Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

CWSA 27

Fragment ID: 7264

Contact with Other Writers [1]

I notice some queer things happening in the realm of poetry between Nishikanta and myself. I wrote a line:

চলছে ভেসে চাঁদের তরী ওই সুনীলের সাগরে

calache bhese cāṁdera tarī oi sunīlera sāgare¹

and did not follow it up. Two days later I find Nishikanta writing a poem wherein occurs the line

কে ভাসালে চাঁদের তরী

ke bhāsāle cāṁdera tarī²

Some time back a similar thing happened. These are about expressions; similar things are happening about chanda also. Strange, isn’t it?

Nothing queer about that. You dropped the inspiration and did not work it out; so it went off and prodded N who let it through. That often happens.

31 July 1936

¹ “The moon-boat is sailing on the ocean of the blue sky.” – Ed.

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² “Who made it sail, the moon-boat?” – Ed.

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