If literature has the power to distil a nation’s soul into words, few writers have accomplished that with greater elegance than Jorge Luis Borges.
At the Literary Evening jointly organised by the Austrian Embassy and Diplomatist Magazine at the Residence of the Austrian Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Mariano Agustín Caucino, Ambassador of Argentina to India, introduced the audience to one of Latin America’s greatest literary minds through a moving reading of “Patria” (“Homeland”), a poem by Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986).
Before beginning the poem, Ambassador Caucino offered a thoughtful introduction to Borges, the writer many regard as Argentina’s greatest literary figure and one of the most influential authors of the twentieth century.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1899, Borges often remarked that he considered himself “a man of the nineteenth century.” The Ambassador reflected on the significance of that observation, recalling that Borges belonged to the final generation shaped by a world that would soon disappear with the upheavals of the First and Second World Wars.
“He always felt connected to that world,” the Ambassador observed, referring to the cosmopolitan intellectual traditions of the late nineteenth century.
He spoke of Borges’ bilingual upbringing in a family of both Argentine and British heritage, explaining how English literature profoundly influenced his imagination. While Borges admired writers such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling and G. K. Chesterton, his own literary voice became entirely distinctive, one that combined philosophy, history, mythology and poetry with extraordinary originality.
Interestingly, Borges never wrote a novel.
Instead, his literary legacy rests upon essays, poems and short stories that transformed modern literature through their exploration of memory, identity, time and the infinite.
The Ambassador then read Patria, a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of Argentina’s independence.
Rather than defining the nation through geography, monuments or military triumphs, Borges presents the homeland as a living moral responsibility shared collectively by its people.
“No one is the homeland,” the poem declares.
“The homeland is all of us.”
The verses remind readers that a nation is sustained not by borders alone but by the values, responsibilities and shared memories passed from one generation to the next.
Following the reading, Prof. D.K. Giri, who chaired the session, observed that although Borges never travelled to India, Indian philosophy appears repeatedly throughout his writings.
He invited Ambassador Caucino to explain how India had come to occupy such an important place in Borges’ intellectual world.
The Ambassador explained that Borges’ lifelong engagement with Indian thought emerged largely through his extraordinary reading rather than personal travel.
Growing up bilingual, Borges developed an early fascination with English literature, which in turn introduced him to Eastern philosophy. Among the works that profoundly shaped his thinking was The Light of Asia, Sir Edwin Arnold’s celebrated poetic retelling of the life of the Buddha.
Through books, Borges encountered Buddhism, Hindu philosophy and the metaphysical traditions of India, drawing deeply from concepts that would later become central to his own writing.
Although he travelled widely across Europe and the Americas, Borges never visited India.
“Yet India,” Ambassador Caucino remarked, “is always present in his imagination.”
Prof. Giri followed with another observation that delighted the audience.
He noted that Borges frequently employed imagery such as the endless waters of the Ganges to evoke ideas of eternity and infinity, concepts deeply rooted in Indian philosophical traditions.
Did later generations of Argentine poets continue this fascination, he asked, or was it uniquely Borges?
Ambassador Caucino reflected that while many writers have admired Borges, his philosophical treatment of time remains uniquely his own.
“In Borges,” he explained, “time is one of the central dimensions of his work.”
Whether in A History of Eternity, The Aleph, or many of his poems, Borges constantly explored the mysteries of infinity, memory and the nature of existence. For him, the Ganges became far more than a river; it symbolised eternity itself, a timeless current through which humanity contemplates the infinite.
The discussion revealed why Borges continues to resonate across cultures.
Though he never set foot in India, he entered its philosophical landscape through literature, discovering ideas that would profoundly shape his imagination. His work reminds readers that the deepest journeys are not always measured in miles but in thought.
Concluding the session, Prof. Giri offered a fitting reflection on the evening itself.
“At the beginning,” he said, “I suggested that literature serves as a passport.”
“Now I would say that literature is a visa that never expires.”
It was a memorable conclusion to a conversation that demonstrated how poetry, philosophy and diplomacy together transcend geography, allowing ideas to travel where borders cannot.
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