The towering presence of Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European Nobel laureate, dominates the history of Bengali literature like no one else. He is so influential that literary historians divided eras before and after Tagore.
The relationship between Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam is a fascinating yet often misunderstood aspect of this era. Many people use them as a political tool. However, a long-standing 'debate' exists regarding their supposed 'rivalry.' Was there any 'rivalry' at all?
Still, historical evidence suggests this conflict was largely a creation of the literary public rather than the poets themselves.
The friction began in the early 1920s following the publication of Nazrul's explosive poem Bidrohi (The Rebel).
The genesis of the debate
Shonibarer Chithi (The Saturday Letter), led by Sajanikanta Das, was the self-appointed guardian of tradition.
They viewed Nazrul's 'loud' and 'rebellious' style as a threat to the aesthetic refinement established by Tagore. Their criticism was often satirical mocking Nazrul's use of Persian and Arabic words as linguistic pollution.
Interestingly, they eventually attacked Tagore too when they felt he was becoming too supportive of the 'modernists.'
Kallol was in the 'rebel' camp. Many younger modernist writers, including Buddhadeb Basu and Premendra Mitra, celebrated Nazrul as a symbol of literary rebellion.
They argued that Tagore's idealism was detached from the gritty, post-WWI reality of poverty and urban struggle. They championed Nazrul's Bidrohi because it broke the 'melodious' mould of Bengali poetry, bringing a raw, masculine energy.
Debate over modernism
The tension reached such a peak that Tagore actually presided over two meetings in March 1927 to mediate between the Kallol group and the traditionalists.
Tagore wasn't opposed to modernism, but he famously criticised some younger writers for 'flaunting poverty' and focusing on 'lust' to appear realistic.
He later satirised this entire literary squabble in his famous novel Shesher Kabita, where the protagonist, Amit Ray, is a modernist who initially mocks Tagore's style.
Professional respect
Despite the media-driven rivalry, the poets' internal views of each other were remarkably consistent and respectful.
Nazrul famously referred to Tagore as Gurudev and considered himself a disciple.
In his 1925 essay, Amar Koifiyat (My Explanation), Nazrul clarified that his deviation from Tagore's style was a matter of necessity for the 'hungry and oppressed' of his era, not a rejection of Tagore's genius.
Tagore's support for Nazrul was equally firm. In 1923, while Nazrul was imprisoned in Hooghly Jail for his poem Anandamayir Agamane, Tagore dedicated his play Basanta to him.
According to the biography Rabindranath Tagore: A Celebration of His life and Work, Tagore justified this by stating that Nazrul had 'awakened the soul of the nation.'
Tagore is said to have warned that Nazrul was ‘shaving with a sword’ — a metaphor often interpreted as concern that immense poetic power was being spent too intensely on immediate political passions.
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