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TAGORE AND KIPLING

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Rabindranath Tagore

   

Rudyard Kipling

Rabindranath Tagore and Rudyard Kipling never met each other but their admirers often hailed them together in the newsstand. Both are contemporary Indians. Tagore (1861-1941) and Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). Tagore is considered the father of modern Indian literature. Like Tagore, Kipling too is an Indian, but of Caucasian stock, whose life ran parallel with that of Tagore. While Kipling was among the Anglo-Indian population who administered the British Empire in India, Tagore was a native Indian who resented the colonial presence. He wasn’t overtly political in his activities, but he wasn’t afraid to expose his feelings, either.

    Kipling of ‘The Jungle Book’ fame wrote many short stories and poems focusing on the Indian subcontinent which inevitably have a similar feel to Tagore. It would be fair to say that both writers shared a similar gift for their tireless work and both were awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature; Kipling in 1907 and Tagore in 1913. Tagore was a polymath and an all-round creative talent. He became a celebrity in the West during the second half of his lifetime. In 1878 Tagore moved to England intending to obtain a degree but he was ill-suited to formal education and returned to India in 1880, having failed in his academic ambitions.

       Kipling was sometimes seen as a racist and had a particular dislike for Bengalis, of which Tagore was one. As a result, there was no love lost between the two literary giants. Tagore had interactions with other European writers, but he ignored Kipling as if he were a pariah. Kipling would not acknowledge Tagore’s work as having any literary worth, because his prejudice was so strong. He insinuated that Tagore was a pretentious pseudo-intellectual, incapable of writing anything of value. Kipling’s view was typically imperialist due to his upbringing. He had been conditioned to believe that “good” Indians were those who knew their place as servants to the ruling elite. His racism towards Tagore was intensified by his resentment that a native Indian had achieved the same literary stature as himself. Kipling needed to feel superior to mask his insecurities, so Tagore’s success presented a psychological impasse.

     Both writers offered an overlap in literary approach and content, as if they were mirrors reflecting the same influences, but with a slightly different perspective. In many ways, Tagore appeared wiser than Kipling, for he was drawn to writing his poetry from an early age and was far more open-minded and accommodating of contrasting cultural influences. Kipling deployed writing as a form of escapism, to hide and express his emotions, having suffered a rather unfortunate childhood as described in his short story ‘Baa Baa, Black Sheep’. Tagore intellectualised the human condition and essentially put himself within the characters so that they were imbued with empathy and sympathy. This was because of his vast ancestral estates where he would travel to collect rents and interact with the tenants. This exposed him to traditional storytelling and songs, as well as philosophical and religious ideas. Tagore wrote while travelling, for example, while he was in Ghazipur—U.P., he wrote most of the poems published in his book Manasi. Kipling could not do this so his characters are more stereotyped and lack the complexity and diverseness observed in real people.

    Tagore the ‘Bard of Bengal’, and Kipling the ‘Bard of the Empire’, were contemporary literature giants. They were poles apart in thoughts and ideals, viewing society and the Empire from opposite ends of the spectrum. Kipling was strongly nationalistic, while Tagore was a humanist and against the idea of nationalism and the British Empire, though, ironically, Tagore’s poems are today national anthems of two nations, India and Bangladesh. While Kipling was from an educated middle-class family, they were not moneyed, and gaining financial security was important for them. Kipling’s father Lockwood’s decision to come to India as a teacher in the JJ School of Arts was driven by financial need. Tagore on the other hand was born wealthy, in a family of enormous influence and privilege in Calcutta. Despite his privileged background, he had a strong empathy for fellow human beings, which is largely why he was able to write stories and poems with humility and connection.

    Tagore’s stories are typically a hybrid between fairy-tale ghost effects and fables. They convey the traditional Indian belief system. Many are short in length and are over-descriptive so it won’t be possible to condense them further and some do not have a conclusive ending.

    In the year 1913, Tagore became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature as a result he remains one of the most important voices of Bengali culture. On the other hand, Kipling was the first English-language writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, and at 41, its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and several times for a knighthood, but he declined both. It is not possible to list the extensive work of these two writers in this short piece, but it appears writers of the following generation drew inspiration from them. For example, one can sense a fleeting similarity between Satyajit Ray’s short story ‘Anath Babu’s Terror’ and Tagore’s ‘The Hungry Stones’; and Kipling’s poem ‘Mandalay’, can, as if, mesh with the pages of George Orwell’s book ‘Burmese Days’. Not surprising, to see the connection in literature.

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Written by Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Publications of Kamlesh Tripathi

BOOK TITLE: GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in eight prestigious libraries of the US which include Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed at MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in the libraries and archives of Canada; the Open Library; Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India; Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore and the Library of Cancer Aid and Research Foundation, Mumbai. The title also finds a mention in a book titled ‘Enduring Cancer: Life, Death and Diagnosis in Delhi’ by Dwaipayan Banerjee published by the Duke University Press).

BOOK TITLE: ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(It is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; It is also available for reading in the Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

BOOK TITLE: AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(This is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity, which is the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2014. It is catalogued and included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California; Berkeley Library, University of California; The Peshastin Public Library and The George Public Library near Washington, a Northern Central Washington Libraries branch; the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library in Arizona in the US and the Salina Public Library, Kansas, USA.

BOOK TITLE: REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016).

BOOK TITLE: TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen but for any reader. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: RHYTHM … IN POEMS

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems are about our day-to-day life. Poems from this book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times, Bhavan’s Journal and Arunachal Times. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available on Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

BOOK TITLE: AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(It is the story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA. It was recently included in the digital library of the world-renowned company APPLE). Included in the library of Friends of Tibet.

(POEMS AND ARTICLES OF KAMLESH TRIPATHI PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES)

BHAVANS JOURNAL

Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars, June, 15 & 20, 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22;27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. The Nag Mandir 30.6.23; 40. The Story of Garuda 30.7.23; 41. Janmabhoomi vs Karmabhoomi 31.8.23; 42. The Ghost Town of Kuldhara 15.9.23; 43. The Tale of Genji 15.10.23; 44. The Soul Connection 1.12.23; 45.Book review: Jungle Nama … a story of the Sundarban 16.3.24; 46. Book review: A Forgotten Chapter 16.5.24; 47. Exploring Ancient Egypt, 1.8.24; 48. The Story of Dhruva, 16.8.24; 49. Two Hundred Years of Tea in Assam 16.9.24;

THE SHILLONG TIMES

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: Happy New Year 8.1.23; 2.Poem: Spring 12.3.23; 3.Poem: Right and Wrong 20.3.23; 4. The Gush of Emotion—Writing, 26.3.23; 5. The Nag Mandir, 7.5.23; 6. Poem: Mother 7.5.23; 7. Poem: Rain Rain 9.7.23; 8. Poem: You Come Alone You Go Alone 6.8.23; 9. Poem: Rain Rain (Second Time) 10.8.23; 10. Poem: Guru Teacher 1.10.23; 11. Poem: Autumn … The Interim Heaven 15.10.23; 12. Poem: Happy Diwali 12.11.23; 13. Overcoming Blindness: Learn it the John Milton Way 10.12.23; 14. The Happy Prince and The Happy Man’s Shirt 31.12.23; 15. Annus Mirabilis -2024 7.1.24; 16. Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi- Incidents that Shaped Gandhi in South Africa 28.1.24; 17. Poem: Together But Not Made For Each Other, 11.2.24; 18. The Birds Bees and The Spiders of Nicholas Guildford and Jonathan Swift 25.2.24; 19. The Overcoats of Nikolai Gogol and Ruskin Bond 10.3.24; 20. The Ethnic Colours of Holi 24.3.24; 21. A Lesson from Dalai Lama, 21.4.24; 22. Poem: Morning Walk 28.4.24; 23. Trip to Rhine Falls, Switzerland, 19.5.24; 24. Poem: Hurt 2.6.24; 25. Poem: Your Conscience Was My Sign On 16.6.24; 26.Poem: The Eerie Ways of Time 7.7.24; 27.Poem: Celebrating the T20 World Champions 14.7.24;28. Read to Rise above mediocrity, 4.8.24; 29. Poem: Desire vs Reality 11.8.24; 30. Jack Ma’s Pristine Advice to Employers, Employees and the Youth 22.9.24;

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE

Article: 1. The Magic of Reading 11.12.23; 2. Gandhi to Mahatma 29.1.24; 3. Geography of Solitude 8.4.24; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 22.4.24; 5. A Source of Inspiration, 29.4.24; 6. The Four-Legged Library, 12.5.24; 7. Age and Achievement, 10.6.24; 8. Read … To Rise Above Mediocrity, 1.7.24; 9. Crusade for a College, 25.8.24; 10. Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory (Panorama) 27.9.24;

THE ARUNACHAL TIMES

Poem: 1. Hope—In The Arc of Twilight, 13.8.23; 2.Poem: Spring 3.3.24; 3.Poem: The Morning Walk 10.3.24;

BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: SPRING, 1.4.23; 2. Poem: Mother, 1.6.23; 3. Poem: Rain Rain, 1.8.23; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 1.6.24; 5. Read to rise above Mediocrity 1.8.24

THE GOAN

Poem 1: Autumn – The Interim Heaven, 6.10.24

    ARTICLES IN THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE ESAMSKRITI

    29.12.2020: Indica by Megasthenes; 14.3.22: About The Dimasa Kingdom Assam; 10.12.22: Grand Trunk Road–Uttarapath; 5.10.23: The Ghost Town of Kuldhara Near Jaisalmer;

    (ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

    *****

    SHORT STORY: AN EPISODE OUT OF BERNARD SHAW’S LIFE

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        George Bernard Shaw, GBS as we all know was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist–a person who engages in a controversial debate, and a political activist. A carefree and bindaas person by nature. His influence on the Western theatre, culture and politics from the 1880s to his death and even beyond was tremendous. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman, Pygmalion and Saint Joan. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925GBS was a great thinker of his times. One day, a dinner was arranged at a British club in his honour. The rules of the club mandated that the men, wear a suit and tie. It was probably the definition of the elite class in those times.

        But Bernard Shaw, being who he was, walked into the club in his usual casual attire. The doorman looked at him and said politely. ‘Sorry sir, I cannot allow you to enter the premises in this outfit of yours.’

        ‘But why not?’ He asked.

        ‘Because sir, you’re not following the dress code of the club.’

        ‘Well, today’s dinner is in my honour, so it is my words that matter, and not what I wear.’ Replied GBS, which was a reasonable explanation.

        ‘Sir, whatever it may be, I can’t allow you inside in these casual clothes.’

        ‘Shaw tried to convince the doorman but he wouldn’t budge from his stand. Fed up. GBS walked all the way back to his house, changed into appropriate clothes and re-entered the club.

         A short while later the club room was full with people awaiting his speech. He stood up to address the audience, but first removed his coat and tie and placed it on a chair and then announced. ‘I’m not going to talk today.’

        The crowd was surprised and there were murmurs in the audience. Those who knew him personally asked him about the reason for his out-of-character behaviour.

        ‘Shaw narrated the incident that happened a while ago and said, ‘When I wore a coat and tie, I was allowed to come inside. My mind is in no way affected by the clothes I wear.

        ‘This means that to all of you who patronize the club, clothes are more important than brains. So let the coat and the tie take my place instead.’ Saying this he walked out of the room.

        Moral of the story: What lies inside is more important than what lies outside. Grey matter or the brains are more important than your dress.

    Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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    https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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    Share it if you like it

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    Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

    NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

    Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

    IFSC code: BKID0006805

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    Our publications

    GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

    (The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

    ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

    (Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

    AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

    (Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be the undying characteristics of Lucknow. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014. It is included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K.)

    REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

    (Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

    TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

    (Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

    RHYTHM … in poems

    (Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

    MIRAGE

    (Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

    (ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

    *****

    LESSON FROM POET & AUTHOR HERMANN HESSE

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        According to a study conducted sometime back, it has been established, that those who attempt suicide but don’t succeed, develop in them a great incentive to live and later emerge as heroes.

        In this context let me narrate a factual story to you. It is about Hermann Hesse. Hermann Hesse was a famous German poet and novelist who lived between (1877-1962). In his early days, Hermann experienced severe personal turmoil and conflict with his parents. The situation led to extreme frustration. So much so that at the age of 15 in 1892, he attempted suicide. But luckily he was saved.

        Thereafter Hermann completed his education and subsequently took to writing, as a career. After a long struggle, he became a great writer and in 1946 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

        Friends, human beings are not born in this world by accident. On the contrary they are born in accordance with a divine plan. The creator has endowed us with great qualities. It is therefore incumbent of every human being to unfold these qualities, unlock one’s potential, and play the role that is destined for him by providence. According to God Almighty, the Creator of this planet, every person must live in hope and should be positive. There is no reason or excuse for becoming pessimistic.

        The world is full of opportunities. If someone fails in doing something, he should, take it as a temporary setback, and not as an inordinate delay leading to a final failure. Under no situation, committing suicide is an option for an individual. One has to adopt the formula of wait and watch, rather than killing oneself, for then, one leaves, no other option open for himself because he is gone.

        Be positive … that’s the essence of life.

    By Kamlesh Tripathi

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    https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

    *

    Share it if you like it

    *

    Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

    NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

    Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

    IFSC code: BKID0006805

    *

    Our publications

    GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

    (The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

    ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

    (Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

    AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

    (Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

    REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

    (Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

    TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

    (Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

    RHYTHM … in poems

    (Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

    MIRAGE

    (Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

    (ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

    *****

     

     

     

    BIOGRAPHY POINT: AUTHOR GRAHAM GREENE

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        Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991), is better known by his pen name Graham Greene. He is regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Greene combined literary acclaim with widespread popularity. He acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or “entertainments” as he termed them). He was shortlisted, in 1966 and 1967, for the Nobel Prize for Literature. In his 67 years of writings, which included over 25 novels, he explored both, the ambivalent moral, and political issues of the modern world, often through a Catholic perspective.

        Although Greene objected strongly to his being described as a Roman Catholic novelist, rather than a novelist who happened to be Catholic, Catholic religious themes are at the root, of most of his writings, especially, in four of his major Catholic novels such as, Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, The Heart of the Matter, and The End of the Affair. Several of his works, such as The Confidential Agent, The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana, The Human Factor, and his screenplay for The Third Man, also show Greene’s avid interest in the workings and intrigues of international politics and espionage.

        Greene was born in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire into a large, influential family that included the owners of the Greene King Brewery. He boarded at Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire, where his father taught and became headmaster. Unhappy at the school, he attempted suicide several times. He attended Balliol College, Oxford, to study history, where, as an undergraduate, he published his first work in 1925—a poorly received volume of poetry titled, Babbling April. He converted to a Catholic, in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivien Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a “Catholic agnostic.” He published his first novel, The Man Within, in 1929. Its favourable response enabled him to work full-time as a novelist. He supplemented his novel’s income with freelance journalism, and book and film reviews.

        Greene originally divided his fiction into two genres (which he described as “entertainments” and “novels”). His thrillers often had notable philosophic edges—such as The Ministry of Fear. His literary works on which he thought his literary reputation rested was The Power and the Glory.

        Greene had a history of depression, which had a profound effect on his writing and personal life. In a letter to his wife Vivien, he told her that, he had, “a character, profoundly antagonistic, to ordinary domestic life,”

        Henry Graham Greene was born in 1904 in St. John’s House, a boarding house of Berkhamsted School, in Hertfordshire, where his father was a housemaster. He was fourth of the six children. His younger brother Hugh became the Director-General of the BBC, and his elder brother Raymond an eminent physician and mountaineer.

        Greene’s father, Charles Henry Greene and mother Marion Raymond Greene, were first cousins, both members of a large, influential family that included the owners of Greene King Brewery, bankers, and statesmen. His mother was the cousin of novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. Charles Greene, Graham Greene’s father was the second master at Berkhamsted School, where the headmaster was Dr Thomas Fry, who was married to Charles’ cousin.

        In his childhood, Greene spent his summers with his uncle, Sir Graham Greene, at Harston House in Cambridgeshire.

        In 1910, Graham Greene’s father Charles Greene succeeded Dr Fry as headmaster of Berkhamsted School. Graham also attended the school as a boarder. Bullied and profoundly depressed, he made several suicide attempts, that he even wrote in his autobiography, by trying the Russian Roulette (a practice of loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at one’s own head) and also by taking aspirin before going swimming in the school pool. In 1920, at the age of 16, he was sent for psychoanalysis for six months in London, after which he returned to school as a day scholar. His school friends included British journalist Claud Cockburn and Peter Quennel the historian.

        In 1922, Greene was for a short time a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and sought an invitation to the new Soviet Union, of which nothing came through. 

        Since Greene suffered from periodic bouts of depression while at Oxford, he largely kept to himself. His contemporary in Oxford, Evelyn Waugh noted that: “Graham Greene looked down upon us (and perhaps all undergraduates) as childish and ostentatious. He certainly shared in none of our revelry. He graduated in 1925 with a second-class degree in history.

        After leaving Oxford, Greene worked for a period of time as a private tutor and then turned to journalism—first in Nottingham Journal, and then as a sub-editor in The Times. While he was working in Nottingham, he started corresponding with Vivien Dayrell-Browning, who had written to him to correct him on a point of Catholic doctrine. Greene was agnostic at the time, but later when he began to think of marrying Vivien he started associating himself with Catholic faith.  Greene was baptised on 26 February 1926. They married on 15 October 1927 at St Mary’s Church, Hampstead, in North London.

        Greene’s first published novel was The Man Within in 1929. Favourable response emboldened him to quit his sub-editor’s job in The Times and work as a full-time novelist. The next two books, The Name of Action (1930) and Rumour at Nightfall (1932), were unsuccessful. He later disowned them. His first true success was Stamboul Train (1932) which was taken over by the Book Society and adapted as the film Orient Express, in 1934.

        He supplemented his novelist’s income with freelance journalism, book and film reviews for The Spectator, and co-editing magazine Night and Day. Greene’s 1937 film review of Wee Willie Winkie, for Night and Day—which said that the nine-year-old star, Shirley Temple, displayed “a dubious coquetry” that appealed to “middle-aged men and clergymen”—provoked Twentieth Century Fox successfully to sue Greene for £3,500 plus costs, and Greene leaving the UK to live in Mexico until after the trial was over. While in Mexico, Greene developed the ideas for his novel often considered his masterpiece, The Power and the Glory. By the 1950s, Greene had become known as one of the finest writers of his generation.

        As his career lengthened, both Greene and his readers found the distinction between entertainments and novels increasingly problematic. The last book of his oeuvre that Greene termed an entertainment was Our Man in Havana in 1958.

        Greene also wrote short stories and plays, which were well received, though he was known first and foremost as a novelist. His first play, The Living Room, debuted in 1953.

        Michael Korda, a lifelong friend of Greene and later his editor at Simon & Schuster, once observed Greene at work: Greene wrote in a small black leather notebook with a black fountain pen and would write approximately 500 words. Korda described this as Graham’s daily penance—once he finished, he would put the notebook away, for the rest of the day.

        His writing influences included Conrad, Ford, Haggard, Stevenson, James, Proust, Buchan and Peguy.

    TRAVEL & ESPIONAGE

        Greene travelled far from England, to what he called the world’s wild and remote places. The travels led to his being recruited into MI6 by his sister, Elisabeth, who worked for the agency. Accordingly, he was posted to Sierra Leone during the Second World War. Kim Philby, who was later revealed as a Soviet agent, was Greene’s supervisor and friend at MI6. Greene later wrote an introduction for Philby’s 1968 memoir, My Silent War. As a novelist Greene wove the characters he met and the places where he lived into the fabric of his novels.

        Greene first left Europe at the age of 30 in 1935 on a trip to Liberia that produced the travel book, Journey Without Maps. His 1938 trip to Mexico to see the effects of the government’s campaign of forced anti-Catholic secularisation was paid for by the publishing company Longman, thanks to his friendship with Tom Burns. That voyage produced two books, The Lawless Roads (published as ‘Another Mexico’ in the U.S.) and the novel The Power and the Glory. In 1953, the Holy Office informed Greene that The Power and the Glory was damaging to the reputation of the priesthood, but later, in a private audience with Greene, Pope Paul VI told him that, although parts of his novels would offend some Catholics, he should ignore the criticism.

        Greene first travelled to Haiti in 1954, where his novel The Comedians (1966) is set, which was then under the rule of dictator Francois Duvalier, known as “Papa Doc”, frequently staying at the Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince. And, in the late 1950s, as inspiration for his novel, A Burnt-Out Case (published in 1960), Greene spent time travelling around Africa visiting a number of leper colonies in the Congo Basin, and in, what were then, the British Cameroons. During this trip in late February and early March 1959, he met Andree de Jongh several times, a Belgian, resistance fighter, responsible for establishing an escape route for downed airmen from Belgium to the Pyrenees, somewhere between Spain and France.

        In 1957, just months after Fidel Castro began his final revolutionary assault on the Batista Regime in Cubs, Greene played a small role in helping the revolutionaries, as a secret courier transporting warm clothing for Castro’s rebels hiding in the hills during the Cuban winter. Greene was said to have a fascination with strong leaders, which may have accounted for his interest in Castro, whom he later met. After one visit Castro gave Greene a painting he had done, which hung in the living room of the French house where the author spent the last years of his life. Greene did later voice doubts about Castro’s Cuba, telling a French interviewer in 1983, “I admire him for his courage and his efficiency, but I question his authoritarianism,” adding: “All successful revolutions, however idealistic, probably betray themselves in time.”

        After falling victim to a financial swindler, Greene chose to leave Britain in 1966, moving to Antibes in France, to be close to Yvonne Cloetta, whom he had known since 1959, a relationship that endured until his death. In 1973, he had an uncredited cameo appearance as an insurance company representative in Francois Truffaut’s film, Day for Night. In 1981, Greene was awarded the Jerusalem Prize, generally awarded to writers concerned with the freedom of the individual in society.

        In the last years of his life he lived in Vevey, on Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the same town where Charlie Chaplin was living, at this time. He visited Chaplin often, and the two were good friends. His book Doctor Fischer of Geneva or the Bomb Party (published in 1980) is based on themes of combined philosophical and geographical influences. He ceased going to mass and confession in the 1950s, but in his final years he began to receive the sacraments again from Father Leopoldo Durán, a Spanish priest, who became a friend.

        In one of his final works, a pamphlet titled J’Accuse (which means a strong denunciation): The Dark Side of Nice (1982), Greene wrote of a legal matter that embroiled him and his extended family in Nice, and declared that organised crime flourished in Nice because the city’s upper levels of civic government protected, judicial and police corruption. The accusation provoked a libel lawsuit that Greene lost. But he was vindicated after his death when, in 1994, the former mayor of Nice, Jacques Medecin, was imprisoned for corruption and associated crimes.

        In 1984, in celebration of his 80th birthday, the brewery which Greene’s great-grandfather founded in 1799 made a special edition of its ‘St. Edmunds’ ale for him, with a special label in his honour. 

        In 1986, Greene was awarded Britain’s Order of Merit. He died in 1991 at age 86 of leukaemia and was buried in Corseaux cemetery.

    Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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    https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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    Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

    NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

    Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

    IFSC code: BKID0006805

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    Our publications

    GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

    (The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

    ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

    (Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

    AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

    (Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

    REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

    (Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

    TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

    (Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

    RHYTHM … in poems

    (Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

    (ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

    *****

     

     

     

    The Statesman

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        Last week, a false report of a death came as a sad shock to many, including myself. It was like hearing that an elderly and ailing relative, whom one had close touch with for a while but had nostalgic memories of, had finally passed away.

        The wrongly reported death was not that of a person but of a newspaper. The Statesman. For many, like my father, ‘The Statesman’ was more than a newspaper; it was a living legend.

        My father would make my sisters read it every day, not so much for the news it carried but for the purity and precision of its language. He would not know that his son who was yet to be born would one day work and write for his beloved Statesman.

        By chance, I became one of the four-member team which in 1967 launched ‘The Junior Statesman weekly,’ The Statesman’s youth magazine. Relations between the paper and the young magazine were like those between a conservative parent and a brash teenager, paradoxically linked by a generation gap. When the Junior Statesman, JS, was shut down in 1977 by the diktat of the then managing director of The Statesman, I was inducted as an assistant editor in the paper.

        The sanctum sanctorum of The Statesman was its editorial page, and its high priests were its editorial writers. I had never met them, but my hero was Niranjan Mazumdar, editorial writer par excellence.

        The story went that when the editor asked Niranjan what the editorial he was about to write was about, Niranjan replied ‘I don’t know—but my typewriter does.’

        I never aspired to be a Niranjan. For one thing I could never type but when my first editorial was published, by Niranjan’s boon companion, Lindsay Emerson, I felt as though I’d been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

        By the time I left The Statesman in 1987 to join The Times of India in Delhi, titans like Niranjan and Lindsay belonged to the mythic past. The Statesman had become a shadow of its former self.

        But those who remember its past glory hold it in enduring affection.

    Moral of the story: The life of an organisation no matter how big depends on its people and performance. Performance creates the name, name doesn’t create the performance.

    By Kamlesh Tripathi

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    https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

    *

    Share it if you like it

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    Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

    NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

    Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

    IFSC code: BKID0006805

    *

    Our publications

    GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

    (The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

    ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

    (Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

    AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

    (Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

    REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

    (Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

    TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

    (Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

    RHYTHM … in poems

    (Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

    (ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

    *****

     

     

     

    A caution for Times of India

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        While breezing past the morning editorial of Times of India, Delhi edition, yesterday the 4th of October 2018, I came through an unpardonable mistake as pointed above. Instead of ‘Nobel Prize’ what is mentioned is ‘Noble Prize.’ Hiding behind semantics in this case that ‘Noble is Nobel’ is futile because Nobel is a name and a proper noun.

        The short point is TOI needs to be much more careful when its editorials are considered sacrosanct by its readers and litterateurs. 

    By Kamlesh Tripathi

    *

    https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

    *

    Share it if you like it

    *

    Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

    NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

    Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

    IFSC code: BKID0006805

    *

    Our publications

    GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

    (The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

    ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

    (Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

    AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

    (Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

    REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

    (Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

    TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

    (Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha

    (ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

    *****