Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 3

Letter ID: 811

Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar

August 31, 1936

I felt much moved at Mother’s feet at noon after the song on Krishna. Puranmal moved me much saying Krishna sat on the same throne with Mother. So now-a-days I feel a greater call to identify both of them and you in fact. This morning I got up at 4 a.m. and did japa, etc. long. After which I sang and felt very strong. I have a feeling that now ft will be over. On verra [We’ll see]. Anyhow I am determined never more to yield. This time the struggle was extraordinarily keen. Again and again I rejected but again and again I felt weak. Today however I feel free, thank your grace and Mother’s.

Very good.

I worked hard as usual. Multifarious press work, you know. Have ceased work only just now [5.30 p. m] to write to you. I enclose Vidya’s letter. I had chaffed her about never to say formal courteous things – so. Also my Hindi song I had sent her

ao aparupa kanta aisi chhabi bania

[come my beautiful beloved like a picture]

as she asked me for my Hindi song. She certifies it is fine Hindi. So I am now on sure ground. But it is descriptive Hindi – I can’t compose psychic songs, in Hindi. I don’t know Hindi well enough for that – not like Raihana or Harm. So. But anyhow I am so glad to be sure it sounds Hindi all right. You see I had an early gift for languages – but I don’t know Hindi thoroughly. I had once engaged an Urdu Professor at Calcutta to learn it and they all said (Malviyaji, Motilal Nehru, etc.) that my pronunciation was ideal. But it was because I was always a good reciter in all languages – when I sang German songs in Vienna they praised my accent, etc. The same in English. French songs I don’t know as well. But of course my Hindi pronunciation is all right. But look – I am running away babbling in forgetfulness that it is apropos of nothing. So I may halt to leave you to your more serious work.

I have written to Sotuda too sending him your last letter on astronomy and Bijoy Chatterji. That ought to buck him up.

Now to japa, etc.

He has sent a telegram that he has “lost his wife in the river”, prays for her soul’s peace! Strange!

One thing I am much struck by in Vidya’s letter: how can she have spotted the most beautiful songs in Bengali? She told me she learnt Bengali only for and in a few months. How can one learn a difficult language like ours and know which are the best songs? For the songs she quotes from my father’s and Atulprasad’s [she admires them, both great, she told me) are really of their very best. Intuition? What?

She must have the poetic sense – when one has that, one can catch the poetic quality in any language. But is Bengali sound difficult (pronunciation apart)? If one knows one other Indian language, it should rather be easy to pick up.

P.S. Today a cousin of mine has written that a sworn enemy of mine reading Suryamukhi said astonished: [Bengali word] Qu’en dites-vous? A sworn enemy, mind, who had been saying all sorts of things against me, what?