rhythmic quality
but the sort of philosophy that she
388
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,420
tries to weave beneath these lines.
389
00:33:09,130 --> 00:33:15,330
love came to flora asking for a flower
actually it talks about a flower and and
390
00:33:15,330 --> 00:33:20,870
here love has been personified love
wanted to know which is the loveliest we
391
00:33:20,870 --> 00:33:26,010
have been saying that when we talk about
poetry in poetry a flower is considered
392
00:33:26,010 --> 00:33:30,370
to be the queen of the garden the lady
of the garden fine and something of
393
00:33:30,370 --> 00:33:36,450
delight and here we find how a toru dat
in a very exquisite manner,
394
00:33:36,550 --> 00:33:43,350
tries to say that how Indian flower,
lotus, has its own
395
00:33:43,350 --> 00:33:50,070
importance. And she says, love came to
Flora asking for a flower that would
396
00:33:50,070 --> 00:33:52,810
all flowers be undisputed queen.
397
00:33:53,490 --> 00:33:58,130
The lily and the rose long, long had
been rivals for that owner.
398
00:33:59,110 --> 00:34:00,250
Bards of power.
399
00:34:00,710 --> 00:34:05,640
So when she says lily and rose, She is
referring to something else, not India.
400
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:11,860
Like the pale lily, birds apart had sung
their claims. The rose can never tower
401
00:34:11,860 --> 00:34:14,520
like the pale lily with her Juneau mind.
402
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,000
But is the lily lovelier?
403
00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,460
Thus between flower factions rang the
strife in Psyche's bower.
404
00:34:21,980 --> 00:34:27,620
Give me a flower delicious as the rose
and straightly as the lily in her pride.
405
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:29,139
But of what color?
406
00:34:29,820 --> 00:34:30,880
Rose red.
407
00:34:31,639 --> 00:34:32,639
So the flower says.
408
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:37,380
What color? Rose red. Love first chose.
409
00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:39,340
And then prayed. No.
410
00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:40,920
Lily white.
411
00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:42,420
Or both provide.
412
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,060
And flora gave the lotus.
413
00:34:45,940 --> 00:34:47,460
Rose red died.
414
00:34:47,820 --> 00:34:51,940
And lily white. The queenliest flower
that blows.
415
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:53,639
So through this poem.
416
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:55,679
The poetess.
417
00:34:56,100 --> 00:34:58,660
Actually wants to say.
418
00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:00,620
That the lotus.
419
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:08,020
has its own significant place even
though it may not till now it has
420
00:35:08,020 --> 00:35:14,780
not been considered to be as great as
lily and rose but then and flora gave
421
00:35:14,780 --> 00:35:21,480
lotus rose red dyed which has got both
rose but then red dyed
422
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:26,240
and lily white it has got the
combination of so here we can find a
423
00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:32,120
synthesis uh between uh not only between
two sorts of opinion but also between
424
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:36,680
two sorts of culture between two sorts
of religion between two and and you know
425
00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:43,540
she tries to clear this ambivalence so
that is why this poem appears to
426
00:35:43,540 --> 00:35:50,320
me one of my favorite ones now Before we
come on to assess Toru Dutt as
427
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:57,320
one very authentic Indian voice, you may
well understand that once when
428
00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:03,320
an Indian size was killed and the
matters came to the court, the judge
429
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:09,840
fined the killer only by avoiding a
punishment of two pawns.
430
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:17,050
And at that, Toru Dutt had responded,
you see, How cheap
431
00:36:17,050 --> 00:36:22,550
is the life of an Indian size in the
eyes of the British judge?
432
00:36:23,330 --> 00:36:29,270
And you know, since Toru was very witty,
at times he gave answers which could
433
00:36:29,270 --> 00:36:34,810
really not only surprise others, but
then it was not devoid of reality.
434
00:36:35,250 --> 00:36:41,950
Once upon a time, when an elderly
gentleman chided Toru by
435
00:36:41,950 --> 00:36:44,330
asking, why don't you get married?
436
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:48,680
And Toru had said, I was simply waiting
for your permission.
437
00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:55,580
So this was actually the beauty of Adi.
So little, so little a girl of 21 years
438
00:36:55,580 --> 00:37:02,320
old. But then she had within her a
heart, a psyche, a sort of
439
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:08,660
poetry which if could have been
preserved or if Toru could have lived
440
00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:13,420
she could really have been proved to be
an authentic indian voice which she is
441
00:37:13,420 --> 00:37:20,140
but she could have surpassed many so now
in order to assess toru's poetic corpus
442
00:37:20,140 --> 00:37:25,100
and her poetic qualities we can say that
toru was not like her predecessors and
443
00:37:25,100 --> 00:37:29,820
she was not only imitating of course her
education was in the west but just for
444
00:37:29,820 --> 00:37:34,390
some time but then she did not forget
Because she was very close to her
445
00:37:34,490 --> 00:37:38,010
And mother's stories had really worked
miracles my dear friend.
446
00:37:38,250 --> 00:37:43,710
So Toru blends personal and cultural
dimensions of her own experience.
447
00:37:44,210 --> 00:37:48,310
One poem after another you will find.
Whether it is Sita.
448
00:37:49,210 --> 00:37:56,130
Or it is Lakshman. Or it is the famous
poem. The Royal Asiatic and the Hind.
449
00:37:56,910 --> 00:37:58,770
You will be surprised to know.
450
00:37:59,190 --> 00:38:05,930
that Toru in her poem Lakshmana she has
delineated the picture
451
00:38:05,930 --> 00:38:12,670
of how when Sita had been asked to keep
herself confined to the line which was
452
00:38:12,670 --> 00:38:19,430
drawn by Lakshman and then when Marich
was
453
00:38:19,430 --> 00:38:26,010
hurt and he called oh Sita oh Lakshman
and whatsoever
454
00:38:26,010 --> 00:38:32,910
we find that Lakshman does not she is
not happy with Lakshman and she at
455
00:38:32,910 --> 00:38:39,670
times felt that Lakshman was not coming
to save her only because Lakshman had an
456
00:38:39,670 --> 00:38:46,570
eye on her but then Toru actually
delineates in such a
457
00:38:46,570 --> 00:38:52,990
manner later on Sita the simple woman
realizes in the same line
458
00:38:52,990 --> 00:38:59,920
we have another episode when King Bharat
Who himself was an ascetic.
459
00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:04,280
And in the forest. When a hind. A
pregnant hind.
460
00:39:04,620 --> 00:39:05,960
Was walking.
461
00:39:06,340 --> 00:39:10,280
Fine. Suddenly a lion appeared. And the
lion attacked the hind.
462
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:12,220
And out of fear.
463
00:39:12,460 --> 00:39:15,320
The hind could not control herself.
464
00:39:15,660 --> 00:39:17,580
And the child was born.
465
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:21,880
Now it was very difficult for the king.
What to do. Whether he should listen to
466
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:22,698
God's voice.
467
00:39:22,700 --> 00:39:24,040
Or he should become human.
468
00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:26,340
So king finally came.
469
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:30,320
and decided that he should help the
little child.
470
00:39:30,660 --> 00:39:37,120
So, by delineating this, see, actually,
I mean, Toru actually wanted to take a
471
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:42,740
dig on the sort of renunciation, on the
sort of such a life
472
00:39:42,740 --> 00:39:46,780
which is secluded from the human
welfare.
473
00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:53,620
Now, the question is, as rightly has
been said by Mehrotra in his famous
474
00:39:54,440 --> 00:40:00,360
toru's language and vision was crafted
out of an individual life and a
475
00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:06,040
sensibility that actually belongs to
modern india so people who are still
476
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:11,820
apprehensive and who are still
hesitating of calling toru a real indian
477
00:40:11,820 --> 00:40:17,780
may take a reply from this because
toru's vision radiates beyond the
478
00:40:17,780 --> 00:40:24,470
even though what was there in her psyche
she could portray and delineate her
479
00:40:24,470 --> 00:40:31,410
through her poems and as we have seen
that many of her poems of
480
00:40:31,410 --> 00:40:38,070
the last book that was published
posthumously are having a background of
481
00:40:38,070 --> 00:40:39,550
Indian myths and legions.
482
00:40:39,910 --> 00:40:46,550
Of course at times she makes uses of
archaism fine and many of her
483
00:40:46,550 --> 00:40:52,520
poems are having octosyllabic stanza and
verse forms.
484
00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:58,820
One beautiful quality of one of the
poems that the Lotus is, that it is
485
00:40:58,820 --> 00:41:05,560
fashioned in a Petrarchan stanza form,
where we find
486
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:12,420
the lines are patterned in such a way,
A, B, B, A, B, B, C,
487
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:18,700
C, like that. And finally, You find if
you go to the poem, you can find how she
488
00:41:18,700 --> 00:41:23,560
tries to maintain the quality, how she
tries to maintain the rhythmic quality.
489
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:31,260
Naik has rightly said about what Naik
says about her is really reminiscent
490
00:41:31,260 --> 00:41:35,300
of Toru being a true and authentic
Indian voice.
491
00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:42,120
What M .K. Naik says is her best work
has the qualities of a quiet strength,
492
00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:43,120
deep emotion.
493
00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:49,700
held under artistic restraint and an
acute awareness of the values of Indian
494
00:41:49,700 --> 00:41:56,160
life. So, my dear friends, when we
access Thoreau as a true,
495
00:41:56,320 --> 00:42:02,140
authentic Indian poet, we should also
remember how
496
00:42:02,140 --> 00:42:09,140
Thoreau had at the back of her mind the
Indian themes working
497
00:42:09,140 --> 00:42:14,010
and rightly has so written, In one of
her letters.
498
00:42:14,290 --> 00:42:17,330
To Clarissa Badger. Where she says.
499
00:42:17,570 --> 00:42:19,170
Because she has seen her mother.
500
00:42:19,850 --> 00:42:22,590
Who was an ardent Hindu.
501
00:42:23,090 --> 00:42:24,090
But then.
502
00:42:24,810 --> 00:42:26,890
When the family had embraced
Christianity.
503
00:42:27,110 --> 00:42:28,750
She followed. She tore the line.
504
00:42:29,150 --> 00:42:32,710
But she could not leave off. The Indian
values.
505
00:42:33,030 --> 00:42:36,110
And the Indian scriptural stories.
506
00:42:36,730 --> 00:42:37,870
And other myths.
507
00:42:38,190 --> 00:42:40,010
So Toru has rightly mentioned.
508
00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:47,440
can there be a more touching and lovable
heroine than sita now see toru had her
509
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:53,040
early life in france and england but
still she considers sita to be
510
00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:59,680
one of the most lovable heroines i do
not think so when i hear my mother chant
511
00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:06,520
in the evening the old lays of our
country i always almost weep
512
00:43:06,910 --> 00:43:10,930
And in one of the poems she says, who is
that lady weeping?
513
00:43:11,230 --> 00:43:16,210
Fine, she is not only referring to Sita,
she is also referring to her mother.
514
00:43:16,510 --> 00:43:22,370
The plant of Sita, when banished for the
second time, she wanders alone in the
515
00:43:22,370 --> 00:43:28,130
vast forest, despair and horror filling
her soul. It's so pathetic that I
516
00:43:28,130 --> 00:43:32,670
believe there is no one who could hear
it without shedding tears.
517
00:43:32,910 --> 00:43:36,170
And my dear friends, Toru's life also,
518
00:43:36,890 --> 00:43:43,790
was one such that when we are reminded
of her, that she produced such gems at
519
00:43:43,790 --> 00:43:50,590
such a tender age, but then she could
not survive the heat
520
00:43:50,590 --> 00:43:55,810
and the dust. And she died in 1877 of
consumption.
521
00:43:56,250 --> 00:44:02,570
And that is why I have been saying that
she shared her fortune with John Keats.
522
00:44:02,670 --> 00:44:06,090
With this, we come to the end of this
lecture.
523
00:44:06,570 --> 00:44:13,550
On to that, friend, I actually wanted to
give an elaborate talk, but this
524
00:44:13,550 --> 00:44:18,770
is not possible in a lecture of only 30
minutes.
525
00:44:18,990 --> 00:44:25,410
So, my dear friend, I allow you and I
think I request you to go more and more
526
00:44:25,410 --> 00:44:29,650
and the pieces of information which I
have provided.
527
00:44:30,330 --> 00:44:36,690
will take you to the beautiful corpus of
Thorudatta and her beautiful work.
528
00:44:36,890 --> 00:44:40,270
Thank you very much. I wish you all a
good day. Thank you.
49275
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