More Tagore

part of my series on Indian Literature

I  am becoming absolutely enthralled by the writing of Rabindranath Tagore. It is having much the same effect on me as reading  Pablo Coelho when I first encountered him.

My slow tasting of his The Crescent Moon continues. I have just read a half dozen or so passages which I most ardently recommend any parent to read. They simply ooze parental love.  Here is just one.

 Photo: Bozo fisherman and child, Mali 2006.

When and Why

WHEN I bring you coloured toys, my child, I understand why there is such a play of colours on clouds, on water, and why flowers are painted in tints--when I give coloured toys to you, my child.

When I sing to make you dance, I truly know why there is music in leaves, and why waves send their chorus of voices to the heart of the listening earth--when I sing to make you dance.
When I bring sweet things to your greedy hands, I know why there is honey in the cup of the flower, and why fruits are secretly filled with sweet juice--when I bring sweet things to your greedy hands.
When I kiss your face to make you smile, my darling, I surely understand what pleasure streams from the sky in morning light, and what delight the summer breeze brings to my body--when I kiss you to make you smile.

I just love the way he uses nature to explain love – the simple, spiritual ties that bind Man to Earth, parent to child.