Compiled and Designed and Modified By:: Mr. Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College

Compiled and designed and modified by:
Mr. Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College
Critical analysis of “I Shall Return to this Bengal”/ partition
elements in the poem “I Shall Return to this Bengal”
Though India got its Independence after a relentless strife of almost a century in 1947, the
drawing of Radcliffe line a new gloomy chapter was introduced in the history of Bengal.
Hitherto undivided Bengal was ruthlessly cut into two parts on the basis of religion—
Hindustan (India) and Pakistan. As a result of it many people from both of the countries became
homeless in their own land. Hindu people of Pakistan had to leave for India or vice versa. As
a result of this mass migration the umbilical bond with one’s motherland land was torn
overnight. This bloodless discectomy made a remarkable change in the life of people. Literature
was not free from the clutches of partition. Many writers had to leave their birthplace. The
angst of partition has been reflected in their writings.
Jibanananda Das, generally known as a poet of nature, was also a victim of partition of
Bengal. Most of the time he is considered to be the greatest poet dealing with nature after
Rabindranath Tagore. No doubt he gave a special candor to the nature, but that was not free
from the angst of partition. Das was born in Barishal (a village of Bangladesh) in undivided
Bengal. He had an affinity with the exotic natural ambience of his birth place from his early
childhood. Later he came to Kolkata for his study and career. In 1936 he went back to Barishal.
In 1945 he again came to Kolkata but was unable to go back to his birth place again because
the turmoil of partition was in its peak. The partition of Bengal, though barred him from going
back to his birth place, he could never erase out the memory of his birthplace. Most of the time
he seemed to be nostalgic in his writings. The poem “I Shall Return to this Bengal” (Abar Asibo
Phire) from Banalatasen represents, apparently, the poet speaker’s love for nature but an in
between the lines analysis of the poem can help us to trace out the fact that a deep angst of the
heart of the poet speaker, due to partition, is ever-present throughout the Oeuvre.
As the poem begins the poet speaker expresses his yearning for going back to his
motherland in the form of a bird like myna or fishing-kite. Very interestingly enough , the poet
speaker wants to be a bird, rather than a human being. It is because he is well aware of the fact
that there is a specific land for specific people but there is no specific space for the birds to fly.
They do not care for any man made ‘shadow line.’ It may also be the fact that Jibanananda Das
ENGLISH (CC); SEM-VI: PAPER- DSE4T (“I Shall RETuRn To ThIS BEngal”)
had a strong faith in reincarnation or rebirth (janmantorbad) so he was not sure about his
upcoming life after death. The following lines express the poet speaker’s deep love for the
nature of Bengal. He seems to be nostalgic because due to partition he was unable to go back
to his birthplace any more. The nitty gritty details express his sufferings and loss due to
partition. Through a transferred epithet or a common image of the nature of Bengal the poet
speaker expresses his pain:
“To this sad green shore of Bengal, drenched by
the Jalangi’s wave”
The above lines, apparently, depicts the nature of Bengal, but the sadness also indicates
the sadness of the mind of the poet speaker who was unable to go back to his motherland for
the illogical drawing of Radcliffe line.
In the second stanza the poet speaker is much more concerned about his rebirth. He
pines for a life of a glass-fly or (Sudarshan) or a barn owl (Lakshmipencha) . Here also the
poet speaker wants to emphasize that glass-fly or barn owl are free from all man-made
demarcation line. In the following few lines there is a picturesque description of the nature of
Bengal. The day to day pictures are drawn here may be because of Das,s close contact with all
these things when he was in Barishal. In the last two lines the poet speaker’s yearning for a
free life is expressed as he utters:
“… white egrets swimming trough the red clouds
To their home in dark. You will find me among their crowd”
In above the concluding couplet the poet speaker’s hope to get a free space without any
border or boundary is well discernible.
Above all it can be said that the poem may be a nature poem, which expresses the poet
speaker’s love for nature and natural elements but it is one of the ne plus ultra poem on the
theme of the partition of Bengal. Some critics opine that das has a penchant for birds but it can
also be asserted that in this poem the birds are mentioned to indicate unconditional freedom
which was barred by the partition of Bengal.

Compiled and Designed and Modified By:: Mr. Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Compiled and Designed and Modified By:: Mr. Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Compiled and Designed and Modified By:: Mr. Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Compiled and designed and modified by:

Critical analysis of “I Shall Return to this Bengal”/ partition

elements in the poem “I Shall Return to this Bengal”

“To this sad green shore of Bengal, drenched by

the Jalangi’s wave”

“… white egrets swimming trough the red clouds

To their home in dark. You will find me among their crowd”

You might also like