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Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwala: An Exemplary Tribute to Filial Love
S. Nancy Jaya MA English Kongu College of Arts and Science, Karur Mail: [email protected] Abstract
Every living being were in need of emotional bond right from their birth. The first and foremost
bond that we get in this world is familial bond; amidst of every relationship, filial love is
something to be glorified, especially between father and daughter. This article endeavours to
exhibit the outlook of filial love through the story of Tagore’s Kabuliwala. The relationship
between the little girl Mini and her Afghan friend Rahman in Tagore’s Kabuliwala is the best
prototype of filial love. Mini’s father loves Mini and condoned all her rumpus while he was in
work. As the story progress we could sense the reason behind Rahman’s love for Mini. Rahman
always saw Mini as a replica of his daughter, who is in Afghan and he meets her once in a year.
His behavior towards mini shows his sehnsucht for filial love.
Keywords: Filial love, sehnsucht, emotional pain, bond between a father and a daughter
Literature is like a magic, it has the special quality of changing one’s life upside down. Literature
never failed to gratify people, because it has various genres like Poetry, Prose, Short story,
Drama and Fiction, etc. It is a lodestar for those who have the thirst for art and cognizance. Each
country has its own literature that is the prodigious point to note about literature. Indian literature
is a mixture of Indian and English. It is produced across the Indian sub-continents and begins
with the collection of myths. It is considered as distinctive from other literature because of its
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characteristics. We can see enchanting descriptions of land, culture, tradition and religion in it.
Indian literature is remarkable for many sacred works like Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata,
Gitanjali, etc. No other literature can provoke emotion than the Indian literature, most
importantly familial bonds.
Rabindranath Tagore was hailed as Bhanu Singha Thakur, Gurudev, Kabiguru,
Biswakabi, and The Bard of Bengal. Tagore wrote National Anthem for India and Bangladesh.
His notable works are Gitanjali, Gora, The Postmaster, Shesher Kabita, Ghare Baire, Chokher
Bali and Kabuliwala. The latter depicts the story of a filial love. Some of the works show his
love and concern for children too. This article endeavours to exhibit the outlook of filial love
through the story of Tagore’s Kabuliwala. Kabuliwala was one of the famous short stories of
Tagore written in Bengali, published in 1892. It has various themes like filial love, comradeship,
love, reliance, yearning and charity. It is about a story of an inquisitive girl Mini who used to
raise lot of questions out of curiosity to her father and her relationship with her father and a
Kabuliwala who is Rahman. The story projects filial love and provoke emotional pain to the
readers especially those who are hankering for father and daughter bond.
This short story is an admirable tribute to filial love. Firstly, we see the love between the
narrator and Mini. The narrator is Mini's father. The second relationship that proves love and
friendship is the relationship between Rahman and Mini. Thirdly Rahman’s relationship with his
own daughter is an example of filial love. Even though we know a little about Rahman’s
daughter, we can still conclude that their bond was really strong. The story touches our hearts
when we are revealed about the love between Rahman and his daughter.
Mini is a five year old little girl who is always inquisitive. While Mini’s mother found
that her chatters irritating at times, her father loved it. She frequently raises ceaseless questions
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and before getting the answer, she will ask another question out of her inquisitiveness. One day
Mini saw a Kabuliwala, suddenly sprang up and ran over to the window when he heard Mini’s
calling ‘Kabuliwala O Kabuliwala’ then he came to the doorstep. On seeing his arrival to her
doorsteps she ran inside as she frightened by the story of Kabuliwalla kidnapping children. He
wants to see her, she came out with a fear and stands behind her father. Mini’s father bought
some nuts and raisins from him. This meeting was the beginning of a strange friendship between
Mini and Kabuliwala. Soon afterwards he became the frequent visitor to mini consequently they
become friends and they shared many old jokes for which they laughed long and loud.
The time came for the Kabuliwala, whose name was Rahman, to make his periodical visit
to his native country. He began collecting debts in preparation for it. But one morning there was
a commotion in the street, and Mini’s father was surprised to see Rahman handcuffed, with
blood all over his clothes, being led away by two policemen. On enquiry he was told that the
man had stabbed a person who had denied buying a shawl from him. With all her innocence Mini
came to Kabuliwala and asked him if he was going to his father-in-laws house. He laughed and
said he was. Rahman was sentenced to jail for seven years.
As the days sped by, everyone even Mini forgot her Kabuliwala. Months lengthened to
years Mini grew into women. Her parents arranged a wedding of her on Puja holidays. The house
was filled with the air of wedding stuffs. There came Kabuliwala who was released from the jail
last evening. Mini’s father was shocked to see his appearance. He longs to meet Mini, at first he
was rejected but then he was allowed to meet her. Rahman told that he too have daughter in
distant who is in same age of Mini. As a proof he showed him a dirty piece of paper with the
imprint of a child’s hand on it. Mini stood before him, he asked her if she was going to her
father-in-law’s house. Now she only bowed her head with coyness.
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In the very beginning of the story itself Tagore limns a bond between daughter and father.
Mini’s father was a writer, basically writers need a tranquility while they writing but often Mini
goes to his room creates annoyance and poses meaningless questions but her father condone all
her rumpus activities which is the special quality that every father have exclusively for daughters
and he finds pleasure in chatting with Mini and in her inquisitiveness. This shows his love for
Mini and she too always attached with her father than mother. When Mini saw the Kabuliwala
for the first time, she was afraid of him but he wants to meet her, “And where is the little girl
sir?”
The way he asked Mini’s father to meet her shows his fatherly longing. Later, Mini
attached with Kabuliwala and their comradeship grew smoothly. Rahman, the Kabuliwala gives
her nuts and raisins out of cost, he treats Mini as his own daughter. Mini’s father had a close
scrutiny on her activities as all the fathers do. “I saw my daughter sitting on a bench in front of
the door, nattering unrestrainedly; and the Kabuliwala was at her feet, listening grinning broadly,
and from time to time making comments in his hybrid sort of Bengali. In all her five years of
life, Mini had never found so patient a listener apart from her father.”
When Rahman was in prison everyone forgets him even Mini. He was released from jail
just a day before Mini’s wedding. He pleased Mini’s father to meet her once but he refused to
allow him. He wants to give some fruits and nuts to Mini. When her father is about to give him
money he says, “Keep me in you recollection. Do not offer me money! You have a little girl, I
too have a one like her in my own home. I think of her and bring fruits to your child, not to make
a profit for myself.” He was despair and told him that he too have daughter in Mini’s age as a
proof he showed a dirty piece of paper charcoal imprint of a child’s hand on it. He haven’t meet
her for a long period. Being a father he could sense the emotional pain of Rahman and let him to
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meet Mini. When he saw her as a grown girl he was nonplussed to express his ecstasy. Rahman’s
thought moved to Afghan and he was yearning to see his daughter. Mini’s father felt pity for the
man and gave him some money which aids him to go to his native land. This meant curtailing
some of the wedding expenses. But the father felt that it would be a blessing since it had helped a
poor father to see his child again after a long and sad separation. At the end of the story, Tagore
provokes the emotion by depicting the filial love through father’s concern for another father who
is hankering to see his daughter as he comprehended the pain of the father and daughter
separation.
A father’s love is absolutely altruistic and unequivocal. He only knows giving. The first
man every girl relay in her is their father, who never hurt them back. According to research
father and daughters bond are strapping than the daughter and mother. Nowadays the daughters
say proudly that they are ‘Dad’s little princess’. The psychology behind the father and daughter
relationship is derived from the time of Electra, the Greek mythological character, avenged her
father Agamenon’s death by committing matricide with the help of her brother Orestes, which
we later calls Electra complex.
In India many fathers like Rahman comes out of their cocoons and went to abroad or any
other state for the welfare of their family. He visits his family periodically. During this period
both of them longs for the filial love, some daughter may get that from her guardian and the
father remember his daughter whenever he saw a girl of his daughter’s age like Mini. In the case
of single parenting father can play a role of mother and console her but the mother can’t console
the daughter as father do, which is undeniable truth. Even though she goes to her in-law’s house
she has the special place for her father which can’t be replaced by anyone. Father and daughter
sentiment has the glorious place especially in India. “A father is neither an anchor to hold us
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back nor a boat to take us there but a lodestar whose love directs us to ideal way or place”. Thus
the entire story is an exemplary tribute to the filial love. Tagore vividly pictures the love between
father and daughter.
Works Cited:
Radhakrishnan, S. A Centenary Volume Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1961. New Delhi: Sahitya
Akademi, 1992.
Ghosh, Sisir Kumar. Rabindranath Tagore. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 2005.
Iyengar, Srinivasa. R.K. Rabindranath Tagore. Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1965.
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