LETTERS FROM ABROAD
upon me his smile of amused tenderness, and some vagabond clouds of the April sky seemed to wonder in their minds, if I were about to join their ranks,
IT am not going to stay in Paris more than a week this time; for I must finish my Continental tour by the end of May and prepare for my return voyage to India. The days of my exile seem to be gaining in weight as they are approaching their end; and I wish I had a relay of minds so that I could charge them whenever they become exhausted. Having only one in my possession, I bad to be merciless toward it, even when it lacked the food to which it had been accustomed, The result is, that it is beginning to doubt, almost to hate, the idea’ which it is made to carry through & rugged and tortuous path.
Whenever I find time and sit alone before the window, I gravely nod my head and say to myself in a sad voice: “ Those who have been born foolish can gladden the heart of God only when they have the freedom of solitariness and can spread their idle wings in the air and flit and hum for nothing at all. You, poet, are one such creature—you have to be alone to fulfil your nature. What is all this that you are planning? Must you guide the multitude and work with them for the building of an Institution?”
All through my life, I have ever worked alone ; for my life and my work have been one. I am like
'That is to say, the idea of Visvabbarati.
