TREATMENT OF NATURE IN THE

WORKS OF INDIAN WRITERS:

(WITH SPCIAL REFERANCE TO RUSKIN BOND
AND RABINDRANATH TAGORE)

Made By:
Sanjivan
Chakraborty
SM0116038
RESEARCH
QUESTION:

How did the Indian authors used nature in their

work (with special reference to Ruskin Bond and
Rabindranath Tagore.)?

How did they used different natural elements like

water, plants, animals?
INTRODUCTIO
N:

 India has a very good ecological system, which is used by many

writers in different ways. Indian natural elements are used in different
forms. This elements are depicted in various characters and forms.

 Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay, Ruskin Bond,

etc. there are many Indian writers who uses nature in their works in
various ways. Tagore uses many natural imagery in his works, like
water, plants, animals, etc. Bond uses natural elements and animals as
different scenes and characters.

 Nature writing has been in India from the ancient times, like from the
vedic periods, Mahabharata, Ramayana, are the examples of ancient
works on nature.
WHEN DID NATURE WRITING BEGAN IN INDIA:

 India has a long history of nature writing, going back to the early vedic period.
Which contains several hymns of nature.

 Ancient philosophers and poets drew inspiration from India’s rich and diverse
ecology, forests and plain, rivers and mountains, etc. both Mahabharata and
Ramayana epics contains parts that involve the nature.

 Even during the Mughal period, they used to describe the birds and other
animals in their works.

 Even the British were very interested in the Indian ecology. Botanists like
J.D. Hooker made expeditions into the Himalayas, cataloguing and classifying
different kinds of flowers, shrubs and trees.

 Writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay, Ruskin

Bond, etc uses nature in a verity of ways. Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay in
his book ‘Aranyak’ gives an reflection of love of human and nature.
TREATMENT OF NATURE IN THE WORKS
OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE:

 Rabindranath Tagore used nature in a varieties of ways. He used different elements

of nature as imagery. He used different types of imagery like pastoral, water, etc.
 Pastoral imagery: It includes imaginary descriptions of garden, meadows, cattle
and pasture lands and also rice grains and fields. Tagore used this imageries in
many of his poems, some are “There Is Room For You”, “In The Beginning Of
Time” , etc. in lines like, “she who in the harvest-time brings straying hearts to the
smile sweet as tears” in the poem “The Beginning Of Time”, These line illustrate
the and highlight the significance of the harvest-time for the rural inhabitants,
which might seem as a trivial nuance for the urban population.
 Plant imagery: It includes imageries of seeds, branches, flowers, leaves, root, etc.
 Water imagery: It includes the imageries of vital motifs in the form of rivers,
streams and sea. In the lines, “my love for her is my life flowing in its fullness like
a river in autumn flood, running with serene abandonment. My songs are one with
my love, like the murmur of the stream, that sing with all its waves and currents”,
in the poem “She is near to my heart”, The hydraulic of the river and the stream
can be interpreted as speech and life flowing together
CONTINUE:
 Elements of nature as mystic motifs: In mystic symbols Tagore’s
poetry celebrated in the form of earth, moon, stars, sky, birds, and sand
and dust. The earth is discussed above, sometimes take the identity of a
nurturing mother and at other times is used as a comparison to
distinguish heaven. The moon often appears as a symbol of love and
guidance when everything seems dark. It has also been portrayed as an
object of great beauty and desire like, in the lines, “she had watched the
moon made dizzy by the shaking of bamboo leaves”.
 Tagore used different motifs in a verities of way. He used this motifs in
such a beautiful and meaningful way that it resembled both men and
nature together.
RUSKIN BOND’S USE OF
NATURE:
 In Ruskin Bond’s frictions nature always seems to be very friendly and
it leaves a feeling of warmth and security in the hearts of the reader.
 Bond has forged an intimate relationship with the Himalayas. He has
stressed more the local elements of the Himalayas in his writings.
 His writing style is distinct in a way that it tries to make the reader
understand the landscape and ethos through carefully mastered words.
 As a child he spent long periods with his grandparents in Mussoorie and
imbibed a love for nature from his grandfather. The natural scenic
hillsof Dehradun and Mussoorie almost invariably form the setting of
his works and reflect his ardent faith in the healing powers of nature.
 Use of nature: Nature has played a significant role in shaping Bond the
man and the artist. The hills and the river, the flowers and the trees have
all gone into shaping his personality.
 They figure in his stories very often and bind them together in a pattern.
 Nature thus is a dominant feature in the stories of stopping the relentless
cutting down of trees, which is disturbing the delicate balance of nature.
CONTINUE:
 Ecocriticism: Ecocriticism was a term coined in the late 1970s, joining
the words, “Ecology” and “Criticism”.
 The concept is also known as Environmental Criticism and Green
Studies. The term was introduced in the year 1978 by William Rueckert
in his essay, “Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Eco-criticism”.
 Eco-critics have set criteria for evaluating literary texts, and judging
the environmental consciousness, love and sense of responsibility with
which a text is written. The emphasis is on seeking texts where the
non- human has a voice and a message to convey; it de-centers the
human; it reflects interdependence; and aims at alleviating
environmental degradation.
 Ruskin Bond’s short stories run close to the above ethos. He has been
called a writer who celebrates nature, and also wants to warn his
readers about the threats to the environment caused by
industrialization, urbanization and commercialization.
CONTINUE
:
 Use of animals: Tiger is the grandest of animals. Bond has written
many short stories devoted to this King of the Jungle. “A Tiger in the
House” has a tiger cub, Timothy, growing up in the midst of the family.
Even years after it is given over to the zoo, it recognizes Bond’s
grandfather.
 A ferocious animal also responds to love, and as many old myths and
tales tell us, they have long memories.
CONCLUSION:
 Nature writing has been in India for a very log time.
 Many hymns and epic like the Mahabharata and Ramayana have
episodes containing the tales of nature.
 Indian writers have used nature in a variety of ways.
 Writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay, etc
have used nature in many ways. Tagore has used many natural motifs
and imageries in his works.
 Ruskin Bond has a very close relation with nature. His stories always
make the readers feel warmth and security in their heart.
 Therefore, nature is a very essential element in the works of Indian
authors. As, India has a very rich ecology they can use this in a variety
of ways.