Fiction has a lot of power. Fiction reflecting life can change the course of an individual’s life. Young writer Gurleen Kaur shares with WSN readers how reading Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwala when she was barely 15 years old influenced her to read and how copying a painting from the novel inculcated the passion for painting which she pursues to this day. She pays tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his 159th birth anniversary through her reflections and painting a portrait of the poet-saint.

IFELL IN LOVE WITH THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD OF LITERATURE reading Rabindranath Tagore’s short story ‘Kabuliwala’. Barely 15 at that time, the stories engaged me and I had goosebumps reading the feelings that the characters incited. Engrossed in the stories, I was totally engaged with the author, feeling him telling me the story as a story-teller.

I remember how I tried to copy his painting from a magazine. That was the beginning of my journey into the world of artful expression, which continues to this day. My imagination knew no bounds and today it reaches unimaginable heights. ‘Writings never die and through them, a writer lives for eternity.’

I remember a time when I was sitting in the audience and enjoying a debate whose topic was ‘ Icons are always remembered’, the candidate who was speaking against the topic started his speech by quoting Shakespeare: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances.” So, when you are talking about the death of icons and their works being forgotten, you are still using their words, so one can imagine how strongly they are instilled and embedded in our minds.

The first Asian Nobel laureate and the first non-European to win the prize for literature, Rabindranath Tagore has also left a similar impact on our minds and has successfully marked his period with a legacy that would be always cherished and remembered. He proved by his writings that ‘pen is mightier than the sword.’ If we talk about ‘Literature’, it might seem to be just a word but the sphere of its meaning is immeasurable.

Art gives us the sensation of something deep and creative. Writing is a great art which provides an artistic lens and has the strength to leave a lasting impression and transform the world. A British poet, Arthur O’Shaughnessy, in his poem ‘We are the music makers’, referring to the artists says: “And out of a fabulous story, we fashion an empire’s glory.”

I remember how I tried to copy his painting from a magazine. That was the beginning of my journey into the world of artful expression, which continues to this day. My imagination knew no bounds and today it reaches unimaginable heights. ‘Writings never die and through them, a writer lives for eternity.’

Rabindranath Tagore was a true universalist. He was not parochial in his writings nor was he divisive in his approach in his fiction or other writings. He loved his mother tongue Bengali and this love is reflected in his vast works in Bengali.

An anecdote whose veracity I cannot vouch, but it is interesting to share. During one of his journey by sea, probably to the United Kingdom, a co-traveller asked him, “What have you experienced in this voyage?” Looking at the expanse of the sea around him, he said, “I realised God.” The person asked, “What is the first thing you did when God dawned on you?” Tagore replied, “I threw my shaving kit into the sea.”

His Sikh connection is intriguing and remarkable.

Famous Punjabi actor in Indian cinema Balraj Sahni in one of his interactions with Rabindranath Tagore asked him, “You have written the national anthem of India, why don’t you write one for the world?” Pat came the reply, “Guru Nanak has already written it through his celestial hymn Aarti – gagan mai thaal rav chand deepak banay taarikaa mandal janak motee.-‘In the bowl of the sky, the sun and moon are the lamps; the stars in the constellations are the pearls…

I yearn to go to Santiniketan one day to partake a little more of Rabindranath Tagore.

Tagore’s writings created an impression on me at a young age, gave wings to my imagination and I realise that with good literature one can fly anywhere and paint a new world on a new canvas with a new pattern.

Gurleen Kaur is a Punjab-based budding artist and writer, with a taste for Godliness, positivity and the goodness of the human race. She spends quality time with her parents and siblings enjoying the realities of life as they unfold.