The women in his life
Rubaiyat Hossain discusses Rabindranath's subordination of his liberal humanism to the cause of nationalism when it came to the issue of women
In Sunil Gangopadhay's historical fiction Prothom Alo, poet Rabindranath Tagore's remorse after marrying Renuka off at a young age with dowry money is depicted by a sudden spell of drought in his poetic career. That was Tagore's punishment for marrying off his young daughter. If we ask, for what offense Renuka was banished to the fate of a young bride, we will not be able to find an answer. Renuka died a few years after her wedding.Madhuri, Meera and Renuka, all three of Rabindranath Tagore's daughters were married off well before reaching even fifteen years of age. Historical references testify that Tagore was not at all happy with Renu's and Meera's matches. He paid heavy dowry for marrying all three of his daughters, but the dowry demand from Meera's and Renu's husbands remained a recurring theme. Madhuri died at the age of thirty-two in 1918 and Renu died at the age of fourteen in 1904. It is worthwhile to ask: why is it that all the women in Rabindranath Tagore's family had tragic endings? Whereas Indira Chowdhury and Sarala Ghosal, two of Tagore's nieces, got married at the age of twenty-nine and thirty-three, respectively, which was quite the exception back in the early 20th century, why did Rabindranath Tagore refused to educate his daughters in Shankiniketan or perhaps send them abroad to become educated and self-sufficient? Why did he define their ultimate fates as marriage when clearly he had the understanding that these marriages were not going to work out for the girls' benefit? Why is it that Tagore never made an effort to educate his wife? Why does Mrinalini only appear as a self-sacrificing mother who sells her jewelry to save Shantiniketan from sinking? Whereas Tagore's sisters-in-law were all educated and even appeared in the public sphere, why is it that Tagore's wife lived a very uneventful and private life? She was married at the age of thirteen, bore five children, and died at the age of twenty-nine. Why is it that we see a clear diversion from Rabindranath Tagore's otherwise liberal humanist attitude when it comes to dealing with the social and cultural positioning of women in Tagore's life? In order for us to attempt to understand this question it would be helpful to comprehend the idea of "individualism" that was created for Bengali middle class women of the 19th and 20th century. When interrogated against the back-drop of colonial political economy, the overall double standards of Bengali nationalism in creating the women's individuality will become clear. Rubaiyat Hossain is an independent film-maker and Lecturer at Brac University. To read the full version of this article please ask your hawker for a copy of this month's Forum.
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