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Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne’s collection of children’s stories about a little boy named Christopher Robin and his beloved little bear made him a household name.

Generations of children all over the world grew up loving the tales of Winnie-the-Pooh and the friendly animals of the Hundred Acre Wood.

But while the poems and stories continue to enthrall readers even today, their creator Milne himself was never able to enjoy his success. The honey-eating bear overshadowed all his other work and was the cause of a bitter feud with his son, the real-life Christopher Robin who had inspired Milne to create the fictional characters.

Who was A.A. Milne?

Born in London on January 18, 1882, Milne was the son of John Vine, a headmaster of a small boys’ school in England. Milne had an extraordinary flair for writing from a young age. Despite a graduate degree in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge, Milne chose to pursue a career in literature. His first big break was working for the leading British humour magazine Punch.

War experiences

Milne served in the British Army during World War I. Fighting in the Battle of Somme, he witnessed the harsh realities of war. His best friend was “blown to pieces just as he was settling down for tea,” while another friend was killed by a German sniper. Disturbed by his war experiences, Milne took refuge in writing. He became a successful playwright and a screenwriter.

Milne and Robin

Christopher Robin, born on August 21, 1920, was Milne’s son. On his first birthday, Robin received a stuffed bear as a present and named it Edward. The child soon accumulated a collection of similar animals, which inspired Milne to spin whimsical stories around the toys. He created the world of Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood, along with illustrator Ernest Shepherd who brought the tales to life through his expressive drawings. The first book, a collection of children’s poems titled “When We Were Very Young”, came out in 1924, shortly after Robin’s fourth birthday. It sold more than 50,000 copies in eight weeks. Three more short stories followed.

Rift with Robin

But as the popularity of the series grew, it made life incredibly difficult for Milne’s young son., Robin. He was bullied in school for resembling the eponymous fictional character. His classmates taunted him by reciting lines from Milne’s books and poems.

The 2017 biopic, “Goodbye Christopher Robin” an iconic scene between the father and son, shows his agony – “You asked me to write a book for you” says the father. The son replies: “Yes, for me not about me!”

Robin has elaborated on his feelings towards his father and character in his memoir “The Enchanted Places.” “At home I still liked him (his father), indeed felt at times quite proud that I shared his name and was able to bask in some of his glory. At school, however, I began to dislike him, and I found myself disliking him more and more the older I got,” it reads. The father-son relationship strained as a result.

Bear in mind

Even Milne eventually came to resent the honey-eating bear as it eclipsed all that he had accomplished as a poet, playwright, peace campaigner and novelist. As he put it in 1952, he created Winnie-the-Pooh, “little thinking/ All my years of pen-and-inking/ Would be almost lost among/ Those four trifles for the young”.

Did you know?

• The first volume of Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” series published in 1926, consisted of 10 short stories, which were later adapted by Disney into a cartoon series. It was followed by the second volume “House at Pooh Corner” in 1928.


• Milne also wrote for different audiences spanning different genres such as war and politics. In 1922, he wrote a mystery novel called “Red House Mystery.”


• Milne and Arthur Conan Doyle played on the same cricket team Allahakberries.


• A talented mathematician, Milne won a scholarship to study at one of the world’s most restricted institutions, Trinity College, Cambridge.


• The original map of Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood by Ernest Shepherd sold at an auction in Sotheby’s in London for 430,000 pounds, a record price for a book illustration.


• The name Winnie came from a brown bear that young Robin visited in the London Zoo. The bear was rescued by a veterinarian doctor from Canada, Harry Colebourn in 1914, who named it Winnipeg, after his hometown.


• The character has always been referred to as a ‘he’ in the literary works and films.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Sarojini Naidu was the first woman president of the Indian National Congress and free India’s first woman governor.  But first and foremost, she was a poet. A uniquely talented poet, Sarojini had the ability to capture the essence of humanity through her lyrical verses, which are recited in schools across India even today. But do you know how she found her voice as a poet?

Early life

Sarojini was born in Hyderabad on February 13, 1879, to Aghornath Chattopadhyay, a scientist, philosopher and co-founder of the Nizam College, and Barada Sundari Devi, a Bengali poet. A gifted student, Sarojini was proficient in Bengali, Urdu, Telugu, French and English. At just 12 years of age, she topped the matriculation exam at the University of Madras.

Once while working on an algebra problem, she penned a 1,300-line-long poem titled The Lady of the Lake. When she showed it to her father, he recognized her literary talent and encouraged her to pursue writing, even though he initially wanted her to study mathematics.

Sarojini wrote the play Maher Muneer in the Persian language. And her father sent one copy to the Nawab of Hyderabad. The Nawab was greatly impressed by the play written by a young girl and offered her a scholarship to study abroad. So at 16, she took admission to King’s College, London, and later, pursued further studies at Girton College, Cambridge.

Finding her voice

Studying in England, Sarojini got an opportunity to meet with some of the greatest literary names of the time. One of them was prominent English poet, Edmund Gosse, who had influenced James Joyce and W.B. Yeats. Gosse guided Sarojini to stay true to Indian themes in her poetry. Following his advice, Sarojini was able to find her voice as a poet. Weaving Indian festivals, customs and traditions, flora and fauna into her verses, she wrote about the simple joys and sorrows of life. Her collections The Golden Threshold, The Bird of Time, and The Broken Wing earned her both national and international recognition. Prominent Indian personalities such as Rabindranath Tagore, and Jawaharlal Nehru counted them among her fans.

At 19, she married Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu even though he belonged to a different caste. When she returned to India she actively took part in demonstrations against the Partition of Bengal. Freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who admired her poems, inspired her to use her poetry to encourage the masses to join the Independence movement. Her poetry helped galvanise the public into action since the British had banned the publication of Indian newspapers. Her In the Bazaars of Hyderabad spread the message of Swadeshi.

For her work in the field of poetry writing, Sarojini earned the sobriquet “The Nightingale of India”.

Empowering women

Sarojini travelled throughout the country to encourage women to take part in the movement. Along with Annie Besant, Sarojini founded the Women’s India Association at Adyar in Chennai (then Madras). She demanded recognition from the Congress and the British for women’s suffrage in India.

Sarojini developed a strong friendship with Gandhiji, and remained by his side for 30 years.

After India attained independence, she became the first woman governor of the United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh). She served as governor till she died of a heart attack on March3, 1949.

 

Picture Credit : Google