value), but the outstanding lines are 8-121 which have an extraordinary beauty. I might have put 4 lines, but remembering how you shouted against my first four lining effort, I curled back the impulse into myself and put three only.Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
Volume 2. 1938
Letter ID: 2196
Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar
September 23, 1938
“I gather from the fathomless depth of the Mind
Transparent thoughts that float through a crystal (trancèd) wind
To a spirit-sky and weave a memory
Around the starry flames (glimpse) of Infinity.”
I read your variation [glimpse] first as “stumps”. What a magnificent and original image! the starry stumps (or star-stumps) of infinity! But I fear alas that it would be condemned as surrealistic. I can’t make out the variation for “crystal”. Wearied? Tired of carrying tons of transparent thoughts? Surely not!
“... A sun-plumed Bird made of immortal Breath.”
A bird made of breath! Too surrealistic.
I have got some joy out of this poem. God knows whether that joy will be justified in your hands, or crucified! What more do you demand, Sir? Now please, fire away!
Exceedingly fine all through. The other 3 linings are mainly for the splendour and truth of the image (including of course the perfection in the expression, without which no image would have any value), but the outstanding lines are 8-121 which have an extraordinary beauty. I might have put 4 lines, but remembering how you shouted against my first four lining effort, I curled back the impulse into myself and put three only.
We are sorry to hear that you can’t decide about Bengali overhead poetry. I consider it a defect, Sir, in your poetic and supramental make-up, which you should try to remove or mend. A defect in the Supramental Avatar is – is – well, doesn’t fit!
Why a defect? In any case all qualities have their defects, which are also a quality. For the rest, by your logic I ought to be able to pronounce on the merits of Czechoslovakian or Arabic poetry. To pronounce whether a rhythm is O.P. or not one must have an infallible ear for the overtones and undertones of the sound music of the language – that expertness I have not got with regard to Bengali.
1 “Of a Presence in the heart of a diamond prayer.
No whirling tide of mortal dreams there brings
Waves of a silver passion on foam-wings:
Only in the eternal hush of space
Abides the beauty of the changeless Face.”