Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 2. 1938

Letter ID: 2197

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

September 24, 1938

In yesterday’s poem, I am much tempted to take the “stumps”, even if it is surrealistic. Who cares what it is when you find it magnificent? It was not “wearied wind” but “tranced wind”. Oh dear, dear!

Don’t do it, sir, or you will get stumped. The “star-stumps” are “magnificent” from the humorous-reckless-epic point of view, but they can’t be taken seriously. Besides you would have to change all into the same key, e.g.

“I slog on the boundless cricket field of Mind

Transparent thoughts that cross like crystal wind

God’s wicket-keeper’s dance of mystery

Around the starry-stumps of infinity.”

I am sorry that you didn’t put 4 lines. My shout, you see, was due to a shock – seeing 4 lines – a shock of delight.

It didn’t sound like it!

You are surprised at Chand’s cleverness! Well, Sir, your non-committal Supramental answers are sometimes damned puzzling, so I wouldn’t blame him. Anyhow, shall I pass on the remark to him?

You can if you like. But he ought to have known that “Well, well” in English is not a shout of approbation, but philosophically non-committal.

It seems he has disposed of his mother’s ornaments which were trustingly deposited with him, to pull out a friend from difficulty. His mother has detected the “robbery” by his own admission.

Obviously it must be that – unless he robbed her more than once which is always possible.