Different Ideologies of Sandip and Nikhilesh in Rabindranath Tagore's novel 'Home and the World'

Assignment-1

Academic Information:

Name: Insiyafatema Alvani 

Batch: 2023-2024 (M.A Sem 3) 

Roll no: 11

Enrolment number: 4069206420220001

Paper: 201 - Indian English Literature – Pre-Independence 

Paper Code: 22406

Topic: Different Ideologies of Sandip and Nikhilesh in Rabindranath Tagore's novel 'Home and the World'

Submitted to: S. B. Gardi Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Email id: insiyafatemaalvani@gmail.com

Rabindranath Tagore:

Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta, India, on May 7, 1861. He was the son of Debendranath Tagore, a prominent philosopher and religious reformer. Throughout his childhood, Tagore was educated by tutors and wrote extensively, despite a marked disinterest for traditional schooling. In 1877, he sailed to England to study. He remained for just fourteen months, during which he was schooled in Brighton, East Sussex and at University College, where he studied law and attended lectures on English literature. He expressed dissatisfaction with the constraints of Western educational practices in England, however, and returned to India. Throughout his career, Tagore not only wrote and translated poetry, but published numerous novels, short stories, plays, letters, essays, memoirs, and criticism. He was also known for his musical compositions. Tagore’s most notable work of poetry is ‘Gitanjali’ Song Offerings (Macmillan, 1912), for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. He was the first non-European, as well as the first lyricist, to win the prize.

Literary Works:

Rabindranath Tagore wrote various poetry, novels, and short tales throughout his lifetime. Though he began writing at an early age, his ambition to produce more creative works only grew after the loss of his wife and his children.

Novels:

His books are believed to be the most underappreciated of his works. His work ‘Shesher Kobita’ told its plot through poetry and the main protagonist’s rhythmic sections. He also added a sarcastic touch to it by having his characters make fun of an out-of-date poet titled Rabindranath Tagore! His other well-known books are ‘Noukadubi,’ ‘Gora,’ ‘Chaturanga,’ ‘Ghare Baire,’ and ‘Jogajog.’

Short stories:

Tagore began writing short tales as a teenager. His literary career began with ‘Bhikharini.’ During the early stages of his profession, his tales reflected his environment. He also made it a point to include social themes and poor man’s troubles in his novels. He also did write about the disadvantages of Hindu marriages and some other traditions that were common in the country At the time. Among his many famous short stories are ‘Kabuliwala,’ ‘Kshudita Pashan,’ ‘Atottju,’ ‘Haimanti,’ and ‘Musalmanir Golpo.’

Poems:

Rabindranath was inspired by old poets such as Kabir and Ramprasad Sen. Interestingly, he wrote a poem in 1893 and dedicated it to a future poet. While reading the poem, he exhorted the yet-to-be-born poet to recall Tagore and his works. Among his outstanding works are ‘Balaka,’ ‘Purobi,’ ‘Sonar Tori,’ and ‘Gitanjali.’

Nobel Prize:

Tagore won many prizes. He won the Literature Nobel Prize in 1913. Just after the Jallianwala Bagh murder in 1919, he resigned the knighthood rank he had received from King George V in 1915. Eventually, in March 2004, the Nobel Prize was taken from Visva-Bharati, and the Swedish Academy delivered two copies of the prize—one made of gold and the other of bronze—that December. But in 2016, the robbers’ hiding place was discovered, and the treasure was retrieved.

The publication of Gitanjali was the most significant event in Tagore’s writing career, for, following the volume’s appearance, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913—the first such recognition of an Eastern writer. Gitanjali was written shortly after the deaths of Tagore’s wife, his two daughters, his youngest son, and his father. Gitanjali was his inner search for peace and a reaffirmation of his faith in his Jivan devata. Its central theme was the realization of the divine through self-purification and service to humanity. When presenting Tagore the Nobel Prize, Harold Hjarne noted, “The Gitanjali is Mysticism, but not a mysticism that, relinquishing personality, seeks to become absorbed in the All to a point of Nothingness, but one that, with all the faculties of soul at highest pitch, eagerly sets forth to meet the Living Father of all Creation.” The publication of Gitanjali was followed by five major poetical works in English translation: The Gardener (1913), The Crescent Moon (1913), Fruit-Gathering (1916), Lover’s Gift and Crossing (1918), and The Fugitive and Other Poems (1919). 

Death:

The final four years of Rabindranath Tagore’s life, were spent in excruciating suffering, and he battled two protracted illnesses. He fell into a comatose state in 1937, which returned three years later. Tagore passed away on August 7, 1941, within the same Jorasanko home where he was raised, after enduring a protracted period of pain.

Rabindranath Tagore made an indelible mark on many people by changing how the Bengali language was seen. Aside from several of his statues and sculptures that have been constructed across the world, various yearly activities honor the great author. Many of his works have gone international owing to a slew of translations by well-known foreign authors. Tagore has five museums devoted to him. Three reside in India, while the other two reside in Bangladesh. Millions of people visit the museums that contain his iconic masterpieces each year.

Home and the World:

The Home and the World is a phenomenal work of Indian literature by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It takes a global view of the concept of nationalism and patriotism. The novel is set in Bengal, during the pre-independence era of Indian political and domestic life in the background of the Swadeshi Movement. The Swadeshi Movement began in 1905 and gained major force against the decision on division of Bengal. Swadeshi Movement was started as a protest against the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905. Swadeshi is the activity of the country in which all people take part. Any action, any product or, service produced domestically in the country qualifies to be called Swadeshi if in its production people and their communities are directly involved. And a rejection of all foreign made products. The Swadeshi Movement can be seen as the attempt to boycott British commodities as a protest against the British government. The famous figure of Swadeshi Mahatma Gandhi. He proposes the Swadeshi as a form of passive resistance and non-violent movement.

The novel The Home and the World focuses on the narrative of three different characters: Nikhil, a wealthy landlord, Bimala, Nikhil’s wife and Sandip, a radical nationalist leader, whose home as well as the World gets involved in the contemporary political atmosphere due to their involvement in the Swadeshi Movement. Bimala represents Bengal, who is torn between Nikhil and Sandip’s ideologies. According to Tolstoy  “The new woman was to be an educated and brave wife as an appropriate partner of an English educated nationalist man, able to run an ‘efficient’ and ‘orderly home’ like her Western counterpart, be high-minded and spiritual like the women of the ‘golden’ age, become ‘grahalakshmi’ like the Divine Lakshmi and fulfill her primary role as a courageous mother producing heroic children for the service of the nation. If the model was absurd, and inimitable, and indeed full of contradictions, no one was bothered. That was the new woman the nation needed, and it was the women’s duty to live up to it.” 

Although the women’s duty as a householder and the wife was necessary, the Bengali middle class was becoming strongly influenced by the Victorian England, which allowed the “re-ordering of women into new models.

Nikhil and Sandip are portrayed as flat characters, different from Bimala who is portrayed as a round character. Sandip and Nikhil represent different ideologies existing in India in the early twentieth century. They have the tendency to be flat characters as they symbolize ideologies which do not change throughout time. The existence of these two characters brings different insights for Bimala and changes her mind, molding her into a round character. Nikhil and Sandip represent the moderate nationalist ideology and extreme nationalist ideology, and those ideologies are portrayed as contradictory. This contradiction shows Tagore’s objection on the issue of extreme nationalism. If we relate this case to the ending of the story, we can see that Tagore tries to open the minds of the readers by presenting his ideology through the character of Nikhil. Yet, at the end of the story, he makes a twisted plot which seems to undermine and doubt his own ideas of freedom. The tragic death of Nikhil signifies Tagore’s skepticism towards the future of India. He was anxious that India’s future will be ideal as dreamed by many people inside the country. Bimala’s fate can be seen as the representation of India’s fate. Readers cannot predict Bimala’s fate because of the tragic accident that happens to her husband. This event raises many questions about the continuity of her life, which symbolizes the future of India. India still does not have a certain future. The crossroad of her life makes the story more complicated. We can see that Bimala’s confusion upon the choice is India’s hesitation in facing a new era.There are three distinctive views on nationalism presented in this novel through the key characters, Nikhil, Bimala, and Sandip.

Home and the World as a Indian political Novel:

Rabindranath Tagore’s The Home and the World is usually read in terms of an allegory, either on the historical event of partition of Bengal in 1905 or on the nationalist worship of Mother India around the turn of the twentieth century. The Home and the World was published ten years after the vexing partition of Bengal and the beginning of the magic incantation of “Bande Mataram,” first in Bengali (1915), and then in English (1919). The Swadeshi movement, which emerged in the wake of the Partition, did not only mobilize Bengal but also spread throughout India as the “beginning of a truly national movement and a struggle between the men and methods that were to lead it”. Tagore chose Bengal as the setting for his novel not only because Bengal was his home, but also because it was the center of the colonial administration which, in 1905, initiated the so-called Act of Partition, dividing Bengal into a Muslim part and a Hindu part. This division was to create hate and distrust between the two parts, and hate and distrust have lasted until the present day, becoming one of the traumas of Indian nationalism. The Home and the World is pivotal in Tagore's rejection of mass action as a force destructive to freedom and individuality. As well, the novel clearly anticipates his eventual rejection of nationalism as a frightening expression of this mass action. 

The story starts with the quiet, happy conjugality of Nikhil and Bimala. Their home was all peaceful, amorous and congenial. All that Nikhil desired was to bring his wife out of the narrow home to the wide world in order to know her more fully. However it was Sandip’s arrival, his intoxicant political views and his personal enchantment that stirred Bimala’s serene center, her home – and brought her out of the whirlwind of politics in the wide world outside. She was fascinated by Sandip’s stirring speeches and Swadeshi slogans and also by his romantic adoration of her as Mother India. Again on the basis of the stark contrast between Nikhil and Sandip Tagore’s The Home and the World has suffered much criticism from the contemporary Swadeshi leaders. Contextually Bipin Pal commented, “Rabindranath had not understood the essence of Swadeshi itself.” The novel therefore remains as it does a specimen of Tagore’s remarkable understanding of the fragility of the destructive temperament, during the Swadeshi era. Herein Nikhil’s comment seems to be the most relevant since he in the course of the novel acts as Tagore’s spokesman- “you should not waste even the tenth part of your energy in the destructive excitement.”

Different Ideologies of Sandip and Nikhilesh on Nationalism in Novel:

Rabindranath Tagore, a worshiper of universal humanism, depicts two different streams of Nationalism in his novel The Home and the World. The first stream may be termed as Moderation that articulates essentially pure patriotism without showing the aggressiveness of the Extremism that is the other stream. Both these streams surely are built on the basis of ideals and the followers are motivated according to their beliefs. In this novel Nikhil is a personification of moderate politics whereas Sandip represents aggressive nationalism throughout the novel. The relationship between Sandip and Nikhil, despite being good friends, is one of extreme duality. 

Sandip's Perspective on Nationalism:

Sandip, a central character in the novel, embodies a fervent and assertive stance on nationalism. His ideology is characterized by passionate advocacy for immediate and radical change in the pursuit of nationalistic goals. Sandip is driven by an unwavering belief in the power of intense action, often bordering on the revolutionary. His view suggests that a swift and bold approach is essential to reshape the nation and address its challenges. Sandip is a strong and aggressive character who is very much a militant nationalist in his approach. Being an openly vocal character, Sandip does not hesitate to declare that "My country … becomes mine on the day when I am able to win it by force.". Tagore’s development of the character of Sandip is one in which one sees the calculating self- interest masked in the facade of nationalism and public interest. When he escapes, Tagore makes it clear that he is doing so for his own self- interest and no other reason. Sandip's character contributes a sense of urgency and dynamism to the narrative, challenging conventional notions of nationalism.

Nikhilesh's Perspective on Nationalism:

In contrast to Sandip, Nikhilesh offers a more contemplative and principled perspective on nationalism. He values enduring principles and advocates for a patient, well-thought-out approach to national transformation. Nikhilesh believes that lasting change requires careful consideration and adherence to timeless values, emphasizing the importance of a measured and sustainable path towards progress. His character introduces a sense of reflection and caution, presenting an alternative viewpoint that adds depth to the exploration of nationalism in the novel. He holds no personal agenda of manipulation and is rather honorable in trying to get Bimala to take stock of the world and her place in it. Nikhil is the passive and mature thinker who is strongly against violence and extreme nationalism. Being a strong believer in rational thought and action, Nikhil believes that, “To worship my country as a god is to bring a curse upon it.” Nikhil sacrifices himself for people he does not know. This demonstrates how a universal understanding of what it means to love and care for others in a sense that is not contingent is more difficult, but more rewarding from a moral and ethical point of view. Here, Tagore makes it clear that universality, and understanding the implications of it, is far more beneficial than a position of temporality and contingency. 

Conclusion:

In the novel, the juxtaposition of Sandip and Nikhilesh’s contrasting perspectives on nationalism creates a rich tapestry of ideas. While Sandip champions a bold and immediate approach, emphasizing revolutionary fervor, Nikhilesh advocates for a more measured and principled transformation, grounded in enduring values. This dichotomy not only adds complexity to the narrative but also prompts readers to reflect on the multifaceted nature of nationalism. The tension between these characters serves as a compelling exploration of the varied ideologies that shape the discourse around patriotism and societal change, ultimately contributing to the novel's depth and resonance. In the novel Tagore, through the political dynamics created, articulates a nationalism that is humane and in which all Indians could participate as equals, where men and women would be tied together by trust, truth, and love. This novel represents Tagore’s perspective in seeing the effect of Swadeshi to India. Furthermore, we can conclude that this novel reveals the ideological conflicts which are happening in the society as the result of modernization and British colonization. This revelation can be seen in the way Tagore contrasts the views of western ideology and eastern ideology through characters Nikhil, Sandip, and Bimala. 

(words - 2,605,  Images - 3)

Refrences:

Frenz, Horst. “Rabindranath Tagore – Biographical - NobelPrize.org.” Nobel Prize, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1913/tagore/biographical/. Accessed 27 November 2023.

Monika. “Understanding Nationalism through Tagore's Novel The Home and the World.” Upstream Research International Journal, Jan 2018, https://eupstream.com/images/journal/jan2018/monika.pdf. Accessed 27 November 2023.

Sardar, Subrata. “The Home and the World: Compare and Contrast the characters of Sandip and Nikhilesh.” Academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/40807426/The_Home_and_the_World_Compare_and_Contrast_the_characters_of_Sandip_and_Nikhilesh. Accessed 27 November 2023.