Must Read Books by Rabindranath Tagore On His Birth Anniversary

Must Read Books by Rabindranath Tagore On His Birth Anniversary

AGRITA CHHIBBER

The acclaimed Bengali poet, writer, singer, and painter Rabindranath Tagore, also known as Gurudev and Biswakabi, is one of the most well-known writers in India and is credited with enriching Bengali literature with his magnificent poetry, short stories, and novels.

Being a man of many talents, Tagore bestowed Gandhi with the title of Mahatma and was well-known for his friendship with Albert Einstein due to their shared love of music.

He received widespread praise for his poetry collection Gitanjali, and in 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first non-European recipient of the award. We have put together the ideal reading list of well-known books if you want to examine the great works of this renowned Bard of Bengal.

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Rabindranath Tagore was a compelling storyteller and a heartfelt poet who probed the unorthodox issues of his time and brilliantly captured Bengali culture in his works. He had a talent for telling stories because he could turn the most straightforward tales into works well regarded worldwide. Here are a few of Rabindranath Tagore’s best works that are required reading for everyone.

Gitanjali

The most well-known and significant work by Rabindranath Tagore is Gitanjali, which is actually an anthology of poetry. It was first published in 1910, but Tagore reissued it as a collection of English-translated prose poetry in 1912 under the title “Gitanjali: Song Offerings.”

The English version’s introduction was written by W.B. Yeats. Gitanjali’s main topic of “Love” is stressed by Tagore, who was inspired by medieval Indian devotional poetry.

This series, which is among Rabindranath Tagore’s best-known works, won praise for its musical and rhythmic poetry on a global scale and helped Tagore earn the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.

The Home and The World

The Home and the World, which was first published in 1916 under the Bengali name Ghare Baire, is a book that takes place in the early years of the Indian independence movement.

Nikhil, Bimala, and Sandip are three characters Tagore expertly crafted within the background of the Swadeshi Movement who fight with their own beliefs about the self in the middle of the revolutionary times of the Indian freedom struggle.

The novel skillfully captures Tagore’s internal conflict as he was split between Western cultural ideals and his defiance against them in the form of a love story and political saga. One of Rabindranath Tagore’s well-known books, which notably defied the conventional representation of male and female protagonists, also highlighted a number of Swadeshi movement tenets.

The Postmaster

The Postmaster, which is known to have been written by him in complete solitude, made Tagore India’s greatest romantic because it masterfully examines the human condition in all of its varied manifestations, from childhood innocence to the contrast between a bustling city and a rustic village, as well as love and loss, the natural and supernatural! If you’re just getting started with reading Rabindranath Tagore’s extraordinarily rich and endearing literature, this is one of the best books you may choose!

Chokher Bali

The story of a lovely and intelligent widow named Binodini is told in Chokher Bali, frequently considered the first modern Indian novel. Binodini lived in a society that thought widows should be isolated from the community and abandoned to a life of hopelessness and emptiness.

As a well-read woman, Binodini is aware of the prejudice against widows that exists in her society, and as the story develops, Tagore deftly weaves together a complex web of relationships that starts with Binodini’s envy of Mahim and Asha’s union and ends with her leaving a potentially happy ending that is hotly contested.

Fireflies

Fireflies is one of Rabindranath Tagore’s best-known poetry collections, and it is another distinctively composed collection of proverbs, maxims, and aphorisms. The first line of his poem “Lekhan,” which begins, “My fancies are fireflies,” served as the inspiration for the title of this piece.

A collection of 256 poems and lines, Fireflies bears numerous similarities to his well-known epigram “Stray Birds.” This book presents poetry less as actual poems and more as aphorisms and maxims. Many critics do not discount the possibility of Japanese “Haiku” influence.

These poems are brief, yet Tagore still manages to express several poetic thoughts with pure brilliance. The reader is overcome with wonder and happiness as they read through this poetry.

The Post office

Rabindranath Tagore actually wrote a drama called The Post Office, or Dak Ghar, which depicts a child’s liberty not just in terms of their physical environment but also their social, psychological, and emotional freedom. Amal, the play’s main character, is a little child who is confined to the house of his uncle owing to an incurable disease.

Its first English translation was created by W.B. Yeats. It made its debut in an Irish theatre in London in 1913. Tagore was present in the audience as well. In 1917, it was performed in Calcutta, Bengal. Its run in Germany spanned more than 105 spectacular performances all around the nation.

One of the plays that has been adapted the most by Rabindranath Tagore and can be a perfect quarantine read for your pastime as we are all confined within the four walls of our homes!

(Agrita Chhibber is from Jammu)

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