The Skeleton

by Rabindranath Tagore

"There used to hang a human skeleton in the room next to the one where we three childhood friends slept. Its bones would clatter all day and night against the wind. In those days, our parents were determined to make us excel in all subjects. On one hand we were given lessons in The Slaying of Meghnad by our teacher, and on the other hand we were taught osteology by a student from the Campbell Medical School. Those who knew us needn’t be told how far their endeavour was successful; and those who didn’t, from them it is better kept a secret."

Rabindranath Tagore was the poet, writer and thinker who was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize for the country. This is one of his stories, originally written in Bengali, translated in English by Riddhi Maitra.

Genres: Short Stories, Audiobook

Unknown Binding

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

[Raggi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it after so long, still it brings tears to my eyes. It chockes my throat when i reach the ending each time.
I was first introduced to this book through a Sunday Suspense episode on a Sunday night/evening, while i was in class 8/9.
It was summer time and it's still the same.
A reread after 6 years.......

[Samruddhi Ingale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a constant eery feeling throughout the storyline and that makes it so entertaining and exciting to read. Again Tagore's words and imagery is always a treat.

[aliaareadstoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's no actual plot but the way one of the main characters tells her story is quite spooky... I don't know why I chose to listen to this book nearing dusk 😭