Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;...
These lines from Gitanjali, Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s famous collection of poems, always brightened the mornings of Balachandran M while pursuing his school education at Sainik School Kazhakootam in Thiruvananthapuram. And later, they followed him to the cobbled streets of Calcutta.
The lines rendered as everyday morning prayer in his school continue to inspire him even at the age of 62. Balachandran transformed into a writer during the lockdown days, inspired by the verses of Gitanjali. He has penned the Malayalam translation of the 103 poems into a book titled ‘Tagoreinte Gitanjali’. Though this is not the first Malayalam translation of the famous collection of Tagore, here the Malayalam and English verses are provided side by side.
Balachandran is elated as the book will be launched on August 21 in Kochi. He says it is an accomplishment of his one-and-a-half years of exploration in literature. “Our generation grew up on these poems. My school life, from 1969 to 1976, brought me closer to Gitanjali. When I flew to Calcutta in the 90s due to my job, the beauty of Tagore’s poems became more visible. Every household, both small and big, adored his works. They were part of common people’s lives there,” reminisce Balachandran.
Most members of his family have a part in the book. His daughter- actor Santhy Balachandran- has rendered abstract illustrations for poems. The original English verses and the Malayalam translation are placed side by side making it easy to understand. Balachandran says he has tried to give justice to the verses by preserving the soul of Tagore’s language.
“During the lockdown period, to relieve boredom we engaged in many creative engagements including literary works, on the school alumni WhatsApp group. So, I shared my translations of Gitanjali one by one. They received many accolades from my friends. Soon, in 2021, I decided to convert my translations into a book. After the final draft revision, I completed the book in March this year. The publisher suggested adding illustrations in the book and Santhy extended her help,” says.
Balachandran finds that with every read, the positivity filled in Tagore’s lines increases. “The poems may look simple and romantic but deep inside they are mystic. There are some poems about death, something we all fear. But Tagore has romanticised death and called it a renewal of life. I feel we should teach these poems in high school as it holds our Indian philosophy deep in them,” says Balachandran.
Poetic colours
Santhy with her abstract brush strokes in myriad colours gives a new life to Balachandran’s translations. A total of 16 illustrations, including the book cover, were painted by Santhy. She managed to create the paintings on her iPad in between her busy shooting schedules. “The poetry of Tagore was an inspiration to my images. I was playing with colours. It is my interpretation of the verses in the abstract,” says Santhy.