My Reminiscences · Chapter
Ahmedabad explained
The narrator accompanies his second brother to Ahmedabad, where he stays alone in the vast Shahibagh palace.
What happens
The narrator accompanies his second brother to Ahmedabad, where he stays alone in the vast Shahibagh palace. He explores the empty rooms, reads Tennyson and Sanskrit poetry, composes his own tunes for songs, and improves his English by reading with a dictionary.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Longing for Connection
The narrator is left alone in the vast palace, with only pigeons and wasps for company, wandering empty rooms and composing songs in solitude.
Literary Development and Self-Expression
The narrator reads Tennyson and Sanskrit poetry, composes his own tunes for songs, and improves his English through self-study.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
Alone in the Shahibagh palace, wandering rooms, reading Tennyson and Sanskrit poetry, composing songs, and studying English.
- Jyotirindra
The narrator's second brother, who proposed taking him to England and was posted as judge in Ahmedabad.
- Father DePeneranda
Gave consent for the narrator to go to England.
Key passages
“When the Bharati entered upon its second year, my second brother proposed to take me to England; and when my father gave his consent, this further unasked favour of providence came on me as a surprise.”
In the second year of the Bharati magazine, my brother suggested taking me to England, and my father's approval felt like an unexpected gift from fate.
Narrator's surprise at the opportunity to go to England.
“It was while so doing that I first composed my own tunes for my songs. The song addressed to the Rose-Maiden was one of these, and it still finds a place in my published works.”
While pacing the terrace on moonlit nights, I began creating original melodies for my songs, including 'Rose-Maiden,' which remains in my published collection.
First composition of original tunes during solitary walks.