Frost and Nehru Connection

I was going through the posts of Janani Gopalakrishnan (http://gjanani.blogspot.com/) a freelance writer at Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. Her blogs are filled with Frost's poems.

Robert Frost http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost and his poems had been one of my inspiratios in and towards life. Here is a piece of my thinking towards his and Nehru's connection towards this.

My first introduction to Frost was through Nehru. sounds like personally...NO ..At the age of around 9/10, I had read a biography of Nehru from the 'Sishusahitya Series' and had came across that this poem was there on his table during his last days..This had made me to appreciate Nehru and his work later on - I had finisehd the whole series of his writings like History of India, Discovery of India etc...The legacy of connections goes on in the Nehru family. Just after being the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi had written to Rajiv - perhaps he was in London or Italy ..quoting Robert Frost, " How hard it is to keep from being king when it is in you and the situation"...

Here is the Poem which I have talked above;

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

-----------------------------------------Robert Frost

There are several explanations and coonnotations in terms of meaning to the above poem. My teacher has connected it to his (Frost's) own life and death; during his last years, he has written and giving explanation that there is his little horse as his own life..

The dilemma was whether he is talking about physical miles, or emotional and spiritual miles. However, the last four lines are the best I like and provocative and makes one think to do his work; beyond the expectations, beyond results and fulfilling the journey; riding the miles ..

"Karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachan
Ma karmaphalhetubhurma te sakhshoshtavkarmani"

"The secret of my life is to create, take action, without any expectation of results. That is the best reward. I am allowed to practice my skills in the open fields of life. That is the greatest of all rewards".

-- Frost was born in Califronia, America and Lived in Boston. I am yet to follow his life trail here and one of the wishlist is to visit his place of birth and living. Not for anything, but to know the then sorroundings that inspired his creativity to write such poems.

And Frost says :-

A Question :
A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth