Nikhilesh and Sandeep, two faces of reality and truth: Rabindranath’s conflict (বাস্তব ও সত্যের দুই মুখ নিখিলেশ ও সন্দীপ : রবীন্দ্রনাথের অন্তর্দ্বন্দ্ব)

Abstract

In world literature, the literary genre called the novel was born after the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century. The melodious sound of poetry had no value in modern complex life. Complicated real-life stories became popular. Bengali literature started writing novels in the 19th century. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay started it, but Rabindranath Tagore developed this style of novel. Although the subject matter of writing a novel based on complex life stories is materialistic, Rabindranath Tagore, a poet by nature, added poetic elements to it. In the 20th century, realism and naturalism became popular in world literature. But Rabindranath, the worshiper of truth, was strongly opposed to enslaving reality in literary writing. Human instincts were being supported in the name of reality. Man became man by conquering his instincts but the slavery of those instincts was being celebrated. The map of the country was worshiped in the name of the country. People were being tortured in the name of freedom. Which deeply saddened the humanitarian Rabindranath. He was looking for a way out of it. During World War I, violence was rampant. Seeing this form of violence, he was shaken to the core of the truth and beauty he had worshiped forever. However, he wanted to rely on humanism. The conflict between good and evil can be seen in the novel Ghore-Baire. Nikhilesh symbolizes eternal truth and Sandeep symbolizes reality. Bimala is torn between these two opposites. She is the wife of the landlord. Never went out of the house. But she feels attracted towards her husband Nikhilesh's friend Sandeep. The character of Bimala, symbol of binding ties, is like the romantic mind of Rabindranath who has always remained steadfast on the path of truth. But seeing this deviation of humanity in the wartime situation raised doubts. The two contrasting characters in the novel are like two separate entities of Rabindranath who are at odds with each other. started questioning each other. The present research article tries to trace the direction in which Rabindranath steered this two-way struggle between reality and truth.