HOW I GOT TO READ A SHORT NOVELLA AND FALL IN LOVE WITH IT

   

  

 

One fine day my uncle was clearing his old wooden boxes in which he had many of his books. From it, he took out a book and gave it to me. It was an old book and a bit torn in the corners. Even the papers became dull and some stains were also there. I didn’t like the book with its appearance and was sad that he gave me such an old, toned book to read. “Can’t he buy me a new book?”  I thought and kept it aside not to touch.

The book lay separately from my small collection of books which I had in those days. After many months when my uncle’s friends visited our house, in between their talks I happened to overhear the discussion about the book FAREWELL MY FRIEND AND THE GARDEN by Rabindranath Tagore.

One of his friends recited :

“Blow gently over my garden

Wind of the southern sea

In the hour my love cometh

And calleth me.

And they had a fun time till they finally dispersed.

The next day when I opened my book shelf to take out some stationery, This book caught my eye. Its outer appearance disturbed me a lot. But I finally thought to just check out its pages and wanted to know what it was all about.

At that time I only  know that Rabindranath Tagore was a Nobel Laureate who wrote GItanjali and little more was known about KABULIWALLA as it was part of our studies. Nothing more about his other works, writing styles, greatness, or his contribution to English Literature.

The book contained two novellas = one was FAREWELL MY FRIEND with 106 pages, and the other was MALANCHA OR THE GARDEN  with 50 pages along with the Translator’s note in 2 pages. The book was translated from the Bengali by Krishna  Kriplani and published by Jaico Publishing House, Bombay

For this also I was disappointed that why two novels were combined into a single book.  With many issues with the book, I started reading it slowly and went with it in a smooth flow.

 The main character in Farewell my Friend is Amit Rai. He was a barrister, he doesn't practice much law, or any other profession -- though he does dabble in poetry.

He has two sisters. When everyone leaves the city in the summer he does too -- but he heads to Shillong instead of Darjeeling. But it is here he encounters a young, well-educated, and well-read woman working as a private tutor, Labanyalata, and falls in love with her.

Farewell My Friend is a distinctly -- and amusingly -- literary novel. Tagore's playful use of his own poetry and self is charming and adds a nice twist. And it is a very amusing read.

Finally an affecting love story -- and ultimately a lost love story.

  In this book, Translator Kripalani admits to the difficulty of capturing and rendering "the artistry of the author's style" in English in a Translator's Note.

I enjoyed reading the book and immediately I decided to put a cover to the book with an advertisement sheet from the newspaper which was available next to me. and stick the torn pages. I quietly thanked my uncle and his friends for introducing me to such a nice book.

Then I made up my mind not to focus on the outer appearance of the book and reminded myself of the metaphorical phrase – DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.

 Till to date, this book is with me along with my collection and I’m proudly using it for TBR blog post today.  Farewell my friend is an enjoyable and touching short read.

 

 

(This blogpost is part of BLOGCHATTER’S #TBR challenge prompt for the month of APRIL :  A NOVELLA YOU LOVE)