✨ The last Bargain (Class 8)
✍️ About the Poet: Rabindranath Tagore
Born: 7 May 1861, Kolkata, India
Died: 7 August 1941
Achievements:
First Asian Nobel laureate in Literature (1913)
Known for his poetry, short stories, plays, essays, and songs
Composed the national anthems of India (Jana Gana Mana) and Bangladesh (Amar Sonar Bangla)
Writing style: Deeply spiritual, philosophical, and often explores human emotions, life, nature, and freedom.
Poem
“Come and hire me,” I cried, while in the morning
I was walking on the stone-paved road.
Sword in hand the King came in his chariot.
He held my hand and said, “I will hire you with my power,”
But his power counted for naught, and he went away in his chariot.
Word Meaning:
Stone-paved – a road, path covered with a suitable surface suitable for travel
Chariot– a carriage drawn by horses
Naught– nothing
the Poem – A man in search of work made an announcement to let people know he is available for work. As he was walking on the stone-paved road, the King came in his chariot with a sword in his hand. The King stopped and offered the man a job with his power as he held the man’s hand. But the power meant nothing to the man and thus, he refused the King’s offer. And the King went away in his carriage.
Poem
In the heat of the mid-day the houses stood with shut doors.
I wandered along the crooked lane.
An old man came out with his bag of gold.
He pondered and said, “I will hire you with my money.”
He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.
Word Meaning:
Crooked– not straight
Pondered– think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion
The Poem – It was now midday and everyone was in their houses with the doors shut due to the heat. As the man roamed around during that time along the not-so-straight pathway, he received an offer from an old man. The old man offered to hire him with money as he counted his gold coins one by one. The man turned the old man’s offer away as he was not satisfied with it.
Poem
It was evening. The garden hedge was all a flower.
The fair maid came out and said, “I will hire you with a smile.”
Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went back alone into the dark.
Word Meaning:
Hedge– a fence or boundary formed by closely growing bushes or shrubs
A flower– flowering; in bloom
Fair maid- a young unmarried woman
Paled– (here) fade; diminish; lessen
The Poem – It was now evening when the man was near a garden fence covered with flowers. It was only then that a young woman offered to hire him with her smile but her smile faded away and tears started coming from her eyes. Thus, she went into the dark all alone. Her happiness was just sorrow in disguise.
Poem
The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke waywardly.
A child sat playing with shells.
He raised his head and seemed to know me and said, “I hire you with nothing.”
From henceforward that bargain struck in child’s play made me a free man.
Word Meaning:
Glistened– shine with a sparkling light
Waywardly– difficult to control or predict
The Poem – The sun rays fell on the sand as waves began to arise. He saw a child playing with shells at the seashore. The child looked at the man with a sense of recognition and familiarity as he offered to hire him with nothing. The man accepted the bargain and indulged himself in child’s play because it made him a free man as he worked in exchange for nothing.
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