Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1

Letter ID: 354

Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar

April 3, 1933

I am feeling fairly well – though not on the top of the weather. I have just finished a fairly long poem, a little in the sad vein, though not melancholy which I’ll send you. I am much encouraged by your approval of yesterday’s poem. My gratitude.

In the meanwhile please read the letter enclosed. The context: I had sent to Tagore my translation of one of Mother’s prayers. He praised the translation (he genuinely praised three others too I sent him: “Tears,” “Discipline,” “Chaque fois un cœur tressaille,” suggesting the alteration of just a word or two which I thankfully accepted) but wrote to me that in “tomar puraskar” I have committed chhanda patan [break in metre] as gūrha = gū-ra-ha = three syllables [?] whereas I have given it the value of two beats only. [...] However that may be, he could not refrain from praising my translations of Mother’s Prayers and A. E.’s “Krishna” and this poem on Shiva, for which I am rather joyous as these must have moved him a little genuinely – otherwise he would not have gone out of his way to bestow me a compliment which naturally I greatly value if it comes from his real appreciation of my achievement. [...] However I am glad Tagore is gradually relenting towards me.

(Sri Aurobindo’s reply:)

Tagore’s mistake

It is really astonishing and enough to make one gasp. I suppose he wanted to have three syllables from a sense of the length possibilities of the vowel gūrha and invented this hair-raising theory to justify his preference.