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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal
ISSN 2278-9529
Environmental Degradation: Issues and Concerns’ in Rabindranath
Tagore’s Selected Poems
Archana Bhattacharjee
Associate professor
Dept. of English
Kakojan College, Jorhat, Assam
Abstract
“Environmental Degradation” as one of the major threats facing the planet since
humans have only been given one Earth to work with, and if the environment becomes
irreparably compromised, it could mean the end of human existence. This issue shares space
with problems like poverty, terrorism and civil war in the list and this itself highlights the fact
that we are heading for a disaster. This paper makes a attempt to analyse Tagore’s selected
nature poems, written a century back viz. “The Tame Bird was in a Cage” and “I plucked
you Flower” to see what kind of message to humanity they carry regarding environmental
threats the world is facing today.
Keywords: Environmental Degradation, Humanities, Rabindranath Tagore, Earth
Introduction:
Environmental degradation is a process through which the natural environment is
compromised in some ways, reducing biological diversity and the general health of the
environment. This process can be accelerated or caused by human activities. One of the major
threats the planet faces today, environmental degradation is bound to make life difficult for
all the life forms, including human beings, now or later. Many international organisations
including ‘The United Nations’ have enlisted “Environmental Degradation” as one of the
major threats facing the planet since humans have only been given one Earth to work with,
and if the environment becomes irreparably compromised, it could mean the end of human
existence. This issue shares space with problems like poverty, terrorism and civil war in the
list and this itself highlights the fact that we are heading for a disaster.
Environmental degradation can be attributed to various human activities as well as
some natural process with the later having an insignificant share. Most of the resources on the
planet are vulnerable to depletion and the rates at which we are exploiting them have already
brought some of them to the brink of exhaustion. Exploitation of the fossil fuels is the best
example of this phenomenon. Large scale exploitation has depleted the fossil fuel reserves
across the world, thus leaving us with no option but to find an alternate source of energy.
Other human activities which have been contributing to environmental degradation include
Urbanization, Overpopulation, Deforestation, Pollution, Hunting etc.
Effects of Environmental Degradation:
Environmental degradation as a phenomenon can also be defined as deterioration of
the Earths’ natural surroundings, as a result of excessive exploitation of the available
resources. Basically life on the planet is interwoven to such an extent that a decrease in a
particular attribute triggers a domino effect on all the other attributes dependent on it.
Environmental degradation effects are becoming more obvious in form of a range of
environmental issues affecting the planet. The hazardous waste let out by the industries tends
to contaminate the water bodies in the vicinity, thus leaving the water unfit for drinking.
Similarly Green House Gases such as CFC’s and Carbon dioxide let out in the atmosphere
have a devastating effect on the environment, thus making the planet vulnerable to a range of
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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal
ISSN 2278-9529
problems, including global warming and climate change. On the one hand, incessant
agricultural activities have resulted in degradation of soil, while excessive deforestation to
accommodate the growing population has resulted in degradation of air and water on the
other hand. Humans have seldom sacrificed their basic necessities, but lately exploitation of
resources to fulfil these basic necessities itself is taking a toll on the environment. Climate
change will lead to an increase in the intensity and frequency of weather extremes, such as
heat waves, floods, droughts and tropical cyclones. Extreme weather events, such as severe
flooding, increase the spread of water borne diseases, such as malaria and diarrhoea. Again
water pollution and water scarcity will lead to declining fisheries and aquifer depletion
resulting in irreversible compaction. Degradation of the environmental will also create other
problems like air pollution, solid and hazardous wastes, soil degradation, deforestation, loss
of biodiversity, atmospheric changes etc. In short the impact of environmental disasters will
be devastating on the social, economic and environmental systems of a country or region as
well as the global ecosystem. Environmental disasters do not recognise man made borders,
and threatens the legacy left to the future generations of a clean and supportive environment.
It may be appropriate at this time to look back at some of the modern great thinkers and
philosophers of the past century and re-examine their messages of wisdom for their relevance
today.
Poet Rabindranath Tagore, the Environmentalist:
In the galaxy of the prophets of Humanism of the 20th century, Rabindranath Tagore,
the Novel laureate, occupies a frontal position. Tagore was a creative genius who generated
an ocean of ideas and ideals. As a child of the Indian Renaissance in the 19th and early 20th
century, he imbibed new ideas, new thoughts, and new approaches, touching on almost every
aspect that make life lofty, beautiful and worth living. A man of many parts, Tagore’s
versatility was matched only by his genius. As well as being a Seer Poet Tagore’s
achievements included notable contributions in the field of music, literature, plays, art and
education. His creative fecundity was inexhaustible and the unlimited variety of his literary
output is so extraordinary that the phrases ‘myriad minded’ which Mathew Arnold used for
Shakespeare can appropriately be applied to him. But the underlying tone of all his artistic
creations and social activities is ‘Humanism’ in all its variegated aspects. He was deeply
influenced by the Humanist tradition of Buddha. His views were that man must come of his
shell of his individual self order to enter into the larger self of Humanity. His poems
especially those written in the latter part of his life reflects his philosophy of Humanism by
pointing out the divinity in Man.
Humanism also lays special emphasis on men’s appreciation of the beauty and
splendour of nature. The Humanists keen responsiveness to every sort of natural beauty
evokes him, as in Wordsworth, a feeling of profound kinship with nature and its myriad
forms of life. Environmental issues like river erosion and deforestation may be hot topics
today, but Tagore had been eloquent about the exploitation of environment even a century
ago. He churned out poems, plays and short stories emphasizing the need to protect nature.
With India beginning year-long celebration to mark his 150th birth anniversary, many are
pointing to his deep sensitivities for the environment. This creative genius has produced a
great deal of poetry, which outlines deal with nature as integral to human civilization. He
constantly seeks to remind human civilization through his nature poem about the pitfalls of an
indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources.
It is worthwhile to point out that human interaction with Nature was a lingering
concern for Rabindranath Tagore from his very early age. Drawing from the Upanishad
tradition, Tagore saw the presence of the Divine Spirit within all creation manifested within
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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal
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the richness of nature. This presence was one which was marked by a deep spirit of creative
joy whose reflection Tagore sought to create within his poetry.
Subhas Dutta, an Environmentalist said, “The literary works of Tagore can be used
for raising awareness about the environment.” Tagore not only wrote extensively on men’s
relationship with the environment but implemented it too by building Santineketan. It is
surrounded by greenery on all sides. He created an example for the whole world in terms of
the relationship between nature and human. Pabitra Sarkar, a former Vice-Chancellor of
Rabindra Bharati University and a Tagore expert said, “In his literary works he has said he
was born along with the trees and flowers”. He depicted his intense love for nature and its
beauty in his plays and poems. His song ‘Akash Bhora, Surjya Tara, Bishwa Bhara Pran’
speaks of his deep affection for nature.
Literature and the Physical Environment:
Eco-criticism is an emerging critical theory and it studies the relationship between
literature and physical environment. Nature poetry is not new to literature, but eco-criticism
allows one to study a poem from a new perspective that is natures’ perspective. This also
makes human to think in a bio-centric way. Human beings are the greatest aggressors on this
biosphere. They have dominated this earth with their aggressive behaviour. Their only aim is
to tame the elements of nature and turn this ecosphere into something of their own liking. In
fact they want to enslave the entire universe. As a great visionary, Tagore denounces human
aggression on nature and its degradation.
This paper makes a attempt to analyse Tagore’s selected nature poems, written a
century back viz. “The Tame Bird was in a Cage” and “I plucked you Flower” in the light of
the above theory to see what kind of message to humanity they carry regarding environmental
threats the world is facing today. It also seeks to examine measures which the poet feel
humanity should adopt to overcome this major disaster in the near future.
In his poem “The Tame Bird was in a Cage” (The Gardener, Poem No II), Tagore
brings out the plight of a tamed bird. One bird is in the cage and the other in the forest. Both
of them meet and fall in love.
The free bird cries, “O my love, let us fly to the wood”
The caged bird whispers, “Come hither, let us both live in the cage”.
Says the free bird, “Among bars, where is there room to spread one’s wings?
“Alas” cries the cage bird, “I should not know where to sit perched in the
sky” (4-10)
Here both the birds are of the same type, but the difference lies in the way they were
brought up. One is a domesticated bird and the other is a free bird. Both these birds are totally
different from each other.
The free bird cries, “My darling sing the songs of the woodlands”
The cage bird says, “Sit by my side, I’ll teach you the speech of the learned”.
The forest bird cries, “No, ah no! Songs
never be taught”
The cage bird says, “Alas for me, I know
not the songs of the woodlands”. (11-18)
The caged bird has even forgotten how to sing. But it can imitate its master’s voice.
The free birds know that the songs of nature can never be taught, they are all part of the
system of the birds. Here, comes the question of culture as a great achievement. But in reality
culture has destroyed nature in various ways. William Rueckert says, “Culture one of our
great achievements wherever we have gone-has often fed like a great predator and parasite
upon nature and never entered into a reciprocating energy-transfer, into a recycling
relationship with the Biosphere.” (Glotfelty 119). Here also, this lovely bird has lost its
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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal
ISSN 2278-9529
natural song and has learnt human beings’ language, which is in no way useful to it. Because
of their greedy nature, the humans want to domesticate nature. The humans always want to
look from their perspective and clearly refuse to see from nature’s perspective. Eco-criticism
enables the humans to view everything from nature’s point of view.
In another poem, “I plucked you Flower” (The Gardener, Poem No LVII), human
aggression gets expressed through the plucking of a flower.
“I plucked your flower, O world/
I pressed it to my heart and the thorn
pricked
when the day waned and it darkened, I
found that,
the flower had faded, but the pain
remained”. (1-4)
Even though the speaker starts with a flower, his motive is “flower-gathering” (7). His
motive is business. When he plucked a flower, his hand is pricked by a thorn.
More flowers will come to you with
perfume and
pride, O world/
But my time for flower gathering is over,
and through
the dark night I have not my rose, only
the pain
remain (5-9)
The human feel that plucking flowers is their own right. Nature is not a silent
spectator. One day it will react. It would not be just a thorn-prick but can be a mighty
tsunami. The human should be careful about this.
The human have converted the animate and living nature into an inanimate thing.
Because of their nature, they have always behaved in an anthropocentric way. In, the first
poem, “The Tame Bird was in a Cage”, the caged bird does not react. The free bird does not
know how to react to the human beings greed of domesticating its loved ones. In the second
poem, “I plucked you flower”, the plant reacts in a small way, but there will be time when
human beings will have to pay a heavy price for their anthropocentric behaviour. In Fruit
Gathering, Poem NO XVIII, Tagore clearly says that no one should interfere with the
activities of nature. “No it is not yours to open buds into blossoms” (i). Human beings do not
know how to interact with nature. They “shake the bud” and “strike it” (2). Because they feel
that they are the masters of the Universe, they crush the bud under the pretext of making it
blossom. Tagore emphatically says,
“…it is beyond your power to
make it blossom.
Your touch soils, you tear its petals to
pieces and
strew them in the dust. (2-5).
Suggestion and Conclusion:
Human have the habit of destroying something to create something. They destroy a
beautiful rock to create a sculpture of their liking. They cut a gorgeous tree to make a musical
instrument for their use. Many trees are uprooted and many major massacres of nature have
taken place for the implantation of tea or coffee gardens. This attitude is caused by their
anthropocentric behaviour. It is totally unnecessary for humans to enter into the creating act.
The modern invention in gene technology will boomerang on them one day. All
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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal
ISSN 2278-9529
anthropocentric attempts will end only in disaster. At one point of time the damage caused to
the environment reaches a stage wherein the environment cannot attain the required balance
on its own. In such a situation, we humans need to step in and ensure that the damage is
curbed and the balance is attained. Simple measures such as conservation of electricity, use of
alternative energy sources, avoiding the use of things that pollute the environment, soil
conservation etc. can help in saving the environment from the threat of degradation. Human
should understand the roles assigned to them at a macrocosmic level. Any human aggression
will end in a disaster for the whole biosphere.
The time has come for humanity to realize that the destinies of both the humans and
nature are intricately bound together and any problems like environmental degradation and
environmental pollution are bound to affect us directly or indirectly. Though the disaster is
not expected to happen tomorrow or a hundred years from now that does not mean it will
never happen at all. That being said, the onus is on us the most intelligent species on the
planet to make sure that such problems are kept at bay. William Rueckert very rightly says,
“The conceptual and practical problem is to find the grounds upon which the two
communities-the human, the natural can co-exist, cooperate, and flourish in the biosphere.”
Works Cited:
Dutta, K. & Robinson, A “Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad Minded Man”, Published by
St. Martin’s Press, 1995. Print
Glotfelty Cheryll and Harold Fromm (Ed), “The Eco-criticism Reader: landmark in Literary
Ecology”, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1996. Print
Tagore, Rabindranath, “Collected Poem and Plays”, New Delhi, Rupa and Co, 2002. Print
Web link
1. www.poetseers.org/../tagore/
2. www.poetry-archive.com/.../the_tame_bird_was_in_a_cage.html
3. www.sfheber.wetpaint.com/.../Human+Aggression
4. www.fropper.com/post/32041
5. www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rtagore.htm
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