Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 2. 1934 — 1935

Letter ID: 649

Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar

November 18, 1935

Will see to your song, but today too much correspondence in spite of the notice. But Mother is rather alarmed by the length of the song; how can that be finished in two and a half minutes? She is very particular that the programme should not be exceeded; for she fixed it at the very maximum that (non-musical) European listeners can be expected to hear without losing interest or feeling fatigue. There is only one, a Mr. Cime, who is an addict of Indian music, the rest – He however is also a busy man who cannot be expected to give more than an hour at most to much aesthetic and un-administrative relaxations. If the function is to be a success, the time limit is of great importance.

I return your letters. Evidently the reading public is of a different opinion from the high brow critics. But I hope that you are reading all these letters with a high Yogic equanimity and that your ego (like a Mr. Jack Horner¹ in his corner) is not indulging in a chuckle or at least a secret beatific smile. For he is getting plenty of pie.

¹ An English nursery rhyme:

Little Jack Horner

Sat in a corner

Eating his Christmas pie

He put in his thumb

And pulled out a plum

And said, “What a good boy am I!”

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