I Had Gone a- Begging by Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath  Tagore is a famous Indian English poet who reshaped Indian English literature an poetic genius who began writing at early age of eight ; his early writings were at his mother tongue Bengali but later drifted towards English but still wrote much in Bengali, his works in Bengali is translated all over the world in different languages and his  poetry is viewed as somewhat a blend of free spirituality, he due to his contribution in literature became the first non-European to win the Nobel prize in literature in 1913 however still his "elegant prose and magical poetry" remain largely unknown outside India. 

Gitanjali Poem No. 50

I had gone a begging

"I had gone a-begging from door to door in the village path, when thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream and I wondered who was this King of all kings! 

My hopes rose high and me thought my evil days were at an end, and I stood waiting for alms to be given unasked and for wealth scattered on all sides in the dust. 

The chariot stopped where I stood. Thy glance fell on me and thou camest down with a smile. I felt that the luck of my life had come at last. Then of a sudden thou didst hold out thy right hand and say `What hast thou to give to me?' 

Ah, what a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar to beg! I was confused and stood undecided, and then from my wallet I slowly took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to thee. 

But how great my surprise when at the day's end I emptied my bag on the floor to find a least little gram of gold among the poor heap. I bitterly wept and wished that I had had the heart to give thee my all.

Analysis

 The poem I had gone a begging is not just a simple poetry but a narrative one which tells moral and central Idea of poem at last

In the poem a poet-beggar was begging from door to door in a village path. Suddenly he saw that a golden chariot was coming towards him watching the golden chariot the beggar thought that who is this king of king coming towards him. Soon the chariot came and stopped before the beggar. The king came down from the chariot and looked at the beggar with a smiling face. At that moment the beggar felt as if luck has finally reached him.

But in opposite to his expectation the king himself held out his hand and asked the beggar for alms. At  first the  beggar was utterly confused and remained standing undecided. He was not able to understand how a king stepping down from golden chariot can ask for alms from him a beggar. He feeling it, as if the king is mocking him. Took out the smallest grain of corn from his bag and offered it to the king reluctantly. At the end of day the poet-beggar returned home and emptied his bag on the floor. To his great surprise, he found a little grain of gold in the heap of alms. Then he realized his folly and wished that he should have given all of his grain to the king, as then all the gold he would have would turned back in gold.

The beggar at first had expected rich alms from the king. But opposite to his expectation, the king himself begged for alms. Taking as kingly jest

He presented little in alms and later received the same in gold, the moral of this story is that what we give to this world is what we later receive in this world in appropriate multiple, the king of kings that is god watches us to see what we contribute to this world and awards us according to it.