Mumbai, Dec 8 Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore had once opened up about her taste in adult literature.
She candidly shared how her love for literature, including classic and mature works, shaped her curiosity and intellectual growth from a young age. In an old interview with Prasar Bharati, Sharmila recalled her love for reading, particularly adult books and classic literature, from a young age.
She shared a humorous school incident where she was “hauled up” for cheating. The actress revealed that the teacher had asked students to write a modern poem, and she copied one from a collection called Adhunik Kavita Sankalan. When confronted, she admitted to copying but argued that it was a well-known poem by Rabindranath Tagore and that everyone recognized it—so she felt she had good taste.
Reminiscing about her passion for reading, Sharmila Tagore stated, “I was very fond of reading and I think I read a lot of adult books. I remember being hauled up in school for cheating because they had asked us to write, you know, a modern poetry. So, I went home and I found this Adhunik Kovita Shankolon, meaning a collection of modern poems.”
“So, I copied something from there and I went to school and the teacher says, you've written this? I said, yes. He said, you've written it? So, she gave me plenty of, you know, a chance to own up. I said, yes, but it was such a famous poetry of Tagore. I mean, it was like everybody knew. So, I had good taste. So, I told the teacher, I said, why are you penalising me for God's sake? At least I copied Tagore.”
“But yes, so I, at that age, I was reading Tagore, I was reading Bumke, I was reading Sarat Chandra I mean, all the classics of Bengal. And then subsequently, I, you know, I was reading other stuff also,” added Tagore.
For the unversed, Sharmila Tagore hails from a prominent Bengali family. She is a distant relative of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The veteran actress made her acting debut in Bengali cinema with Satyajit Ray’s “Apur Sansar” in 1959. Though born in Hyderabad, her father hailed from an aristocratic Bengali family, and her lineage reflects Bengal’s rich artistic and intellectual heritage.
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