“Dinguli mor sonar khanchay” was written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1918 at Santiniketan when he was 57 years old. The Rabindra Sangeet was published between April and May 1919. Dinguli mor sonar khanchay falls under the category of “Bichitro” (Variety) and does not have a specific sub-category. It is set to the rhythm of Dadra Taal. Dadra is an Indian classical taal (rhythmic cycle), consisting of six beats in two equal divisions of three. The Rabindra Sangeet is based on the Yaman (Iman) – Puravi raga.
A raga is very identical to the Western classical modes. Modes in music are scale-like patterns that can begin on any note of the scale, not just the root note. Each mode like each raga has a distinct characteristic. Traditionally, raga Yaman is only played in the early evening. It portrays a quiet, calm, and peaceful tone, while being joyous and vibrant. The notes of a raga Yaman approximately equate to the western scale notes in the key of D. Puravi raga is highly serious and mystical in nature. Nowadays, it is unusual in performances. The notation for the song can be found in the Geetabhithika and is included in Volume 34 of the Swarabitan. The notation is given to Dinguli mor sonar khanchay by Dinendranath Thakur.
Tagore starts the Rabindra Sangeet by noting that his multi-hued days of thick and thin, good and bad, could not be contained in a golden cage. The days are personified as they could not withstand the bondage of smiles and tears like a person. The days are now suddenly used as similes as they relate to learners of the music of life. The days flew by without uttering the lyrics of life. The poet finds those days in his dreams as if the dreams are coming out flying from the broken cage. Indeed, he misses those days and unconsciously wants them back. According to the originator of Psychology, Sigmund Freud, dreams arise out of repressed desires. The bard is wondering if all the agony and those days are meaningless like the birds of shadows. He is wondering if there will be nothing in the sky streaming those multi-coloured days.
Tagore has seen the loved ones of his family die in front of him at a tender age. He did not give into the agony of the mishaps. Instead, he transmuted the energy and embarked on a journey of enlightenment through his creations. Tagore, in his younger days, had enjoyed the bliss of family life. But later on, as time had taken away colourful days of his life, he started missing those. The poet is aware that those days are like a golden cage because those days had given him pleasure and happiness and it hurt him when those days were gone.
Tagore’s words prove his preoccupation with the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. According to Chapter 7, Verse 14 of the Bhagavad Gita, Maya, God’s divine essence composed of the three phases of nature, is extremely difficult to resist. Those who yield to God, on the other hand, effortlessly pass through it. Tagore has surrendered himself to the
divine. He recognizes the days of the past as golden cage, birds of shadow which could not transcend beyond mere smiles and tears and the poet’s life song, which is of divine inspiration. The divine inspiration is that sky in front of which mere smile and tears would not mean anything. Hence, he is afraid that those days from the past cannot stand the test of eternity to what days are like birds of shadow disappearing into the sky.
