In 1939, at the age of 78, Rabindranath Tagore composed “Mon mor megher sangi” which was published in July 1944. The Rabindrasangeet falls under the category of Prakriti (Nature) and the sub-category of Barsha (Monsoon). It was written in the taal (rhythmic pattern) known as Kaharwa. Kaharwa is a rhythmic structure of eight beats in two equal divisions. This Rabindrasangeet is set to the cadence of raga Malhar.
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 unique characteristics. Malhar is a traditional Indian classical raga which, the legends say, has the capacity to summon rainfall. The notation for Mon mor megher sangi can be found in the book Introduction to Musicology (1944) and Volume 53 of Swarabitan. The notation for Mon mor megher sangi was given by Shailajaranjan Majumdar.
Tagore starts the Rabindrasangeet by relating his mind to the clouds which float towards the distant horizons. This takes place in an endless void resembling the song of the rainy Vedic month of Sravan (July-August). The onomatopoeic ‘rim-jhim’ resembles the blissful melody of the rain. His mind floats on the wings of cranes, illuminated by the accompanying thunder.
The sounds of thunder reverberate a divine expression of joy. The ripples of the stream murmur softly about the impending calamity. The breeze blowing from the eastern seas creates waves in the river. The poet’s mind ascends in this maddening surge of nature towards the trembling branches of the palm forest.
Tagore wonderfully conveys human emotions in “Mon mor megher sangi” by reflecting on those feelings via nature. This phenomenon is known as the “objective correlative” in literary theory. According to T.S. Eliot, this word refers to "a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion" that the poet is feeling and wishes to evoke in the reader.
Nature, the poet, and the reader all feel the monotony of gloomy weather via the lyrics. The song’s literal meaning is rather simple, conveying a stormy upsurge in nature. For the mind to be friends with clouds is an adventure in itself. The mind goes through an array of feelings as the clouds go through numerous places. When the mind suffers, thoughts concentrate like clouds. When the pain becomes unbearable, as water for the clouds it rains, one mourns.
In Canto 5, Chapter 18, Verse 12 of Srimad Bhagwatam, the mind is related to a chariot. The mind, through the power of imagination, is like clouds; like a chariot, it is swift and moves around everywhere it wants. The desire to nurture curiosity, as the mind wants to travel to various places, denotes Tagore’s insatiable search for something profound. The rippling of the small branches of the palm trees hence means a movement of quest in itself.
