Tagore Revisited

Papers presented at a summer seminar on Tagore, held at Kolkata in 2000 and a conference on Celebrating Tagore, held at Fayetteville State University, North Carolina in 2004.

The book seeks to highlight Rabindranath Tagore’s genius as a rebel dramatist. More lovingly called Gurudev, Tagore is one of India’s most cherished renaissance figures. He was a social reformer and a humanitarian. Through his writings he presented his protest against prevailing social evils like idolatry, religious bigotry, caste system, class divisions and gender biases. Tagore was ahead of his times; his literary works translated the essence of their creative impulses into a social context and helped people to dream of a better world even in the darkest times.

"Rabindra Miscellany" is a critical study of some thoughts and writings of Rabindranath Tagore, India's most brilliant poet, philosopher, and polymath. The five essays - one of them a translation of a chapter of the distinguished Tagore scholar Niharranjan Ray's book "Bhāratīya aitihya o Rabīndranāth" - seek to offer a window to the panoramic expanse of Tagore's intellect and imagination that informed his ideas of human and divine love, aesthetic consciousness, nationalism and cosmopolitanism. The poet's works discussed in this study highlight his evolving ideas of this world and its inhabitants as part of a majestic cosmic order emanating from a divine source that he never identifies with any divinity from the world's leading faiths. Yet he recognizes its presence in everyone's soul and he designates this innermost ["antaratama"] divine presence as his God of Life ["Jībandebatā"].

This book is a fresh examination of Rabindranath Tagore’s ideas on nationalism and his rhetoric of cosmopolitanism. It critically analyses the poetics and the politics of his works and specifically responds to Tagore’s three lectures on nationalism delivered during the early years of the twentieth century and later compiled in his book Nationalism (1917). This volume: Discusses Tagore’s perception of nationalism – the many-sidedness of his engagement with nationalism, the root causes of his anathema against the ideology, ambiguities and limitations associated with his perception and his alternative vision of cosmopolitanism or global unity; Cross-examines an alternative view of cosmopolitanism based on Tagore’s inclusivist ideology to “seek my compatriots all over the world”; Explores how his ideas on nationalism and cosmopolitanism found myriad expressions across his works – in prose, fiction, poetry, travelogue, songs – as well as in the legacy of cinematic adaptations of his writings; Investigates the relevance of Tagore’s thoughts on nationalism and cosmopolitanism in relation to the contemporary rise of religious, nationalist and sectarian violence in the twenty-first century. A key study on the relevance of Tagore’s political philosophy in the contemporary world with contributions from eminent Tagore scholars in South Asia as well as the West, this book will be of great interest to readers and researchers in the fields of literature, political science, cultural studies, philosophy and Asian studies.

"We live in an Enquirer, reality television–addled world, a world in which most college students receive their news from the Daily Show and discourse via text message," assert Charles Blackstone and Jill Talbot. "Recently, two nonfiction writers have been criticized for falsifying memoirs. Oprah excoriated James Frey on her show; Nasdijj was impugned by Sherman Alexie in Time. Is our next trend in literature to lock down such boundaries among the literati? Or should we address the fictionalizing of nonfiction, the truth of fiction?" The Art of Friction surveys the borderlands where fiction and nonfiction intersect, commingle, and challenge genre lines. It anthologizes nineteen creative works by contemporary, award-winning writers including Junot Díaz, Jonathan Safran Foer, Thomas Beller, Bernard Cooper, Wendy McClure, and Terry Tempest Williams, who also provide companion pieces in which they comment on their work. These selections, which place short stories and personal essays (and hybrids of the two) side by side, allow readers to examine the similarities and differences between the genres, as well as explore the trends in genre overlap. Functioning as both a reader and a discussion of the craft of writing, The Art of Friction is a timely, essential book for all writers and readers who seek the truthfulness of lived experience through (non)fictions.

This Commemorative Volume is being published by the Federation of Indo-German Societies in India (FIGS), New Delhi, in association with Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung, Munich, to celebrate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received unprecedented welcome in Germany during his visits to that country in 1921, 1926 and 1930. The book is in three parts. The first part of this book entitled Rabindranath Tagore in Germany : A Cross Section of Contemporary Reports, edited and translated by Prof. Dietmar Rothermund, was first published in 1961 to celebrate Tagore's centenary by the Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi. The contributions by contemporary scholars and writers who came in contact with him at that time are not only interesting because of what they tell us about Tagore, but also illustrate contemporary German thought in its quest for new values and ideals. It ends with Tagore's poem in English, The Child, which he wrote in 1930 in Germany, that Prof. Rothermund describes as "a testimony of a sudden inspiration and a surprising vision". The second part carries an article entitled "Tagore and Germany" by Satinder Kumar Lambah, former Ambassador of India in Germany, first published by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in the journal `Indien in der Gegenwart' in 1996. The author reviews Tagore's three visits to Germany, emphasizing the vitality of the cultural interaction that was set off by this "spiritual ambassador of India ... interpreting through his works and lectures the timeless message of an ancient country to a world that, in the wake of the First World War, was restless, confused and uncertain". The third part contains three essays on Rabindranath Tagore based on lectures delivered by Dr. Martin Kampchen in India and Bangladesh. Through his translations of Tagore's poetry, his biography of the poet in German and several studies on Tagore's relationship with Germany, the author has contributed substantially to introducing Tagore to a wider public.

Women Speak Nation underlines the centrality of gender within the ideological construction of nationalism. The volume locates itself in a rich scholarship of feminist critique of the relationship between political, economic, cultural, and social formations and normative gendered relations to try and understand the cross-currents in contemporary feminist theorizing and politics. The chapters question the gendered depictions of the nation as Hindu, upper caste, middle class, heterosexual, able-bodied Indian mother. The volume also brings together interviews and short essays from practitioners and activists who voice an alternative reimagining of the nation. The book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of gender, politics, modern South Asian history, and cultural studies.

This Volume Was An Offering To The Memory Of Rabindranath Tagore On The Occasion Of The Centenary Of His Birth. If The Best Homage To A Great Man Is To Be Paid Through An Understanding Of The Significance Of His Life And Work, This Publication Should Help Inspire Such A Homage Of Understanding. This Reprint Of The Book; Undertaken To Mark The 125Th Birth Anniversary Of The Poet, Will Bring Once Again To The Collective Consciousness Of A New Generation Of Men And Women The Memory Of A Greatness Which Was Amazing In Its Versality And Universal In Its Integrated Vision Of Life. Rabindranath Has Not Only Been A One-Man Synthesis Of The Old And The New, The Ancient And Modern, But He Has Also Been, Because Of His Extra-Ordinary Catholicity Of Mind, A Leading Light To The World Struggling To Be Reborn Into Sanity. Great Poets, It Is Said, Are For Ever Our Contemporaries And Some Of The Essays In This Volume Should Hopefully Drive Home The Relevance Of Rabindranath And All That He Stood For, As A Corrective To Our Age Of Cynic Despair. The Volume Contains Valuable Studies On The Many Aspects Of TagoreýS Personality And Genius Contributed By Eminent Writers And Scholars From Many Parts Of The World. There Are, Besides, A Full And Comprehensive Chronicle Of The PoetýS Life, From Year To Year, And A Bibliography Of His Publications In Bengali And English. Reproductions In Colour Of Some Famous Portraits Of The Poet By Distinguished Artists Add To The Value Of This Publication Which Is As Much A Tribute To The Genius Of Tagore As A Guide To Its Comprehension.

The book explores into the life and contributions of the legendary poet, philosopher, and Nobel laureate. It offers a comprehensive biography, exploring his multifaceted persona. The book delves into his involvement in politics and nationalism, shedding light on his thoughts and actions in shaping India's struggle for independence. It delves deep into his soul-stirring songs, analyzing their cultural and emotional impact. The exploration of his love poems adds a romantic dimension, while his iconic Rabindra Sangeet is celebrated for its cultural significance. The book also examines Tagore's profound views on civilization and self-realization, providing a holistic understanding of his legacy.