Journal of Xidian https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.

7/070 ISSN No:1001-2400

University

The Inception of odd friendship and the emotions

they deliver in the Short stories “My lord, the baby”
and “Kabuliwala” by the Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore
Jeyalakshmi. R #1, Hajira Irfana M #2 Anita Evelyn. S #3, Rubitha. M #4
#1 Assistant Professor, Department of English, R.M.K. Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil
Nadu- India #2Assistant Professor, Department of English, R.M.K. Engineering College,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu- India #3Associate Professor, Department of English,
R.M.K. Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu- India #4Assistant Professor, Department of
English, R.M.K. Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu- India
Abstract— Renunciation is concerned with the norms of human social behaviour. It is that study of
human behaviour which propounds the supreme good of human life and which formulates the
judgments of right and wrong and good and evil. Two such characters are Rabindranath Tagore’s Raicharan
in one of his short stories “My Lord, the baby” and the character of Kabuliwala in the short story
“Kabuliwala”. This paper focuses on the portrayal of these two characters in particular and their
inception of their friendship, and the emotions they exhibit in these stories.

Keywords— Emotion, sacrifice, time, renunciation.

Tagore began to write short stories when he was only a teen. He

started his writing career with „Bhikharini‟. Instead of concentrating on the theme
of his stories, Tagore was very much interested in the portrayal of characters. His
psychological analysis of human minds and the emotions they deliver are very
well portrayed through the characters of Kabulliwala and Raicharan.
“My lord, the baby” is a short story that showcases the bond between,
the master and his servant. In his works, “ My Lord, the Baby” and in
„Kabuliwala‟ the theme of sacrifice, guilt, responsibility, gratitude, selflessness,
shame and the change of human mind over time, are very well-depicted by Tagore.
Raicharan in “My Lord, the Baby”, rather than living with the guilt of feeling
responsible for his master‟s son‟s death, gives his only son to his master. What is
also interesting about the story is the fact that, Raicharan thinks of others before
he thinks about himself. There is also a sense that Raicharan feels, which has
driven him to create a mirror image of his master‟s son by way of his own son.
Raicharan is such a wonderful human being that at no stage of the story he has
let go of the incident. To say in other words, he burdened and punished himself
as his master‟s son died.
The depiction of Raicharan‟s character is quite pathetic. His son himself
has betrayed him. Also the reaction of his son towards his new life is
surprising. He disregards his father even though he suggested to Raicharan‟s master
that he provided him with a monthly pension. It is heart-breaking when he
gives his son away to somebody else under the guise that they are his real
parents. On the other hand, his son never understood the sacrifices of his father
for his own benefit. This must be the reason for Raicharan, as he left the village at
the end of the story with no hope towards his life
.He was still blaming himself for the death of his master‟s son. Raicharan
strongly believed that his complete life was indebted to his master and his son.
He lived a life of an outcast, still blaming himself for the accident which he
was not responsible for. Towards the end of the story, he decided to wander
lonely as he felt, he was defeated throughout his life.

VOLUME 14, ISSUE 7, 1 http://xadzkjdx.cn/

2020
Journal of Xidian https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.7/070 ISSN No:1001-2400
University

Time has a powerful effect on human relationships. This is portrayed vividly

by Tagore in his short story “Kabuliwala”.Human beings like to establish
emotional connections in their relationships. This in nutshell was very well depicted
by Tagore in the portrayal of the character Kabuliwala and his daughter like
friendship with Mini. When Rahmun "heaved a deep sight, and sat down on the floor," it was
clear that he felt sad over time's passing and the gap between him and his own
daughter. Also, Tagore believed in the insurmountable effect of time. Kabuliwala
went to see Mini before he left to go back to his home in Afghanistan, it was tough
for him to see his little friend had grown up. It made him realize, he missed seeing
his own daughter growing up. Here Tagore strongly believed that time has a
deteriorating effect on relationships. It tests the emotional relationships of human
beings. Kabuliwala was unable to revive the old friendship, and the most important
reason said by Tagore for this is “Time”. Even though this story explained how time
can test relationships, it also portrayed the enduring strength of human
emotions.

Rabindranath Tagore based his stories on these basic values of Indian

value systems. The stories of Rabindranath Tagore are great means to make us
realize the importance of the ethical values. Tagore loved poor people regardless of
where they come from. The characterization of Raicharan and Kabuliwallah showcase
Tagore‟s compassion towards the poor.

REFERENCES
[1] A Centenary Volume: Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1961. New Delhi: Sahitya Academy P, 1961. Print.
[2] MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New Delhi: Affiliated East-West Press, 2009. Print.
[3] Roy, Madhumita. Scripting Women in Three Short Stories of Tagore. Diss. Visva-Bharati, 2010.
[4] Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, Vol 2 (2010): 596- 604.Web.
[5] Tagore, Rabindranath. Hungry Stones and Other Stories. New Delhi: Rupa P India. 2002. Print.
[6] Kabuliwala New York Times. Archived 4 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine

VOLUME 14, ISSUE 7, 2 http://xadzkjdx.cn/

2020