Thinking Activity: A translation of Tagore’s poem ‘Deeno Daan’ (’Destitute Donation’)

Hello everyone...

This blog is the part of my thinking activity in classroom work. in this blog I would like to talk about one famous poem ‘Deeno Daan’ by Rabindranath Tagore. And I gave a answers of questions which is given by out professor.

So let's throw some light on the poem:-

Originally written in Bengali, 'Deeno Daan' is a part of Tagore's poetry collection 'Kahini'. It was signed by the Nobel laureate some 120 years ago (Bengali calendar 1307).

The poem and its English translation was shared on social media by Banojyotsna Lahiri, an alumnus of Presidency College and JNU, on August 5 and since then the poem has gone viral on the internet. It is widely shared by Tagore's readers on social media and personal messengers.

In 'Deeno Daan', Tagore writes about a sage who criticizes a king for getting a temple built in the name of God using “two million gold coins” while turning away the poor during a drought. And so, the sage goes on to say that the temple has no God but only “royal pride”.

Poem:-

A translation of Tagore’s poem ‘Deeno Daan’ (’Destitute Donation’)

Said the royal attendant, “Despite entreaties, king,

The finest hermit, best among men, refuses shelter

In your temple of gold, he is singing to god

Beneath a tree by the road. The devout surround him

In numbers large, their overflowing tears of joy

Rinse the dust off the earth. The temple, though,

Is all but deserted; just as bees abandon

The gilded honeypot when maddened by the fragrance

Of the flower to swiftly spread their wings

And fly to the petals unfurling in the bush

To quench their eager thirst, so too are people,

Sparing not a glance for the palace of gold,

Thronging to where a flower in a devout heart

Spreads heaven’s incense. On the bejewelled platform

The god sits alone in the empty temple.”

At this,

The fretful king dismounted from his throne to go

Where the hermit sat beneath the tree. Bowing, he said,

“My lord, why have you forsaken god’s mighty abode,

The royal construction of gold that pierces the sky,

To sing paeans to the divine here on the streets?’

“There is no god in that temple,” said the hermit.

Furious,

The king said, “No god! You speak like a godless man,

Hermit. A bejewelled idol on a bejewelled throne,

You say it’s empty?”

“Not empty, it holds royal arrogance,

You have consecrated yourself, not the god of the world.”

Frowning, said the king, “You say the temple I made

With twenty lakh gold coins, reaching to the sky,

That I dedicated to the deity after due rituals,

This impeccable edifice – it has no room for god!”

Said the tranquil hermit, “The year when the fires

Raged and rendered twenty thousand subjects

Homeless, destitute; when they came to your door

With futile pleas for help, and sheltered in the woods,

In caves, in the shade of trees, in dilapidated temples,

When you constructed your gold-encrusted building

With twenty lakh gold coins for a deity, god said,

‘My eternal home is lit with countless lamps

In the blue, infinite sky; its everlasting foundations

Are truth, peace, compassion, love. This feeble miser

Who could not give homes to his homeless subjects

Expects to give me one!’ At that moment god left

To join the poor in their shelter beneath the trees.

As hollow as the froth and foam in the deep wide ocean

Is your temple, just as bereft beneath the universe,

A bubble of gold and pride.”

Flaring up in rage

The king said, “You false deceiver, leave my kingdom

This instant.”

Serenely the hermit said to him,

“You have exiled the one who loves the devout.

Now send the devout into the same exile, king.”

Here is the my answers of questions:-

1) The poem is written before 120 years (approx.). Can you find any resemblance between the poem and the pandemic time? 

(Some hints: During the pandemic time temples were closed - people were dying - there was no place in hospitals for Covid patients)

👉  I find that this poem was relevant of pandemic time also. As mam  said that in corona pandemic there are thousands of people died and there is no space in hospitals. And we know that our country was be like "देवो की भूमि" and here is the lakhs of people they believe in God except of human beings so but what was happened was that there are temples were also closed so people's became weak. And thie faith in God are also be broken. But one thing is that there is people like of this king that they  had money but they use that money for only became famous and popular. There is no humanity in their hearts.

2) Why do you think the King is angry on the Sage?

👉  King is angry on sage because sage don't admired that work of king and beauty of temple and intact he says that there is no God in temple. God was going away with the poor people. And there is no need to this beautiful temple if you don't help us your people who are your responsibility.

3) Why do you think the Sage denies to enter in the temple?

👉 Because he believes that there is no God in temple. He think that God is leave this gold temple and live in under the trees because their  poor people live in under the trees.

So he denies that if no God in temple that whyt

 am I staying there and what i do there? 

4) Can there be any connection between the text of the poem and the verdict of Ayoydhya Ram Mandir? 

 👉 Yes when our prime minister bricks the first stone in Ram Mandir Ayodhya that time this poem was the come out on social media and became viral. It's deep connection with poem and Ayodhya temple. We know that our people are more religious but there is no meaning that you waste caror rupees to build a temple. See the position of poor people in India that there are millions of peoples they don't get the one time to eat. So invest our money in them and try to make them level in position. There is nothing happened if you put a gold statue of Ram in temple. But if you look your countrymen' s situation and try to improve it than its the real country service. So is it.

Thank you....