Celebrating W.B. Yeats in Mumbai

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a special event at organised by the Irish Consulate in Mumbai to celebrate the 160th birth anniversary of the famous Irish poet, W.B. Yeats. The event was held on June 10, 2025 at the NCPA. Eminent actor Denzil Smith read some of Yeats’s poems in his deep baritone, accompanied by Jay Parte’s piano. It was a cozy, happy and snug gathering, with some excellent canapes and drinks to make the event even more enjoyable. A bunch of photographs of Gandhiji and Tagore, lent for the occasion by Mr. Jagdish Agarwal, Dinodia Picture library, transported us back in time.

William Butler Yeats (1865–1939), an Irish poet, playwright, and mystic, is widely regarded as one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. Born in Dublin, Yeats spent much of his life oscillating between Ireland and England, drawing inspiration from Irish folklore, mythology, and the political upheavals of his time. His early work, such as The Wanderings of Oisin (1889), was steeped in romanticism and Celtic mysticism, while his later poetry, including masterpieces like The Second Coming and Sailing to Byzantium, evolved into a more modernist, introspective style, reflecting his fascination with spirituality, aging, and the cyclical nature of history. A key figure in the Irish Literary Revival, Yeats co-founded the Abbey Theatre, fostering Irish drama and national identity. His involvement in politics, including his brief tenure as a senator in the Irish Free State, intertwined with his art, which often explored themes of love, loss, and cultural rebirth. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923, Yeats’s legacy endures through his profound, lyrical explorations of human experience and Irish heritage.

Yeats had a significant, though indirect, relationship with India through his deep interest in Indian philosophy, mysticism, and literature, particularly through his admiration for Rabindranath Tagore. Yeats was introduced to Tagore’s work in 1912 when he encountered the manuscript of Gitanjali, a collection of spiritual poems. Profoundly moved, Yeats wrote an enthusiastic introduction for the English translation, praising Tagore’s lyrical depth and spiritual insight, describing the poems as “a world I have dreamed of all my life long.” This introduction helped propel Tagore to international fame, culminating in his 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. Yeats was drawn to Tagore’s work due to his own fascination with mysticism, influenced by his studies of Theosophy and Indian spiritual texts like the Upanishads, which he explored with figures like Shri Purohit Swami. He also collaborated with Purohit Swami to translate The Ten Principal Upanishads (1937), reflecting his lifelong engagement with Indian thought. While Yeats and Tagore met only briefly in London, their mutual respect was evident, though their direct interactions were limited. Yeats’s interest in India extended beyond Tagore, as he incorporated Indian philosophical themes into his poetry, such as in Anashuya and Vijaya, and maintained a broader cultural curiosity about India’s spiritual traditions, which resonated with his own esoteric and symbolic inclinations.

When the event came to a close, each of us was encouraged to carry away a book collection of Yeats’s poetry. I quickly picked a small, but thick green book and left. On the whole, I am more of a ‘prose’ person, but as I dug into Yeats’s poetry, I wished I had discovered Yeats earlier.

A few lines on some of the poems that are going to stay with me for a long time:

The Second Coming – its imagery is apocalyptic with historical cycles and cultural collapse post the First World War.

Sailing to Byzantium – A meditation on aging, art, and immortality, Yeats evidently wishes to transcend mortality through the eternal beauty of Byzantine art.

Easter, 1916 – Yeats’s tribute to the Irish rebels of the Easter Rising, this poem grapples with sacrifice, transformation, and the refrain “A terrible beauty is born,” capturing Ireland’s political awakening. Let’s not forget that Yeats was an Irish protestant.

When You Are Old – A tender, romantic poem inspired by Yeats’s lover Maud Gonne, it reflects on love, aging, and regret.

Among School Children – A philosophical exploration of youth, aging, and the unity of being, set against Yeats’s observations during a school visit, culminating in the question, “How can we know the dancer from the dance?”