The daughter of the house occupies a place of specially tender affection in a Bengali household (perhaps in Hindu households all over India) because, by dictate of custom, she must be given away in marriage so early. She thus takes corresponding memories with her to her husband’s home, where she has to begin as a stranger before she can get into her place. The resulting feeling, of the mistress of her new home for the one she has left, has taken ceremonial form as the Brothers’ Day, on which the brothers are invited to the married sisters’ houses. Where the sister is the elder, she offers her blessing and receives the brother’s reverence, and vice versa. Presents, called the offerings of reverence (or blessing), are exchanged. —Trans. ↩
Of the Ramayana. The story of his devotion to his elder brother Rama and his brother’s wife Sita, has become a byword. ↩
Food consecrated by the touch of a revered person. ↩
Quotation from the National song, “Bande Mataram.” ↩
Rudra, the Terrible, a name of Shiva. —Trans. ↩
Any dainties to be offered ceremonially should be made by the lady of the house herself. —Trans. ↩
Sitting on the bare floor is a sign of mourning, and so, by association of ideas, of an abject attitude of mind. —Trans. ↩
Colophon
The Home and the World
was published in by
Rabindranath Tagore.
It was translated from Bengali in by
Surendranath Tagore.
This ebook was produced for
Standard Ebooks
by
Chelsea McGill,
and is based on a transcription produced in by
Eric Eldred, Chetan Jain, Viswas G, and Anand Rao
for
Project Gutenberg
and on digital scans from the
Internet Archive.
The cover page is adapted from
Rabindranath Tagore,
a painting completed circa by
Abanindranath Tagore.
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League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy
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