Where The Mind Is Without Fear Ibban Kalan Amritsar

Prepared By: Kuljinder Singh, (C.F.) G.H.S. Ibban Kalan, Amritsar

INTRODUCTION • This

poem

is

taken

from

the

book

“SUPPLEMENTARY ENGLISH READER” for 10+2 Class of PUNJAB SCHOOL EDUCATION BOARD. The poem titled “WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR”

is

a

patriotic

song

written

by

Rabinder Nath Tagore. In this poem the poet prays to God to make his country great in every respect.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tagore, Rabindranath (1861-1941), Indian poet, philosopher, and Nobel laureate, was born in Calcutta, into a wealthy family. He began to write poetry as a child; his first book appeared when he was 17 years old. After a brief stay in England (1878) to study law, he returned to India, where he rapidly became the most important and popular author of the colonial era, writing poetry, short stories, novels, and plays. He composed several hundred popular songs and in 1929 also began painting. Tagore wrote primarily in Bengali, but translated many of his works into English himself. He was awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize in literature, and in 1915 he was knighted by the British king George V. Tagore renounced his knighthood in 1919 following the Amritsar massacre of 400 Indian demonstrators by

ABOUT THE AUTHOR British troops. Some of his more famous works are 'Balaka', 'Sonar Tari', 'Chitali', and 'Gitanjali'. His selected poems 'Sanchaita', and selected short stories 'Galpagucha' were published in India 1966. Two of his songs are national anthem of India and Bangladesh. In 1901 Rabindranath Tagore founded a school at Santiniketan, West Bengal, India, which later developed into an international institution called Visva Bharati, where he tried to revive the spirit of education of ancient India, the famed "Gurukula" system, when students spent their childhood at their teacher's house and studied there.

POEM 1. Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

POEM 2. Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action……. Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

CENTRAL IDEA The poem is a patriotic song. It is a kind of prayer. The poet prays to God to make his country great. He wants his countrymen to be fearless. They should not be divided on the basis of caste and religion. They should give up

old

customs.

They

should

be

guided by reason. They should be broad-minded in thought and action. They

should

work

to

achieve

perfection. There should be freedom of every kind. God alone should lead his countrymen.

Education to all

Way to Heaven

Perfect Freedom

Unity & Progress

Where the ……….….Perfection. CONTEXT: These lines has been taken from the poem “WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR” written by Rabindranath Tagore. The poem is a patriotic song. It is a kind of prayer. The poet prays to god to make his country great in every respect. EXPLANATIONS: In these lines the poet says that his countrymen should be truthful from the core of their hearts. They should make endless efforts to achieve perfection. They should give up outdated customs. They are like a dull desert of sand. They should follow reason. Reason is like a stream of clear water.

Where the ……………… awake. EXPLANATIONS: In these lines the poet says that his countrymen should be truthful from the core of their hearts. The poet prays to God to guide the minds of his countrymen. He should inspire them and lead them forwards. They would then automatically enter the ever widening areas of thought and action. He prays that his country should become a place of perfect freedom. Such freedom is like heaven.

BIBLIOGRAPHY • Advanced Textual Notes Supplementary English Reader • http://www.google.com • http://www.yahoo.com

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