And your own people will
consider
you to be useless.
Tagore - Creative Unity
I must
go and meet him, and conquer him. "
But which way did he take?
_Minstrel_
He has entered the cave.
How is that? It is so fearfully dark. Did he, without making any
enquiries----
_Minstrel_
Yes, he went in to make enquiries himself.
When will he come back?
I don't believe he will ever come back.
But if Chandra leaves us, then life is not worth living.
What shall we say to our Leader?
The Leader also will leave us.
Didn't he leave any message for us before he disappeared?
_Minstrel_
He said, "Wait for me. I shall return. "
Return? How are we to know it?
_Minstrel_
He said, "I will conquer, and then come back again. "
Then we shall wait for him all night.
But, Minstrel, where have we got to wait for him?
_Minstrel_
Before that cave, from whence the stream of water comes flowing
out.
Which way did he go to get there?
The darkness there is like a dark sword.
_Minstrel_
He followed the sound of the night-bird's wings.
Why did you not go with him?
_Minstrel_
He left me behind to give you hope.
When did he go?
_Minstrel_
In the first hour of the watch.
Now the third hour has passed, I think. The air is chilly.
I dreamt that three women, with their hair hanging loose----
Oh, leave off your dream-women. I am sick of your dreams.
Everything appears darkly ominous. I didn't notice before the
hooting of the owl. But now----
Do you hear that dog whining on the far bank of the river?
It seems as though a witch were riding upon him and lashing him.
Surely, if it had been possible, Chandra would have come back by
now.
How I wish this night were over.
Do you hear the woman's cry?
Oh, the women, the women. They are ever crying and weeping. But
they cannot turn those back, who must go forward.
It is getting unbearable to sit still like this. Men imagine all
sorts of things when they sit still. Let us go also. As soon as
we are started on our way fear will leave us.
But who will show us the way?
There is the blind Minstrel.
What do you say, Minstrel? Can you show us the way?
_Minstrel_
Yes.
But we can hardly believe you. How can you find out the path by
simply singing?
If Chandra never comes back, you shall.
We never knew that we loved Chandra so intensely. We made light
of him all these days.
When we are in the playing mood, we become so intent on the play,
that we neglect the playmate.
But, if he once comes back, we shall never neglect him any more.
I am afraid that we have often given him pain.
Yet his love rose above all that. We never knew how beautiful he
was, when we could see him every day.
(_They sing. _)
_When there was light in my world
You stood outside my eyes.
Now that there is none,
You come into my heart.
When there were dolls for me, I played;
You smiled and watched from the door.
Now that the dolls have crumbled to dust,
You come and sit by me.
And I have only my heart for my music,
When my lute-strings have broken. _
That Minstrel sits so still and silent. I don't like it.
He looks ominous,--like the lowering autumn cloud.
Let us dismiss him.
No, no. It gives us heart, when he sits there.
Don't you see that there is no sign of fear in his face?
It seems as if some messages were striking his forehead. His body
appears to espy some one in the distance. There seem to be eyes
on the tips of his fingers.
Simply by watching him, we can see that some one is coming
through the dark.
Look. He is standing up. He is turning towards the East, and
making his obeisance.
Yet there is nothing to be seen, not even a streak of light.
Why not ask him what it is that he sees?
No, don't disturb him.
Do you know, it seems to me that the morning has dawned in him.
As if the ferry-boat of light had reached the shore of his
forehead.
His mind is still, like the morning sky.
The storm of birds' songs will burst out presently.
He is striking his lute. His heart is singing.
Hush. He is singing.
(_The Minstrel sings. _)
_Victory to thee, victory for ever,
O brave heart.
Victory to life, to joy, to love,
To eternal light.
The night shall wane, the darkness shall vanish,
Have faith, brave heart.
Wake up from sleep, from languor of despair,
Receive the light of new dawn with a song. _
(_A ray of light hovers before the cavern. _)
Ah! There he is. Chandra! Chandra!
Hush. Don't make any noise. I cannot see him distinctly.
Ah! It cannot be any other than Chandra.
Oh, what joy!
Chandra! Come!
Chandra! How could you leave us for so long?
Have you been able to capture the Old Man?
_Chandra_
Yes, I have.
But we don't see him.
_Chandra_
He is coming.
But what did you see in the cave? Tell us.
_Chandra_
No, I cannot tell you.
Why?
_Chandra_
If my mind were a voice, then I could tell you.
But could you see him, whom you captured? Was he the Old Man of
the World?
The Old Man who would like to drink up the sea of youth in his
insatiable thirst.
Was it the One who is like the dark night, whose eyes are fixed
on his breast, whose feet are turned the wrong way round, who
walks backwards?
Was it the One who wears the garland of skulls, and lives in the
burning-ground of the dead?
_Chandra_
I do not know, I cannot say. But he is coming. You shall see him.
_Minstrel_
Yes, I see him.
[_The light strengthens and gradually throughout the scene grows
to a culminating brilliance at the close. _]
Where?
_Minstrel_
Here.
He is coming out of the cave. --Some one is coming out of the
cave.
How wonderful.
_Chandra_
Why, it is you!
Our Leader!
Our Leader!
Our Leader!
Where is the Old Man?
_Leader_
He is nowhere.
Nowhere?
_Leader_
Yes, nowhere.
Then what is he?
_Leader_
He is a dream.
Then you are the real?
_Leader_
Yes.
And we are the real?
_Leader_
Yes.
Those who saw you from behind imagined you in all kinds of
shapes.
We didn't recognize you through the dust.
You seemed old.
And then you came out of the cave,--and now you look like a boy.
It seems just as if we had seen you for the first time.
_Chandra_
You are first every time. You are first over and over again.
_Leader_
Chandra! You must own your defeat. You couldn't catch the Old
Man.
_Chandra_
Let our festival begin. The sun is up.
Minstrel, if you keep so still, you will swoon away. Sing
something.
(_The Minstrel sings. _)
_I lose thee, to find thee back again and again,
My beloved.
Thou leavest me, that I may receive thee all the more, when thou
returnest.
Thou canst vanish behind the moment's screen
Only because thou art mine for evermore,
My beloved.
When I go in search of thee, my heart trembles, spreading ripples
across my love.
Thou smilest through thy disguise of utter absence, and my tears
sweeten thy smile. _
Do you hear the hum?
Yes.
They are not bees, but the people of the place.
Then Dada must be near at hand with his quatrains.
_Dada_
Is this the Leader?
Yes, Dada.
_Dada_
Oh, I am so glad you have come. I must read my collection of
quatrains.
No. No. Not the whole collection, but only one.
_Dada_
Very well. One will do.
The sun is at the gate of the East, his drum of victory sounding in
the sky.
The Night says I am blessed, my death is bliss.
He receives his alms of gold, filling his wallet,--and departs.
That is to say----
No. We don't want your that is to say.
_Dada_
It means----
Whatever it means, we are determined not to know it.
_Dada_
What makes you so desperate?
It is our festival day.
_Dada_
Ah! Is that so? Then let me go to all the neighbours----
No, you mustn't go there.
_Dada_
But is there any need for me here?
Yes.
Then my quatrains----
_Chandra_
We shall colour your quatrains with such a thick brush, that no
one will know whether they have any meaning at all.
And then you will be without any means.
The neighbourhood will desert you.
The Watchman will take you to be a fool.
And the Pundit will take you to be a blockhead.
And your own people will consider you to be useless.
And the outside people will consider you queer.
_Chandra_
But we shall crown you, Dada, with a crown of new leaves.
We shall put a garland of jasmine round your neck.
And there will be no one else except ourselves who will know your
true worth.
THE SONG OF THE FESTIVAL OF SPRING
[_In which all the persons of the drama, not excepting
Sruti-bhushan, unite on the main stage in the dance of Spring. _]
_Come and rejoice, for April is awake.
Fling yourselves into the flood of being, bursting the bondage of
the past.
April is awake.
Life's shoreless sea is heaving in the sun before you.
All the losses are lost, and death is drowned in its waves.
Plunge into the deep without fear, with the gladness of April in
your heart. _
* * * * *
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go and meet him, and conquer him. "
But which way did he take?
_Minstrel_
He has entered the cave.
How is that? It is so fearfully dark. Did he, without making any
enquiries----
_Minstrel_
Yes, he went in to make enquiries himself.
When will he come back?
I don't believe he will ever come back.
But if Chandra leaves us, then life is not worth living.
What shall we say to our Leader?
The Leader also will leave us.
Didn't he leave any message for us before he disappeared?
_Minstrel_
He said, "Wait for me. I shall return. "
Return? How are we to know it?
_Minstrel_
He said, "I will conquer, and then come back again. "
Then we shall wait for him all night.
But, Minstrel, where have we got to wait for him?
_Minstrel_
Before that cave, from whence the stream of water comes flowing
out.
Which way did he go to get there?
The darkness there is like a dark sword.
_Minstrel_
He followed the sound of the night-bird's wings.
Why did you not go with him?
_Minstrel_
He left me behind to give you hope.
When did he go?
_Minstrel_
In the first hour of the watch.
Now the third hour has passed, I think. The air is chilly.
I dreamt that three women, with their hair hanging loose----
Oh, leave off your dream-women. I am sick of your dreams.
Everything appears darkly ominous. I didn't notice before the
hooting of the owl. But now----
Do you hear that dog whining on the far bank of the river?
It seems as though a witch were riding upon him and lashing him.
Surely, if it had been possible, Chandra would have come back by
now.
How I wish this night were over.
Do you hear the woman's cry?
Oh, the women, the women. They are ever crying and weeping. But
they cannot turn those back, who must go forward.
It is getting unbearable to sit still like this. Men imagine all
sorts of things when they sit still. Let us go also. As soon as
we are started on our way fear will leave us.
But who will show us the way?
There is the blind Minstrel.
What do you say, Minstrel? Can you show us the way?
_Minstrel_
Yes.
But we can hardly believe you. How can you find out the path by
simply singing?
If Chandra never comes back, you shall.
We never knew that we loved Chandra so intensely. We made light
of him all these days.
When we are in the playing mood, we become so intent on the play,
that we neglect the playmate.
But, if he once comes back, we shall never neglect him any more.
I am afraid that we have often given him pain.
Yet his love rose above all that. We never knew how beautiful he
was, when we could see him every day.
(_They sing. _)
_When there was light in my world
You stood outside my eyes.
Now that there is none,
You come into my heart.
When there were dolls for me, I played;
You smiled and watched from the door.
Now that the dolls have crumbled to dust,
You come and sit by me.
And I have only my heart for my music,
When my lute-strings have broken. _
That Minstrel sits so still and silent. I don't like it.
He looks ominous,--like the lowering autumn cloud.
Let us dismiss him.
No, no. It gives us heart, when he sits there.
Don't you see that there is no sign of fear in his face?
It seems as if some messages were striking his forehead. His body
appears to espy some one in the distance. There seem to be eyes
on the tips of his fingers.
Simply by watching him, we can see that some one is coming
through the dark.
Look. He is standing up. He is turning towards the East, and
making his obeisance.
Yet there is nothing to be seen, not even a streak of light.
Why not ask him what it is that he sees?
No, don't disturb him.
Do you know, it seems to me that the morning has dawned in him.
As if the ferry-boat of light had reached the shore of his
forehead.
His mind is still, like the morning sky.
The storm of birds' songs will burst out presently.
He is striking his lute. His heart is singing.
Hush. He is singing.
(_The Minstrel sings. _)
_Victory to thee, victory for ever,
O brave heart.
Victory to life, to joy, to love,
To eternal light.
The night shall wane, the darkness shall vanish,
Have faith, brave heart.
Wake up from sleep, from languor of despair,
Receive the light of new dawn with a song. _
(_A ray of light hovers before the cavern. _)
Ah! There he is. Chandra! Chandra!
Hush. Don't make any noise. I cannot see him distinctly.
Ah! It cannot be any other than Chandra.
Oh, what joy!
Chandra! Come!
Chandra! How could you leave us for so long?
Have you been able to capture the Old Man?
_Chandra_
Yes, I have.
But we don't see him.
_Chandra_
He is coming.
But what did you see in the cave? Tell us.
_Chandra_
No, I cannot tell you.
Why?
_Chandra_
If my mind were a voice, then I could tell you.
But could you see him, whom you captured? Was he the Old Man of
the World?
The Old Man who would like to drink up the sea of youth in his
insatiable thirst.
Was it the One who is like the dark night, whose eyes are fixed
on his breast, whose feet are turned the wrong way round, who
walks backwards?
Was it the One who wears the garland of skulls, and lives in the
burning-ground of the dead?
_Chandra_
I do not know, I cannot say. But he is coming. You shall see him.
_Minstrel_
Yes, I see him.
[_The light strengthens and gradually throughout the scene grows
to a culminating brilliance at the close. _]
Where?
_Minstrel_
Here.
He is coming out of the cave. --Some one is coming out of the
cave.
How wonderful.
_Chandra_
Why, it is you!
Our Leader!
Our Leader!
Our Leader!
Where is the Old Man?
_Leader_
He is nowhere.
Nowhere?
_Leader_
Yes, nowhere.
Then what is he?
_Leader_
He is a dream.
Then you are the real?
_Leader_
Yes.
And we are the real?
_Leader_
Yes.
Those who saw you from behind imagined you in all kinds of
shapes.
We didn't recognize you through the dust.
You seemed old.
And then you came out of the cave,--and now you look like a boy.
It seems just as if we had seen you for the first time.
_Chandra_
You are first every time. You are first over and over again.
_Leader_
Chandra! You must own your defeat. You couldn't catch the Old
Man.
_Chandra_
Let our festival begin. The sun is up.
Minstrel, if you keep so still, you will swoon away. Sing
something.
(_The Minstrel sings. _)
_I lose thee, to find thee back again and again,
My beloved.
Thou leavest me, that I may receive thee all the more, when thou
returnest.
Thou canst vanish behind the moment's screen
Only because thou art mine for evermore,
My beloved.
When I go in search of thee, my heart trembles, spreading ripples
across my love.
Thou smilest through thy disguise of utter absence, and my tears
sweeten thy smile. _
Do you hear the hum?
Yes.
They are not bees, but the people of the place.
Then Dada must be near at hand with his quatrains.
_Dada_
Is this the Leader?
Yes, Dada.
_Dada_
Oh, I am so glad you have come. I must read my collection of
quatrains.
No. No. Not the whole collection, but only one.
_Dada_
Very well. One will do.
The sun is at the gate of the East, his drum of victory sounding in
the sky.
The Night says I am blessed, my death is bliss.
He receives his alms of gold, filling his wallet,--and departs.
That is to say----
No. We don't want your that is to say.
_Dada_
It means----
Whatever it means, we are determined not to know it.
_Dada_
What makes you so desperate?
It is our festival day.
_Dada_
Ah! Is that so? Then let me go to all the neighbours----
No, you mustn't go there.
_Dada_
But is there any need for me here?
Yes.
Then my quatrains----
_Chandra_
We shall colour your quatrains with such a thick brush, that no
one will know whether they have any meaning at all.
And then you will be without any means.
The neighbourhood will desert you.
The Watchman will take you to be a fool.
And the Pundit will take you to be a blockhead.
And your own people will consider you to be useless.
And the outside people will consider you queer.
_Chandra_
But we shall crown you, Dada, with a crown of new leaves.
We shall put a garland of jasmine round your neck.
And there will be no one else except ourselves who will know your
true worth.
THE SONG OF THE FESTIVAL OF SPRING
[_In which all the persons of the drama, not excepting
Sruti-bhushan, unite on the main stage in the dance of Spring. _]
_Come and rejoice, for April is awake.
Fling yourselves into the flood of being, bursting the bondage of
the past.
April is awake.
Life's shoreless sea is heaving in the sun before you.
All the losses are lost, and death is drowned in its waves.
Plunge into the deep without fear, with the gladness of April in
your heart. _
* * * * *
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