ADDITIONAL

ENGLISH CIA -1
BABUS OF
NAYANJORE
B Y- R A B I N D R A N AT H TA G O R E
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rabindranath Tagore FRAS, and also known by

his sobriquets Gurudev, Kabiguru, and
Biswakabi, was a poet, musician, and artist
from the Indian subcontinent. He was born on
7th May 1861. He reshaped Bengali literature
and music, as well as Indian art with
Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. He was a Nobel price
recipient and he was the first Indian to receive
a Nobel price. He passed away on August 7
1941 leaving his legacy behind and giving India
the national anthem.
 THEME
1.Appearance vs Reality:
This short story brings out the theme of appearance vs reality prominently. Kailas Babu appears
to be a very wealthy man, and a man of prestigious contacts where as in reality he is indeed just
a common poor man trying to live up to his ancestral name.
Another instance where the theme of appearance and reality surfaces is, when the narrator
brings up Kailas Babu’s grand daughter Kusum. Kusum appears in the beginning as an unworthy
marriage product, but in reality the narrator realizes that ‘in the corner of the room, there was a
tender human heart beating.’ It appears as though Kusum is unworthy of the narrator, but in
reality the narrator himself asks Kailas Babu for his grand daughter’s hand in marriage.
2.Forgiveness:
The theme of forgiveness is seen towards the ending, when the narrator and Kailas Babu
reconcile. After the narrator finds out what a cruel act he had done, he immediately felt terrible
and went back to correct his actions.
1.Kailas Babu:
a. Honorable:
Kailas Babu is seen as an honorable man in this short story. He comes CH A RACT ER
from a line of famous landholders who were noted for their princely SKETCHES
extravagance. After his father passed away, their family was insolvent. He
moved to Calcutta right after and continued his life there. Although he

• Kailas babu
was poor, Kailas Babu tried his absolute best to keep up the family name
and not disappoint. He would think of the most absurd excuses to make
sure his and his family’s name is not let down. This is why we have come
to the conclusion that Kailas Babu is an honorable man.
b. Manner:
Kailas Babu was always ready with his kindly acts of courtesy in times of
sorrow and joy. He would join in all the ceremonies and religious
observances of the people around him. He would greet the young and
old all alike. He would politely ask about the domestic affairs of his
neighbours.
Kailas Babu’s relentless need to follow manners is also seen in his
dressing style. He was a spotlessly neat man in his dress on all occasions.
He had a limited supply of clothes but that did not stop him from
wearing his shirts, vests, coats and trousers carefully. He would iron out
his shirts and linen with his own hands and do other menial tasks.
 2.Narrator:
a. Independent:
CH A RACT ER
The narrator is an independent man who had to work for
SKETCHES
what he is in the present. He prides himself from the fact
that he did not inherit any great family wealth. The fact
that his family name does not symbolize wealth, does not • narrator
concern him, instead he holds it up as his greatest
achievement.
b. Seeking For Validation:
The narrator constantly talks about how he is unaffected
by the fact that he had to work for his money. Yet
throughout the story he is constantly trying to seek
validation from Kailas Babu. The narrator’s grudge
towards Kailas Babu at first can be narrowed down to
this reason which starts out with Kailas Babu ignoring
these aspects of the narrator.
3.Kusum:
a. Loving: CH A RACT ER
SKETCHES
Kusum is the grand daughter of
Kailas Babu. She bursts into tears when • kusum
the narrator had played a prank on Kailas
Babu. Even after knowing about the
entire prank, she chooses not to tell her
grand father because she knows how
much it means to him. So she goes on to
ask him to explain exactly what their
meeting was about , even after knowing it
wasn’t real. That was the love she had for
her grand father.
 THE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION:
Babus of Nayanjore , is a play written by Rabindranath Tagore which depicts the life of a man named Kailas Babu,
who was very rich and was famous for his extravagance lifestyle. They were landholders, but after the flood his
whole ancestral business was destroyed and due to this, he shifted to Calcutta from Nayanjore. After the flood
when his father died, they were on the verge of insolvency and to repay the debt, he had to sell off his property.
LIFE IN CALCUTTA:
In Calcutta, he always used to describe his past life to all his neighbours and they all cherished to talk with him just
because of his speech style and his charming enquiries about the wellbeing of the neighbourhood. Everyone in his
neighbourhood believed that he was a rich-upper class man and therefore enjoyed his company but sometime
they used to doubt his richness because whenever he used to say that he had an exquisite tobacco and if
someone asked him to bring it , he would always give transparent excuses.
He would procrastinate a dinner plan saying that the weather isn’t good for this kind of supper and due to this
everyone found it better to remain silent by saying that we would fix the date later. This play moves on highlighting
the life and nature of Thakur Dada and describes as to why the narrator dislikes Kailas Babu. The narrator moved
on in this play by making mockery of Thakur Dada by citing various examples. The narrator was a self made man
and he wanted everyone to recognise his achievements and what he had done in life to get there. But everyone
used to be very influenced by Kailas Babu and this made the narrator jealous and insecure because he sacrificed a
lot to get to this point where Kailas Babu gifted it on a platter.
 THE SUMMARY
TURNING POINT
The turning point in the play comes when the friend circle of Kailas Babu tells him that they have been
talking to the government servant and he made his appearance in front of Chota Lat Sahib and he was
very keen to meet him. And as Kailas Babu was already a victim of false appreciation he accepted the
facts without any verification and thought that he and the Chota Lat Sahib were already good friends
over the words. By taking this situation as an opportunity to mock Kailas Babu , he decided to bring an
imposter as Chota Lat Sahib and to steal all the ancestral heirlooms he had.
The narrator’s imposter friend arrived with the demeanour of a government official and as a normal
human being Thakur Dada was very nervous and scared and he was under the obligation to impress
the person. And in the other room the narrator was enjoying the show as he was taking the full pleasure
of show .
RESULT
When the narrator was crossing the room, he saw Kusum in a corner with tears in her eyes . The reply
which he got was an eye-opener. She realised that the whole meeting was a set-up and all the narrator
did was to make a mockery of her grandfather. So she asked a very simple question to the narrator as to
why he hated his grandfather so much.