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Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore
Interest in the life and work of the Nobel-Prize-winning writer, Rabindranath Tagore, is now enjoying a revival after many years of neglect outside India. This selection of some 350 letters spanning Tagore's entire life is the first to be available to English readers. The letters are intended to show as many facets of his experience, interests and ideas as possible, and will be a valuable source of information, not only for the understanding of the complexity of Tagore's personality, but also of the times in which he lived.
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First published June 28, 1997
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About the author
Rabindranath Tagore
2,494 books4,229 followersAwarded 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....
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....
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June 28, 2024
To read Tagore's correspondence is, in conclusion, however, a joy, as we observe the maturing of events and their transformation, in the musings of a master, into the substance of a spirited and spiritual life. Unlike the militant nationalists of his generation, Tagore distinguished himself predominantly by his unswerving humanistic commitment to 'the common destiny and oneness of all mankind. At no small cost to himself, he forged vital links between India and the West, always hoping to realize his dream of seeing 'the people of the West and the East march in a common cnisade against all that robs the human spirit of its significance'…
In the prologue to this book, Amartya Sen summarizes Tagore’s characteristic themes as nationalism, traditionalism, educational commitment, freedom of the mind and interpretational epistemology. One could discuss these in relation to Tagore’s attitudes to science and religion.
Tagore’s nationalism was in keeping with his Brahmo lineage. Like Ram Mohan Roy he took advaita Vedanta to be the ‘characteristic world view’ of India and the ‘basis of Indian unity’. Like Roy also, he had an inclination to express his views one way when speaking in English to Westerners (which may have been the case in his conversations with Einstein), and another when speaking or writing in Bengali.
This volume organizes an all-embracing and well-chosen assortment of the poet's correspondence in English. For anyone who has a curiosity in modern India and the history of letters, Tagore's correspondence offers a vibrant outlook from which to gain insight into a life of genius in addition to an important period in colonial history. Tagore's extraordinary talents thrust him into the limelight during the last phase of British colonial domination of India.
As one of the most accomplished Indian intellectuals and educators of his time, he inevitably expressed himself strongly about the effects of British rule on Indian people; he did not, however, confine himself to the topic.
An authentic and tireless correspondent, Tagore upheld contact for decades with friends and well wishers who attempted to make his genius available outside his Bengali readership (a task rendered difficult by the persistent lack of any worthy English translations of his work).
The collected letters highlight two particularly fascinating aspects of Tagore's complex life: 1) his relentless fundraising for the school which he founded, Santiniketan, and 2) his troubled relationship to the nationalist effort in India, particularly to Gandhi's Non-Cooperation movement.
Tagore's correspondence reflects the life of a man who chose a middle path between modernism and traditionalism. This frequently tortuous route demanded that he divide his time between life in rural Bengal where he managed his family's estate and travel through Europe and the Americas.
While residing at home, he was able to give himself to close observation of nature and quiet reflection on his own moods and foibles. These periods of retreat were essential for the cultivation of his poetic sensibilities.
During those times he lived a life of quintessential^ Indian simplicity without, however, veering into asceticism as his contemporary and sometime opponent, Mohandas Gandhi, had. However much he appreciated his rootedness in the Bengali countryside, he would ultimately feel alienated from his companions and seek new companionship abroad. These foreign tours brought him into contact with fellow poets and intellectuals such as W. B. Yeats and Romain Roland.
A must-read for Tagore-aficionados.
In the prologue to this book, Amartya Sen summarizes Tagore’s characteristic themes as nationalism, traditionalism, educational commitment, freedom of the mind and interpretational epistemology. One could discuss these in relation to Tagore’s attitudes to science and religion.
Tagore’s nationalism was in keeping with his Brahmo lineage. Like Ram Mohan Roy he took advaita Vedanta to be the ‘characteristic world view’ of India and the ‘basis of Indian unity’. Like Roy also, he had an inclination to express his views one way when speaking in English to Westerners (which may have been the case in his conversations with Einstein), and another when speaking or writing in Bengali.
This volume organizes an all-embracing and well-chosen assortment of the poet's correspondence in English. For anyone who has a curiosity in modern India and the history of letters, Tagore's correspondence offers a vibrant outlook from which to gain insight into a life of genius in addition to an important period in colonial history. Tagore's extraordinary talents thrust him into the limelight during the last phase of British colonial domination of India.
As one of the most accomplished Indian intellectuals and educators of his time, he inevitably expressed himself strongly about the effects of British rule on Indian people; he did not, however, confine himself to the topic.
An authentic and tireless correspondent, Tagore upheld contact for decades with friends and well wishers who attempted to make his genius available outside his Bengali readership (a task rendered difficult by the persistent lack of any worthy English translations of his work).
The collected letters highlight two particularly fascinating aspects of Tagore's complex life: 1) his relentless fundraising for the school which he founded, Santiniketan, and 2) his troubled relationship to the nationalist effort in India, particularly to Gandhi's Non-Cooperation movement.
Tagore's correspondence reflects the life of a man who chose a middle path between modernism and traditionalism. This frequently tortuous route demanded that he divide his time between life in rural Bengal where he managed his family's estate and travel through Europe and the Americas.
While residing at home, he was able to give himself to close observation of nature and quiet reflection on his own moods and foibles. These periods of retreat were essential for the cultivation of his poetic sensibilities.
During those times he lived a life of quintessential^ Indian simplicity without, however, veering into asceticism as his contemporary and sometime opponent, Mohandas Gandhi, had. However much he appreciated his rootedness in the Bengali countryside, he would ultimately feel alienated from his companions and seek new companionship abroad. These foreign tours brought him into contact with fellow poets and intellectuals such as W. B. Yeats and Romain Roland.
A must-read for Tagore-aficionados.
Displaying 1 of 1 review