Atithi

by Rabindranath Tagore

480 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1988

About the author

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West."

Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays spoke to topics political and personal. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are his best-known works, and his verse, short stories, and novels were acclaimed—or panned—for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation. His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India's Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh's Amar Shonar Bangla.

The complete works of Rabindranath Tagore (রবীন্দ্র রচনাবলী) in the original Bengali are now available at these third-party websites:
http://www.tagoreweb.in/
http://www.rabindra-rachanabali.nltr....

Reviews

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those faultless samplings of Tagore-shorts, where everything has been depicted with the subtlety of artistic faultlessness. The milieus, characters, sceneries, voyages, sentiments — all are so perfectly blended that it is unconditionally difficult to find something odd or unmatched in the plot. Case in point -- Tarapada, a boy in his preteens -- large eyes, fair complexion and a cherubic blamelessness that proximately attracts everybody and all feel like loving him. But his stopovers to transitory destinations one after another, and then snapping all bonds of love and domesticity all on a sudden, furtively; shocks us. Tagore’s creative talent made his characters almost so realistic that the readers would be compelled to suspend their disbelief that the characters belonged to a short story only and were not from real life. Predominantly, the story revolves round human bonding and the pangs of separation when such bonding is snapped suddenly. Attachment to family, friends, neighbours, relatives, and nativity are extremely important factors for human society. One cannot elicit sympathy or love from others, when alienated willingly, forever or at unvarying intervals, from this bonding. One must grasp the pangs of parting and agony when one escapes clandestinely from his loved ones; even those who loved such a solivagant simply for two years. Still, one may aver Tarapada for his characteristic jaunts, but not loathe him! The setting is unique to suit the purpose. However, Tagore’s inventive aptitude was not unleashed. It was always disciplined with a succinctness of expression. This story is indeed a lyric in prose.