Author(s): Mehul Rawat, Dr. Richa Joshi Pandey

Abstract: This article reads Rabindranath Tagore’s play The Waterfall through Martin Heidegger’s philosophy of technology. Tagore and Heidegger share concerns about modern technological rationality and its ecological consequences. Tagore’s ethical, spiritual, and anti-colonial views on nature and technology complement Heidegger’s ontological investigation of technological enframing. Taken together, they allow the dam in The Waterfall to be read as an instance of technological enframing that reduces both nature and human beings to standing-reserve. The article examines how Ranajit and Bibhuti, driven by a desire for technological control, instrumentalise the river and people for political and economic ends. In contrast, Abhijit and Dhananjay stage a spiritual resistance to calculative thinking and mechanical control through meditative openness and ethical responsibility toward nature. Situating the play within contemporary debates on infrastructure, development, and ecological justice, the article emphasises its continuing relevance. Ultimately, the article suggests that reading Tagore alongside Heidegger enables a rethinking of technological power and infrastructural development beyond purely utilitarian ends.

Keywords: enframing, Martin Heidegger, political ecology, Rabindranath Tagore, technological rationality.

Article Info: Received: 07 Oct 2026; Received in revised form: 25 Oct 2026; Accepted: 01 Nov 2026; Available online: 07 Nov 2026

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.116.6