Duration: 3:00

“I” is set to the poem of the same name by Rabindarath Tagore (1861-1941). Recognized as the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, Tagore is credited as a leading figure in the early introduction of Indian artistic culture with the Western world (and vice-versa). His works welcome the use of colloquial language in Bengali literature, distinguishing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. “I” focuses on the topics of spirituality, singleness, and holiness, important themes found across many of Tagore’s poems. Beyond poetry, Tagore was also an important short-story writer, composer, playwright, essayist, and painter.

“I” BY RABINDARATH TAGORE

I wonder if I know him

In whose speech is my voice,

In whose movement is my being,

Whose skill is in my lines,

Whose melody is in my songs

In joy and sorrow.

I thought he was chained within me,

Contained by tears and laughter,

Work and play.

I thought he was my very self

Coming to an end with my death.

Why then in a flood of joy do I feel him

In the sight and touch of my beloved?

This 'I' beyond self I found

On the shores of the shining sea.

Therefore I know

This 'I' is not imprisoned within my bounds.

Losing myself, I find him

Beyond the borders of time and space.

Through the Ages

I come to know his Shining Self

In the life of the seeker,

In the voice of the poet.

From the dark clouds pour the rains.

I sit and think:

Bearing so many forms, so many names,

I come down, crossing the threshold

Of countless births and deaths.

The Supreme undivided, complete in himself,

Embracing past and present,

Dwells in Man.

Within Him I shall find myself -

The 'I' that reaches everywhere.

TRANSLATION CREDITS TO ALLPOETRY.COM