when talk starts on rabindranath tagore, few can match the valour with which the bengali attacks the ignorant. we have, for decades, learnt that no better poet had ever walked the face of the earth. rabindranath is our birthright, we have all read or heard or even seen a piece penned by him. well, at least every indian knows at least one song penned by him for sure - our national athem. bengalis like educated debates with other bengalis about tagore. its one of our favourite pastimes to determine if chandalika was better written than shaapmochan. but bengalis are seldom exposed to a question like "who is tagore?" blessed be the bengali who ever hears such a question, for his mission in life is established that very moment - the mission to educate the person asking the question on the great rabindranath tagore! some might consider it a folly, to try to teach a polly to say good morning. for to a man asking who tagore is, the act of telling him about tagore is just another act of teaching a parrot to sing hare krishna. but the bengali doesnt give up. the bengali shouts at the top of his voice and tells the ardent andhrite who tagore was and why generations upon generations of indians should be indebted to him. but the man doesnt seem to understand. he is sure he hasnt heard the name before, and since he hasnt, tagore probably isnt that important. the bengali roars, fumes, jumps with clenched fists, tries to bite, curses, calms down and gives up hope. the andhrite returns after a week, full of awe and hailing praises about tagore. the bengali smiles. the bengali smirks. the bengali tries to figure out how and why this sudden transformation took place. for the bengali is not totally convinced. anna is doubtless about the greatness of the great man. how could he be? his own hero - the great rajanikanth - pays tribute to tagore! prays right in front of tagore's picture - he can swear he saw rajani doing this in a movie he had seen not two days back! surely rajani isnt wrong, and surely tagore lies a tier higher in reverence, compared to rajanikanth! the bengali falls unconscious. the anna wins.