“Tagore is one of the greatest literary figures of our time, who commands iniversal admiration from native readers of Bengalis, but the excellence of whose work is difficult to preserve in translation. In rising to this challenge, the editors and translators of The Essential Tagore have done a splendid job of producing a beautiful volume of selections from Tagore’s vast body of writings. The book is also powerfully strengthened by an enjoyable and remarkably far-reaching foreword by Amit Chaudhuri.”
The Essential Tagore showcases the genius of India’s Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian Nobel Laureate and possibly the most prolific and diverse serious writer the world has ever known.
Marking the 150the anniversary of Tagore’s birth, this ambitious collection—the largest single volume of his work available in English—attempts to represent his extraordinary achievements in ten genres: poetry, songs, autobiographical works, short stories, humorous pieces, and plays. In addition to the newest translations in the modern idiom, it includes a sampling of works originally composed in English, his translation of his own works, three poems omitted from the published version of the English Gitanjali, and examples of his artwork.
Tagore’s writings are notable for their variety and innovation. His Sonar Tari signaled a distinctive turn toward the symbolic in Bengali poetry. “The Lord,” form his collection Chitra, created controversy around his very personal concept of religion. Chokber Bali marked a decisive moment in the history of the Bengali novel because of the way it delved into the minds of men and women. The pretensions. Prose pieced such as “The problem and the Cure” were lauded by nationalists, who also sang Tagore’s patriotic songs.
Translations for this volume were contributed by Tagore specialists and writers of international stature, including Amitav Ghosh, Amit Chaudhuri and Sounetra Guta.
Fakrul Alam is a professor if English at the University of Dhaka.
Radha Chakravarty is Associate Prof. of English at Gargi College, University of Delhi.
This volume aims to offer a sampling of what is essential in almost the entire gamut of Rabindranath Tagore’s writings to the world. It is our offering to the Poet on his 150th birth anniversary. Long have his language sisters and brothers suffered the ignominy of keeping him within a restricted circle of aficionados. This is a comprehensive edition that not only contains much archival material such as rare illustrations, the broad range of his work but also showcases his continuing impact through the institutions he has founded in what we hope will be viewed as an attractively designed substantial volume, We believe that its leitmotif is inspired by his aesthetic brilliance and his love for what is natural and simple.
The Harvard University Press evinced an interest in this volume when it was being put together and expressed the wish to bring out an edition for sale in the gives this volume a presence outside of the subcontinent but also signifies the global world outside South Asia. We were happy to collaborate with them— it not only nature of the venture, We thank the editors for bringing together people from all over the world to contribute their translations to this volume. We extend our gratitude to the editor, Kali o Kalam (Bangladesh) and Rabindra Bhavana, Santiniketan (India) for providing the illustrations for this volume.
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