A Short Summary of the Essay, "The Homecoming" by Rabindranath Tagore
The Homecoming by Rabindranath Tagore
About the Author:
Rabindranath Tagore was a twentieth century Bengali freedom fighter, educationist, playwright and a poet. He went England for his education but came back to India. He started an experimental school at Santiniketan. He joined Indian National Movement and he was a great friend of Mahatma Gandhi. He was awarded Nobel Prize for literature for his famous work, ‘Gitanjali’. He was awarded the title, ‘Sir’ by the British Government which he later returned in protest against the British policies in India. He translated much of his poetry and received popularity for his work. His famous collections of poetry are Manasi, Sonar Tari and Gitanjali. He also wrote plays and short stories namely Gora and Ghare-Baire.
Summary of the Essay:
The present story is about a teenager boy named Phatik who feels homesick after he leaves his home for education. It is about the psychology of the teenagers. The writer through the character of Phatik presents a very vivid description of village life and the adolescent stage of a child.
Phatik Chakravarti is a central character in the story. He is a leader of boys in the village. He, with his friends always makes mischiefs. Phatik and his friends decide to push the log into the river so that they will have fun. Makhan, a young brother of Phatik comes there and sits on the log. He is asked to get up but he does not listen. Phatik is very angry and says that if he does not get down from the log he will beat Makhan. Makhan does not listen and Phatik decides to push the log along with Makhan into the river. He orders his friends to do so and they push the log into the river. Phatik and his friends have great fun. Makhan falls down into the mud. He gets up and rushes to Phatik. He scratches his face, beats and kicks him. Makhan goes home crying. Phatik sits on the bank of the river. There comes a middle aged man from the boat. The man asks Phatik where Chakravartis live. Phatik shows him the direction vaguely. The man leaves the place.
A servant from Phatik’s home comes and takes Phatik home kicking. When Phatik comes into the house he sees that his mother is very angry. She speaks in angry tone to Phatik and asks him why he has beaten Makhan. Phatik replies that he has not beaten Makhan but Makhan insists that he was beaten by Phatik. The mother takes Makhan’s side and pulls Phatik away. She beats Phatik with her hands. When Phatik pushes her aside she calls him a villain and beats him.
It is at this moment that the middle aged man arrives there. Phatik’s mother recognises the man as her brother and she is very happy on his arrival. She touches his feet. Her brother has gone away to Mumbai for starting business after her marriage. She had lost her husband while he was there. Bishambar had come to Calcutta and came to know about her sister and he has come to visit her. Some days pass in joy. The brother asks about the education of the two boys. He is told by his sister that Phatik is a perpetual nuisance. Makhan is as good as gold, as quiet as a lamb and very fond of reading. Bishambar kindly offers to take Phatik with him to Calcutta where he will learn with his children. The widowed mother is readily agreed to this proposal. When his uncle asks Phatik if he would like to go to Calcutta he is very happy to join him.
The mother is relieved to get rid of Phatik. She has a prejudice against Phatik. The two brothers dislike each other. The mother is always afraid that he could either drown Makhan someday in the river or break his head in a fight or run him into some danger. Phatik is very eager and excited to accompany his uncle to Calcutta. He gives Makhan his fishing rod, his big kite and his marbles. Indeed at this time of departure he becomes very generous person.
When they reach Calcutta, Phatik acquaints with his aunt for the first time. She is not happy with Phatik’s addition to her family. She is unable to manage three children. She thinks that her husband should really have thought twice before taking this decision.
The writer at this stage describes the psychology of teenagers. He says that a boy of fourteen is a great nuisance. He is neither ornamental nor useful. It is impossible to give affection to him like a little boy. If he speaks in a childish way he is called the baby and if he answers like a grown-up he is called an arrogant. It is the unattractive and growing age. The teenager grows quickly. His voice becomes hoarse and loud. There are physical changes as well as emotional changes in the boy of fourteen. The boy becomes very self-conscious in this age. The boy of fourteen always wants recognition and love. He becomes slave of anyone who shows him love. His own home is the only paradise for a boy of fourteen. To live in a strange house with a familiar people is like a torture to him.
Phatik becomes the unwelcome guest in his aunt's house. She always dislikes Phatik. If she asks him to do anything for her he would be so overjoyed that he would often overdo it. Phatik is neglected so much that he thinks that he is unable to breathe. He wants to go home. He would always dream of his village home and longs to go back. He remembers the glorious days at village and how he used to play with his friends. He always thinks of his friends. Also he remembers his mother very much. But no one can understand Phatik’s mental situation at this stage.
Phatik is the most backward boy in his class. He remains silent when the teacher asks him any question. He receives the blows of the teacher quietly. When other boys go out to play he stands by the window and watches the boys playing outside. He would always feel very bad at the sight of boys playing.
One day very boldly he asks his uncle whether he can go home. His uncle asks him to wait till holidays come. The holidays would not come till November and it is a long time to wait. One day Phatik loses his lesson book and he finds it very difficult to learn anything without lesson book. He cannot tell this to his aunt because she would beat him. Every day he receives blows from his teacher. His condition becomes so miserable that even his cousins are ashamed of him. They jeer and insult him. Finally he goes to his aunt and informs her that he has lost his book. His aunt is very angry at this and says that she can't afford him buying new books five times a month. That evening on his way back from school Phatik has a headache with a fit of shivering. He feels that he is going to have an attack of malaria. His one great fear is that he is a nuisance to his aunt. The next morning Phatik is missing. He is looked for everywhere. It is raining throughout the night and Bishambar is unable to find him. His uncle decides to take help of the police. It is raining and the streets are all flooded. The two constables are able to bring him back home. He is wet through from head to foot. His eyes are red with fever and his limbs are trembling. His uncle carries him in his arms and takes him to the room. His aunt is very angry and says that how many days he will give trouble to them and why can't Bishambar send him his village.
Phatik hears it and says that he was just going home but the police brought him back. The fever rises very high and all the night the boy is ill. His uncle calls the doctor. Finally Phatik opens eyes and asks whether the holidays have come and may he go home. His uncle sits by Phatik’s bed throughout night and takes care of him. Phatik speaks indistinctly throughout the night. The next day he becomes conscious for a short time. He opens his eyes as if he's expecting someone to come. He is disappointed that he cannot see his mother. His uncle understands this and tells him that he has sent a message to his mother to come. The days pass and the doctor says that the boy’s condition is very critical. Phatik begins to cry out and speaks more indistinctly. Phatik’s mother comes and weeps very badly in a loud voice. Bishambar tries to calm her but she flunges herself on the bed and cries; “Phatik, my darling, my darling”. Phatik stops restless movements for a moment. His hands stop beating up and down. His mother is crying. Phatik very slowly turns his head and without seeing anybody says: “Mother, the holidays have come”.
Rabindranath Tagore was a twentieth century Bengali freedom fighter, educationist, playwright and a poet. He went England for his education but came back to India. He started an experimental school at Santiniketan. He joined Indian National Movement and he was a great friend of Mahatma Gandhi. He was awarded Nobel Prize for literature for his famous work, ‘Gitanjali’. He was awarded the title, ‘Sir’ by the British Government which he later returned in protest against the British policies in India. He translated much of his poetry and received popularity for his work. His famous collections of poetry are Manasi, Sonar Tari and Gitanjali. He also wrote plays and short stories namely Gora and Ghare-Baire.
Summary of the Essay:
The present story is about a teenager boy named Phatik who feels homesick after he leaves his home for education. It is about the psychology of the teenagers. The writer through the character of Phatik presents a very vivid description of village life and the adolescent stage of a child.
Phatik Chakravarti is a central character in the story. He is a leader of boys in the village. He, with his friends always makes mischiefs. Phatik and his friends decide to push the log into the river so that they will have fun. Makhan, a young brother of Phatik comes there and sits on the log. He is asked to get up but he does not listen. Phatik is very angry and says that if he does not get down from the log he will beat Makhan. Makhan does not listen and Phatik decides to push the log along with Makhan into the river. He orders his friends to do so and they push the log into the river. Phatik and his friends have great fun. Makhan falls down into the mud. He gets up and rushes to Phatik. He scratches his face, beats and kicks him. Makhan goes home crying. Phatik sits on the bank of the river. There comes a middle aged man from the boat. The man asks Phatik where Chakravartis live. Phatik shows him the direction vaguely. The man leaves the place.
A servant from Phatik’s home comes and takes Phatik home kicking. When Phatik comes into the house he sees that his mother is very angry. She speaks in angry tone to Phatik and asks him why he has beaten Makhan. Phatik replies that he has not beaten Makhan but Makhan insists that he was beaten by Phatik. The mother takes Makhan’s side and pulls Phatik away. She beats Phatik with her hands. When Phatik pushes her aside she calls him a villain and beats him.
It is at this moment that the middle aged man arrives there. Phatik’s mother recognises the man as her brother and she is very happy on his arrival. She touches his feet. Her brother has gone away to Mumbai for starting business after her marriage. She had lost her husband while he was there. Bishambar had come to Calcutta and came to know about her sister and he has come to visit her. Some days pass in joy. The brother asks about the education of the two boys. He is told by his sister that Phatik is a perpetual nuisance. Makhan is as good as gold, as quiet as a lamb and very fond of reading. Bishambar kindly offers to take Phatik with him to Calcutta where he will learn with his children. The widowed mother is readily agreed to this proposal. When his uncle asks Phatik if he would like to go to Calcutta he is very happy to join him.
The mother is relieved to get rid of Phatik. She has a prejudice against Phatik. The two brothers dislike each other. The mother is always afraid that he could either drown Makhan someday in the river or break his head in a fight or run him into some danger. Phatik is very eager and excited to accompany his uncle to Calcutta. He gives Makhan his fishing rod, his big kite and his marbles. Indeed at this time of departure he becomes very generous person.
When they reach Calcutta, Phatik acquaints with his aunt for the first time. She is not happy with Phatik’s addition to her family. She is unable to manage three children. She thinks that her husband should really have thought twice before taking this decision.
The writer at this stage describes the psychology of teenagers. He says that a boy of fourteen is a great nuisance. He is neither ornamental nor useful. It is impossible to give affection to him like a little boy. If he speaks in a childish way he is called the baby and if he answers like a grown-up he is called an arrogant. It is the unattractive and growing age. The teenager grows quickly. His voice becomes hoarse and loud. There are physical changes as well as emotional changes in the boy of fourteen. The boy becomes very self-conscious in this age. The boy of fourteen always wants recognition and love. He becomes slave of anyone who shows him love. His own home is the only paradise for a boy of fourteen. To live in a strange house with a familiar people is like a torture to him.
Phatik becomes the unwelcome guest in his aunt's house. She always dislikes Phatik. If she asks him to do anything for her he would be so overjoyed that he would often overdo it. Phatik is neglected so much that he thinks that he is unable to breathe. He wants to go home. He would always dream of his village home and longs to go back. He remembers the glorious days at village and how he used to play with his friends. He always thinks of his friends. Also he remembers his mother very much. But no one can understand Phatik’s mental situation at this stage.
Phatik is the most backward boy in his class. He remains silent when the teacher asks him any question. He receives the blows of the teacher quietly. When other boys go out to play he stands by the window and watches the boys playing outside. He would always feel very bad at the sight of boys playing.
One day very boldly he asks his uncle whether he can go home. His uncle asks him to wait till holidays come. The holidays would not come till November and it is a long time to wait. One day Phatik loses his lesson book and he finds it very difficult to learn anything without lesson book. He cannot tell this to his aunt because she would beat him. Every day he receives blows from his teacher. His condition becomes so miserable that even his cousins are ashamed of him. They jeer and insult him. Finally he goes to his aunt and informs her that he has lost his book. His aunt is very angry at this and says that she can't afford him buying new books five times a month. That evening on his way back from school Phatik has a headache with a fit of shivering. He feels that he is going to have an attack of malaria. His one great fear is that he is a nuisance to his aunt. The next morning Phatik is missing. He is looked for everywhere. It is raining throughout the night and Bishambar is unable to find him. His uncle decides to take help of the police. It is raining and the streets are all flooded. The two constables are able to bring him back home. He is wet through from head to foot. His eyes are red with fever and his limbs are trembling. His uncle carries him in his arms and takes him to the room. His aunt is very angry and says that how many days he will give trouble to them and why can't Bishambar send him his village.
Phatik hears it and says that he was just going home but the police brought him back. The fever rises very high and all the night the boy is ill. His uncle calls the doctor. Finally Phatik opens eyes and asks whether the holidays have come and may he go home. His uncle sits by Phatik’s bed throughout night and takes care of him. Phatik speaks indistinctly throughout the night. The next day he becomes conscious for a short time. He opens his eyes as if he's expecting someone to come. He is disappointed that he cannot see his mother. His uncle understands this and tells him that he has sent a message to his mother to come. The days pass and the doctor says that the boy’s condition is very critical. Phatik begins to cry out and speaks more indistinctly. Phatik’s mother comes and weeps very badly in a loud voice. Bishambar tries to calm her but she flunges herself on the bed and cries; “Phatik, my darling, my darling”. Phatik stops restless movements for a moment. His hands stop beating up and down. His mother is crying. Phatik very slowly turns his head and without seeing anybody says: “Mother, the holidays have come”.
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