Kabuliwala is a Bengali short story written by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

in 1892, Radice, William (tr.), 1991.
Selected Short Stories
'. pp. 295-302. during Tagore's "Sadhana" period (named for one of Tagore's magazines) from 1891 to 1895. The story is about a fruit seller, a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

from

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, who visits Calcutta (present day

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

each year to sell dry fruits. While living in India, he develops a filial affection for a five-year-old girl, Mini, from a middle-class aristocratic family, who reminds him of his own beloved daughter back home in Afghanistan.

Theme

The main theme of this story is that humans, no matter what their nationality or background, are all the same, as symbolised by filial affection—the deep love that fathers have for their children. In the story are encountered three examples of filial affection—the narrator and his daughter Mini; the Kabuliwala "Rahmat" and his own daughter in Afghanistan; and the Rahmat "Kabuliwala" and Mini. In this story Rahmat comes to India every year to sell dry-fruits and to meet this girl named Mini. He encountered a physical confrontation with a person while collecting debts and that's what led him to end up in jail. After several years, he was pardoned and was released from jail—he returned to meet Mini at her house, she had grown up and could not recognize him due to circumstances.

Adaptations

The story has adapted a number of times as listed below: * '' Kabuliwala'', a 1957 Bengali movie * '' Kabuliwala'', a 1961 Hindi movie * '' Kabuliwala'', a 2006 Bengali movie * '' Kabuliwala – as a part of television series ''

Stories by Rabindranath Tagore ''Stories by Rabindranath Tagore'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi television series which aired on the EPIC channel. It is directed by Anurag Basu. Overview Set in Bengal of the 1920s, the show is a representation of the classic short stories by the B ...

'' * ''

Bioscopewala ''Bioscopewala'' () is an Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Deb Medhekar, and produced by Sunil Doshi. The film stars Danny Denzongpa and Geetanjali Thapa in lead roles and had its world premiere at the 30th Tokyo International Film F ...

'', a 2018 Hindi movie

References

External links

*
Onward English Reader
' – 7 (new Edition), by Strevens P, * Short Stories from Rabindranath Tagore, by Rabindranath Tagore, translation Pratima Bowes, 1999, East-West Publications (U.K.) Limited, * Downloadabl
Kabuliwala in English

The 'Kabuliwala' Afghans of Kolkata
published by BBC {{Kabuliwala Works by Rabindranath Tagore Indian short stories Short stories adapted into films

Theme

Adaptations

See also

References

External links