Chelam’s foreword to Gitanjali

We know that Tagore originally wrote his Gitanjali in Bengali, and later translated it into English. We understand that the poems of original Gitanjali can be sung to folk tunes. Gitanjali seems to be popular even among illiterate people since all the poems of this masterpiece are sung throughout Bengal. It is Chelam who translated Gitanjali into Telugu in 1958. His translation is acclaimed as a classic in Telugu literature.

Chelam, quite justifiably, felt the collection of poems known as Gitanjali needed a comprehensive introduction. Chelam’s introduction to Gitanjali is a literary piece by itself. He opens his introduction with the following quote from Tagore’s Fruit Gathering.

They knew the way and went to seek you along the narrow
lane, but I wandered abroad into the night for I was ignorant.

I was not schooled enough to be afraid of you in the dark,
therefore I came upon your doorstep unaware.

The wise rebuked me and bade me be gone, for I had not come
by the lane.

I turned away in doubt, but you held me fast, and their scolding
became louder every day.

This is verse 16 in Rabindranath Tagore’s collection of poems entitled Fruit Gathering.