Kabuliwala (short story): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Short story of India by Rabindranath Tagore}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}{{Use Indian English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox short story
{{Infobox short story
| name                = Kabuliwala
| name                = Kabuliwala
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| title_orig          =  
| title_orig          =  
| translator          =  
| translator          =  
| country            = [[India|British Raj]]
| country            = [[India]]
| language            = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| language            = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| series              =  
| series              =  
| genre              =  
| genre              =  
| published_in        = Sadhana
| published_in        = ''Sadhana''
| publication_type    =
| publication_type    =
| publisher          =  
| publisher          =  
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| followed_by_italics =  
| followed_by_italics =  
}}
}}
'''Kabuliwala''' is a Bengali short story written by [[Rabindranath Tagore]] in 1892,<ref name="radice1991">[[William Radice|Radice, William]] (tr.), 1991.''[https://books.google.com/books?id=TUcLTARmOnkC Selected Short Stories]''. pp. 295-302.</ref><ref name="Chattopadhyay2010">{{cite book|last=Tagore|first=Rabindranath |editor=Chattopadhyay, Ratan Kumar|title=Selections from Galpaguchchha (3 volumes)|url=http://www.orientblackswan.com/BookDescription?isbn=978-81-250-4047-7&txt=Galpaguchchha&t=d|year=2010|publisher=Orient Blackswan}}</ref> during Tagore's "Sadhana" period (named for one of Tagore's magazines) from 1891 to 1895. The story is about "The Fruitseller" a [[Pathan]] from [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]] who visits to Calcutta (present day [[Kolkata]]), [[India]] each year for selling dry-fruits and while living in India he develops filial affection with a five-year-old girl Mini from a middle-class aristocratic family.
'''Kabuliwala''' is a [[Bengali language|Bengali]] short story written by [[Rabindranath Tagore]] in 1892,<ref name="radice1991">[[William Radice|Radice, William]] (tr.), 1991.''[https://books.google.com/books?id=TUcLTARmOnkC Selected Short Stories]''. pp. 295-302.</ref><ref name="Chattopadhyay2010">{{cite book|last=Tagore|first=Rabindranath|editor=Chattopadhyay, Ratan Kumar|title=Selections from Galpaguchchha (3 volumes)|url=http://www.orientblackswan.com/BookDescription?isbn=978-81-250-4047-7&txt=Galpaguchchha&t=d|year=2010|publisher=Orient Blackswan}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> during Tagore's "Sadhana" period (named for one of Tagore's magazines) from 1891 to 1895. The story is about a fruit seller, a [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] (his name is Rahmat) from [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]], who visits Calcutta (present day [[Kolkata|Kolkata, India]])  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 daughter back home in Afghanistan.


==Theme==
==Theme and plot==
The main theme of this story is filial affection—the deep love that fathers have for their children.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kabuliwala is the heart-rending childhood tale of innocence, love & fate|url=https://theprint.in/features/reel-take/kabuliwala-is-the-heart-rending-childhood-tale-of-innocence-love-fate/275259/|publisher=[[The Print]]|first=Madhavi|last=Pothukuchi|date=10 August 2019|accessdate=16 May 2021}}</ref>
The main theme of this story is that humans, no matter what their nationality, are all the same, as symbolised by filial affection—the deep love that fathers have for their children.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kabuliwala is the heart-rending childhood tale of innocence, love & fate|url=https://theprint.in/features/reel-take/kabuliwala-is-the-heart-rending-childhood-tale-of-innocence-love-fate/275259/|publisher=[[The Print]]|first=Madhavi|last=Pothukuchi|date=10 August 2019|accessdate=16 May 2021}}</ref>
In the story we encounter 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 the 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.{{What|date=October 2021}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Places to Go Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore|url=https://www.thereader.org.uk/places-to-go-kabuliwala-by-rabindranath-tagore/|publisher=thereader.org|first=Rachael|last=Norris|date=26 June 2020|accessdate=16 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kabuliwala|url=https://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2328/3401/Kabuliwala.pdf;jsessionid=94CF3211DC0717A9F55E77E766DD7455?sequence=1|publisher=thereader.org|first=Mohammad Abdul|last=Quayum|date=2 May 2009|accessdate=16 May 2021}}</ref>
In the story there are 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 meets a girl named Mini. He had a physical altercation with a person while collecting debts and was imprisoned. Eight years later, he was released from jail. He returned to meet Mini at her house on her wedding day, but she had grown up and did not recognise him. Her father, however, gave him some money so that he could visit his own daughter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Places to Go Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore|url=https://www.thereader.org.uk/places-to-go-kabuliwala-by-rabindranath-tagore/|publisher=thereader.org|first=Rachael|last=Norris|date=26 June 2020|accessdate=16 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kabuliwala|url=https://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2328/3401/Kabuliwala.pdf;jsessionid=94CF3211DC0717A9F55E77E766DD7455?sequence=1|publisher=thereader.org|first=Mohammad Abdul|last=Quayum|date=2 May 2009|accessdate=16 May 2021}}</ref>


==Adaptations==
==Adaptations==
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* ''[[Kabuliwala (1961 film)|Kabuliwala]]'', a 1961 Hindi movie
* ''[[Kabuliwala (1961 film)|Kabuliwala]]'', a 1961 Hindi movie
* ''[[Kabuliwala (2006 film)|Kabuliwala]]'', a 2006 Bengali movie
* ''[[Kabuliwala (2006 film)|Kabuliwala]]'', a 2006 Bengali movie
* ''[[Stories by Rabindranath Tagore|Kabuliwala]] – as a part of television series ''[[Stories by Rabindranath Tagore]]''
* ''[[Stories by Rabindranath Tagore|Kabuliwala]]'', a 2015 episode in the television series ''[[Stories by Rabindranath Tagore]]''
* ''[[Bioscopewala]]'', a 2018 Hindi movie
* ''[[Bioscopewala]]'', a 2018 Hindi movie
* ''[[Kabuliwala (2023 film)|Kabuliwala]]'', a 2023 Bengali movie<ref>{{IMDb title |qid=Q121161335 |title=Kabuliwala (2023) |id=28541110  }}</ref>
* Balloon Dog, a 2025 play written by [[Jacob Rajan]] and Justin Lewis<ref>{{cite web |title=Balloon Dog |url=https://indianink.co.nz/our-plays/balloondog/ |website=[[Indian Ink Theatre Company]] |location=Auckland NZ |year=2025 |access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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==External links==
==External links==
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=SJR7n1H7kwcC&pg=PA151 Onward English Reader]'' – 7 (new Edition), by Strevens P, {{ISBN|9788125005858}}
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=SJR7n1H7kwcC&pg=PA151 Onward English Reader]'' – 7 (new Edition), by Strevens P, {{ISBN|9788125005858}}
* Short Stories from Rabindranath Tagore, by Rabindranath Tagore, translation Pratima Bowes, 1999, East-West Publications (U.K.) Limited, {{ISBN|9780856921445}}
* Short Stories from Rabindranath Tagore, by Rabindranath Tagore, translation Pratima Bowes, 1999, East-West Publications (U.K.) Limited, {{ISBN|9780856921445}}
*[https://www.khabardailyupdate.com/2021/06/Kabuliwala-Best-Stories-of-Rabindranath-Tagore-Story-of-five-year-old-girl-Mini-and-a-Pathan-the-Fruitseller.html|Best Stories of Rabindranath Tagore | Story of a five-year-old girl Mini and a Pathan the Fruitseller]
* Downloadable [https://fac.flinders.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2328/3401/Kabuliwala.pdf Kabuliwala in English] (translated by Mohammad A. Quayum)
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32377276 The 'Kabuliwala' Afghans of Kolkata], published by BBC
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32377276 The 'Kabuliwala' Afghans of Kolkata], published by BBC


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[[Category:Works by Rabindranath Tagore]]
[[Category:Works by Rabindranath Tagore]]
[[Category:Indian short stories]]
[[Category:Indian short stories]]
[[Category:Short stories adapted into films]]
[[Category:Indian short stories adapted into films]]
[[Category:Kolkata in fiction]]
[[Category:Kabul]]
[[Category:Afghanistan–India cultural relations]]
[[Category:Short stories about law]]

Latest revision as of 14:31, 15 March 2026


Template:Infobox short story Kabuliwala is a Bengali short story written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1892,[1][2] 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 (his name is Rahmat) from Kabul, Afghanistan, who visits Calcutta (present day Kolkata, India) 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 daughter back home in Afghanistan.

Theme and plot[edit | edit source]

The main theme of this story is that humans, no matter what their nationality, are all the same, as symbolised by filial affection—the deep love that fathers have for their children.[3] In the story there are 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 meets a girl named Mini. He had a physical altercation with a person while collecting debts and was imprisoned. Eight years later, he was released from jail. He returned to meet Mini at her house on her wedding day, but she had grown up and did not recognise him. Her father, however, gave him some money so that he could visit his own daughter.[4][5]

Adaptations[edit | edit source]

The story has adapted a number of times as listed below:

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Radice, William (tr.), 1991.Selected Short Stories. pp. 295-302.
  2. ↑ Tagore, Rabindranath (2010). Chattopadhyay, Ratan Kumar (ed.). Selections from Galpaguchchha (3 volumes). Orient Blackswan.[permanent dead link]
  3. ↑ Pothukuchi, Madhavi (10 August 2019). "Kabuliwala is the heart-rending childhood tale of innocence, love & fate". The Print. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Norris, Rachael (26 June 2020). "Places to Go Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore". thereader.org. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Quayum, Mohammad Abdul (2 May 2009). "Kabuliwala". thereader.org. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Kabuliwala (2023) on IMDb
  7. ↑ "Balloon Dog". Indian Ink Theatre Company. Auckland NZ. 2025. Retrieved 30 November 2025.

External links[edit | edit source]

Template:Kabuliwala

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