1 Shesher Kobita as Tagores response to Modernism Modernism, in its broadest sense is the expression of modern thought, character and practice. As a cultural movement it was a revolt against the conservative values of the realistic society. The distinctive feature of Modernism is however the rejection of the tradition and the establishment of the modern. This rejection of the tradition does not however mean to ignore the past; rather it means to have a clear idea of the past and the deconstruction of the traditional outlook in order to construct a new order. To be modern is to build a new idea and it is evidently different for different ages. For instance Dante Alighieri was modern for his time and his Divina Comedia an essential modern text in respect to the early 15th century Florentine culture; similarly Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare too were ahead of their time and their tragedies and comedies can be considered to be modern in comparison to the other theatrical plays belonging to the British culture in the 16th and the early 17th century. Shesher Kobita, which was initially published as a serial novel in the magazine Probashi in 1928, can be considered as Rabindranath Tagores response to Modernism and the Modernist cultural movement that was gaining its popularity in the western world. Rabindranath Tagores Shesher Kobita, in itself is a modernist text and its protagonist, Amito, a modernist character in his existence. Rabindranath, himself has been critical towards the Bengali social character and its tendencies to preserve the past. He has also voiced his concerns regarding the preservation of the Bengali tradition, which actually do act as a hindrance towards the emergence of the modern. Amitos character in Shesher Kobita, reminds us of Chaturangas Jhyathamoshai, both, as drawn by Tagore, is overtly practical and is quite explicit in their expression to criticise the traditional and the orthodox society. Both these characters, as we can term them are extremely modern in their quality, their reason and their temperament. Amito, however criticises everything that he considers as traditional and at times the reader is given an expression by the novelist that his criticisms are merely carried forward for the sake of opposing the society at all points. Though Amito, the protagonist of Rabindranaths Shesher Kobita, is modern in terms of intellectual outlook, yet he usually dresses up like a traditional Bengali, wearing dhuti 2 and panjabi, which again marks him as an evidently different character from the rest of the society. His two sisters, Sisi and Lisi, just like the other young women who belonged to the class of society in which Amito belonged to, were outwardly modern and fashionable in terms of their outfit. But according to the protagonist as well as the writer it was nothing but a mockery of modernism, where their outlook was archaic and their attitude was hypocritical and phony. To him, the outfit does not prove whether you are modern or not. Rabindranath, through Amitos verdict has conveyed the fact that style is more important than fashion. According to him fashion is a mere copy of something which has been repeated in the past while style is creating something new by demolishing the past. This statement in itself is a trace of the western modernistic thought. Rabindranath again posits that being modern does not indicate that one should be ignorant about ones past or the traditional, it is rather criticising the convention; and as a matter of fact one should be aware of the past and the tradition in order to criticise it. Amito is well versed with the religious and the traditional books of the Hindu culture as well as the European literary works and he often quotes from these archaic creations. The novel also includes a self-reference of the author himself. By the time Shesher Kobita was being published in the late 1920s, Tagore had become a towering presence in Bengal and Bengali literature, and was facing criticism from different sections of the society. As Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson puts it in Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-minded Man, A younger group of writers were trying to escape from the penumbra of Rabindranath, often by tilting at him and his work. In 1928 he decided to call a meeting of writers at Jorasanko and hear them debate the issues. (Dutta, Robinson). Shortly after this meeting, while writing this novel, Tagore has Amito railing against a much revered poet, whose name turns out to be Rabi Thakur. Amito remarks, - C , C C C , C C, C (Tagore) These remarks aroused much amusement among the audience, but more importantly this statement holds value in terms of modernism. The authors appeal to the society is not that for something greater or better but for something fresh and young. He breaks his own 3 towering presence and criticises himself as something traditional or archaic which should be replaced by the modern. Here is an example of an author who has the audacity to demolish his own poetic ego and criticise himself in order to be the torchbearer of Bangla modernist culture. Through the character of Amito, Rabindranath had portrayed a modern man, a protagonist who does not stop for a moment before criticising or contradicting the petty traditional values. According to him, true love cannot be pursued through the shackles of marriage. Though Amito and Labannya fell in love with one another and the whole novel is centred on the negotiations of the relation that they exercised yet they do not bind themselves in the chains of marriage. Instead they decide on marrying different suitors without the slightest air of tragedy. According to Amito, ...most barbarians equate marriage with the union, and look upon the real union thereafter with contempt. Hence he also justifies his separation from Labannya and his union with Ketaki, C < , C C C , C C , C , C (Tagore) This expression of the author, through the words of the protagonist is essentially modern in its approach, which defies the Bengali-Hindu traditional outlook towards love and marriage. It is a direct confrontation with the conventional and the long-established socio-religious order and the marking of a new order, that is to say, the order of the modernist intellectual outlook. In order to conclude, it could be commented that Rabindranath Tagores Shesher Kobita, which was composed as early as 1928 in an orthodox Hindu society, is essentially a modern text which rejects the tradition and champions the notion of the modern. It was a response on the part of the author towards Modernism. 4 Works Cited Dutta, K. & Robinson, A. (1995). Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-minded Man. St Martins Pr. Tagore, R. Shesher Kobita. Vishwabharati University Pub.