Rabindranath Tagore

Since I picked up reading the newspaper everyday quite young, I had to graduate to reading short stories, novels, articles, sooner than later.

Short stories by Rabindranath Tagore was available in our school library and so were the volumes of the Arabian Nights and other Fairy Tale books.

I was the only girl in school to have finished reading all the English books on the shelves! My English teacher who was a delicate darling used to love me for it. I used to shy away from her open praises in front of the entire class though I liked it deep inside my heart.
Due to such motivation, I used to score the highest in English. It was also easy to understand and write something on the other subjects which were taught in English. So passing was never a problem in any of the exams I would attempt!!

Coming back to Tagore's short stories.
I just loved them all. They were all so sensitive. Full of human feelings which are part of all our lives. They have moved me to tears many times. I still remember getting immersed in reading the story of a dumb girl who has large beautiful eyes. Her only companion, the cow seemed to understand her feelings so much better than all those human beings who would pass snide remarks against her handicap. But she was lucky that her husband-to-be understood her and wanted to marry her only in the end. This one had a happy ending but not all were with similar endings.
I have read and re-read his short stories and novels many times even before reaching my teens.

How I used to enjoy reading the 1001 stories the shehzadi narrated to the king to escape the death sentence.
Then there were those wonderful Aesop's fables too.

I would make a list of all of Tagore's writings and then search for the ones I may have missed reading in the school library. This led me to nearby lending libraries in search of his books. Then I began reading other books too. Very early on, it had become such a habit that I could not sleep without reading at least one magazine or some book on any subject, besides the daily newspaper. I had everything to gain so no complaints!

Mahalakshmi