Henrich Heine (1797-1856)

[KALKI]

Henrich Heine (1797-1856), a late German Romantic lyric poet, whose influence was enormous not only in Germany but in most countries of the Western world, describes the India of his imagination:

" ...in the glass I saw the dear motherland, the blue and sacred Ganga, the eternally shining Himalayas, the gigantic forests of Banyan trees on whose wide shadowy paths quietly walk wise elephants and while pilgrims ...

Heine's poem, "Auf Flugeln des Gesanges,"

"Am Ganga duftet's und leuchtet's
Und Riesenbaume bluhn,
Und schone, stille Menschen
Vor Lotosblumen knien. "

An English rendering of this verse would be:

At the Ganga the air is filled
with scent and light
And giant trees are flowering
And beautiful, quiet people
Kneel before lotus flowers.

This created a picture of India widely familiar in Germany.

Heine's acquaintance with Indian thought, acquired in Bonn under Schlegel and Bopp, remained important to him throughout his life. He had a particular feeling for Indian scenery, as is revealed by his verses in his famous Buch der Lieder (Book of Songs).

He remarked:

“The Portuguese, Dutch and English have been for a long time year after year, shipping home the treasures of India in their big vessels. We Germans have been all along been left to watch it. Germany would do likewise, but hers would be treasures of spiritual knowledge.”

(source: India and World Civilization By D. P. Singhal - Pan Macmillan Limited. 1993 part II p. 234 and 327).