The First Sorrow, a poem by Rabindranath Tagore

This poetry is Tagore's memory on the death of Kadambari Devi who was the youthful and much ignored spouse of Jyotirindranath Tagore, one of Rabindranath's older bros. It is easy to understand why she had taken a elegant on the youthful Rabindranath.

He known as her Hekati, designed after Hecete, the Historical greek goddess. Ergo, she was his continuous associate for 17 "swift years", his muse, and after his mom's death, even his "mother figure". But why Hecate and why not any other Historical greek goddess? Perhaps here can be found an response to the everlasting Kadambari-Rabindranath enigma.

There was a way of duality in the standard Greek's praise of this deity. In one of her tasks, Hecate had the expertise to provide success and interest (often being provided by deadly eunuchs). In the other part Hecate was associated with witchcraft and the baser factors associated with sex-related emotions. Remember also that ever since the age of 12 (when he had thieved a duplicate of extremely sex-related Vaishnava manuscripts from an older brother's desk), Rabindranath was connected into the "rashleela" conspiracy of Radha and Krishna! Ergo, was Kadambari (aka Hekati) then that women deity who required to be maintained by a self-efacing eunuch as a way of showing ones complete commitment, or was she the Radha of his interests and his charitable lover?

On Dec of 1883 at the age of 22 Tagore made the decision to get married to a young lady of 11, whom he relabeled Mrinalini. Just 4 several weeks into his wedding, Kadambari made the decision to take her own lifestyle, just like in the myth wherein Hecate invested destruction due to the scorns and insults given by Artemis, another goddess. It is unlikely the purpose behind Kadambari's destruction was to "get even" with the 11 season old spouse of her erstwhile associate. Perhaps the rash-leela had really occurred and she had instantly found that she was holding his child? We wish this poetry and the metaphors used in it can reduce some lighting on the age old enigma.

Tagore's unique poetry "Pratham Shok" was already released in 1919, published in Arabic. This was some 36 decades after the death of Kadambari. Perhaps there was a feeling of shame and regret brooding within Tagore for all these decades. Later on, when he converted the same poetry to British, he deliberately is remaining out the "rain bearing" metaphors which he had used in his Arabic unique. Why? Was it done to secure his self-created picture of a "mystic poet" in the European world?

In my own interpretation of this poetry, I have tried not to wander too much from the unique Arabic one. I shall also end this observe with a key sign for the European viewer: in the Arabic lifestyle the idea of really like can take 3 different types, whereas in the Western really like is usually regarded either as proper or as one, similar to lust.