Rabindranath at 55+

Tagore in Japan 1916

Rabindranath came back to India visiting Japan and America at his age of 55+, the crucial year in his life.He described his psychological status at this stage in a letter written to Pramatha Choudhury on 13 April, 1917. During this period of his journey what he had written, translation or new construction , he did that in English. He had no urge to write anything in Bengali. Even he did not feel to write anything in Bengali. He wrote in reply to "Sabuj Patra";

" There was a time when Arjun could not raise his bow. Do you think, such time of leaving of my "Gandib' will not come ? I.too, get warning of leaving my Gandib. I feel, it is better to leave it at an early date. For some time, I'm feeling some trouble in my ear. This not only causes short of hearing, it also injects damage to my brain. I'm losing my urge of reading and writing. This is the first step. The next step is, so long my Pen was fluent I would have neglected all other things and followed the line as per its demand.But now the restlessness of my pen has gradually slowed down  and I began to be attentive in the work of the School at Shantiniketan. Really, I like the children of my school without any personal interest and I feel that at this older age this companion can fill up the gaps left out in my life." He also added in this letter his realization at this age;

" The age, I have reached, possesses an inbuilt tendency of forcing one into solitude. It is not happy or healthy  to remain stand still  in this wilderness. So long my pen was active I could have moved in the field of creation, now, I understand that the days of my pen has gone and I should take a safe place  lest I would have to loiter in the strets."

The sign of solitude had appeared in the life of Rabindranath in different ways and in different times, when he had taken shelter either in this school or had moved from one country to other. Poetry has come through pleasant path of memory. But the demands of his writings knew no bound. He wrote to Charuchandra Bandyopadhyay, editor of "Prabasi';
" My store is now blank.there are 2/3 songs but those are not suitable for your magazine. It must bear two qualities, reading skill and singing skill. '
He sent one poem to Manilal Gangopadhyay for " Bharati " and other to Charuchandra bandyopadhyay for "Prabasi".