The Land Where I Found It All

by Buddhadeva Bose, Nandini Gupta (Translator)

Buddhadeva Bose belonged to that generation of Bengali writers of the thirties and forties who fought tooth and nail to escape the all-pervading influence of Rabindranath to establish their personal idioms. He succeeded, but the fascination, admiration, and awe of the older poet remained. He twice visited Shantiniketan with his family, once in 1938 and then in the summer of 1941, invited by the poet himself. The younger poet, who in youth rebelled against him, now worshipped him and truly loved him. The title of this memoir Sab Peyechhir Deshe ('The land where I found it all') says it all. He intended to give this book personally to Rabindranath as a gift of his deep appreciation, but, sadly, by the time the book came out of the press, Rabindranath had passed away. And what had been conceived as a gift of gratitude now turned into an elegy, a younger poet's homage to his Guru. This book has been ever a favourite with readers of Bengali literature, and constitutes an invaluable addition to the study of Tagore and his life.

133 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Buddhadeva Bose (also spelt Buddhadeb Bosu) (Bengali: বুদ্ধদেব বসু ) was a major Bengali writer of the 20th century. Frequently referred to as a poet, he was a versatile writer who wrote novels, short stories, plays and essays in addition to poetry. He was an influential critic and editor of his time. He is recognized as one of the five poets who moved to introduce modernity into Bengali poetry. It has been said that since Tagore, perhaps, there has been no greater talent in Bengali literature. His wife Protiva Bose was also a writer.

Buddhadeva Bose received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967 for his verse play Tapaswi O Tarangini, received the Rabindra Puraskar in 1974 for Swagato Biday(poetry) and was honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1970.