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These lovely days of mine at the riverside passed by like so many dedicated lotus blossoms floating down the sacred stream. Some rainy afternoons I spent in a veritable frenzy, singing away old Vaishnava songs to my own tunes, accompanying myself on a harmonium. On other afternoons, we would drift along in a boat, my brother Jyotirindra accompanying my singing with his violin. And as, beginning with the Puravi, we went on varying the mode of our music with the declining day, we saw, on reaching the Behaga, the western sky close the doors of its factory of golden toys, and the moon on the east rise over the fringe of trees.
Then we would row back to the landing steps of the villa and seat ourselves on a quilt spread on the terrace facing the river. By then a silvery peace rested on both land and water, hardly any boats were about, the fringe of trees on the bank was reduced to a deep shadow, and the moonlight glimmered over the smooth flowing stream.
The villa we were living in was known as ‘Moran’s Garden’. A flight of stone-flagged steps led up from the water to a long, broad verandah which formed part of the house. The rooms were not regularly arranged, nor all on the same level, and some had to be reached by short flights of stairs. The big sitting room overlooking the landing steps had stained glass windows with coloured pictures.
Explanation:
The memories of his beautiful days at the river-side passed by him like how lotus flowers floated in the holy rivers.
His days passed like lotus blossoms floated down a sacred stream!
Sometimes, during rainy afternoons in his maddening enjoyment, he used to sing old Vaishnava songs (sacred songs of Hindus) with his tunes, while also playing the harmonium. Sometimes, he slowly floated along in a boat with his brother Jyotirindra singing songs, while his brother played the violin. They played the Hindustani Raag called "Puravi", which is usually sung during sunset time. As time passed, they moved to the Raag called "Behaga", which is usually sung during the second quarter of night (9 pm-midnight). They spent their evenings in the lap of nature, drifting along on boats, and singing various raagas. They finally saw the sky close down to the night and the rise of the moon clearly over the beautiful edges of trees, that seemed ornamentally lit up with the rise of the moon.
Then they rowed back to their villa. They sat on a warm bed arranged on their terrace, with a view of the river. By then the land and water had both calmed down - there were no boats seen, the edges of the trees looked calm in its shadows. The moonlight reflected and shone like silver in the smooth flowing river.
The moonlight shone on the trees, making it look like fringes!
Their villa was known as the "Moran's Garden". A series of steps made of rectangular blocks of stone led from the river bed to the long verandah, that formed the front part of the house.
A flight of stone-flagged steps led up from the water to a long, broad verandah!
The rooms were not on the same floor, to reach some rooms, one had to climb a short series of steps. The big hall had a view of the steps and was decorated with coloured glass windows with pictures.
Stained glass windows in the villa!
No. | Words | Meanings |
1 | veritable | a word used for emphasis |
2 | frenzy | a state of uncontrolled excitement or wild behaviour |
3 | fringe | an ornamental border of threads at the end of a cloth |
4 | quilt | a warm bed covering made of padding enclosed between layers of fabric |
5 | glimmered | shine faintly with a wavering light |
6 | stone-flagged | a flat stone, cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for paving platforms |
7 | flight | a series of steps |
8 | stained glass | coloured glass used to form decorative designs |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2019). Term-2 English Standard-8. My Reminiscence - Rabindranath Tagore(pp. 113-126). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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