Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 3

Letter ID: 833

Sri Aurobindo — Roy, Dilip Kumar

September 29, 1936

I can’t say that I have studied or even read Bengali gadya chhanda [free verse] – I am unable to pronounce. In fact what is gadya chhanda? Is it the equivalent of European free verse? But there the essence of the thing is that you model each line freely as you like – regularity of any kind is out of court there. Is it Nishikanta’s aim to create a kind of rhymed prose metre? On what principle? He seems to want a movement which will give more volume, strength and sonority that Bengali verse can succeed in creating but is yet poetry, not prose arranged in lines such as most free verse seems to me to be or at the best poetic prose cut into lines of different lengths. All things can be tried – the test is success – true poetic excellence. Nishikanta has sent me some of his gadya chhanda before which seemed to me to have much flow and energy, but there is something hanging on to it which weighs, almost drags – is it the ghost of prose? But as I say, I am no judge.