“Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come,” said Rabindranath Tagore. Quotes from the past are almost always eerily true and Tagore must have had a glimpse of the future to think of a quote so apt, so true and so real.
The great visionary died 150 years ago but the poet lives on. The author of our National Anthem wrote well over 60 collections of verse, almost 100 short stories, several novels, plays, dance-dramas, over 2,500 songs and essays on religion, society and literature. To mark the 150th death anniversary of this prolific writer, Penguin India is now bringing out a special collection of his works titled The Penguin Tagore Bookshelf .
In Home and the World ( Ghare Bhaire ), a woman is torn between her husband and his childhood friend. This was originally published in Bengali around 1915 and created a controversy due to Tagore's critical tone against the ideology of nationalism. Although Tagore found politics morally repulsive, he found himself participating in the national movement by contributing songs and addressing public rallies. Speeches delivered by Tagore during World War I can be found in Nationalism with an introduction by Ramachandra Guha.
A Grain of Sand: Chokher Bali , made more famous subsequently by the movie featuring Aishwarya Rai, has adultery as its theme.
Penguin is also offering an omnibus titled C lassic , which contains Tagore's most popular novels in translation including A Grain of Sand (Chokher Bali), The Shipwreck (Noukadubi), Gora, Quartet (Chaturanga) and Home and the World (Ghare Baire).
Despite the immense popularity of his novels, Tagore essentially was a poet and his poems are known for their haunting quality. Gitanjali , considered Tagore's best, has been newly translated by William Radice and promises to be true to the poet's original structure and style. Also translated by Radice is S elected Poems showcasing Tagore's other bests.
Writings on the great man himself include a biography, Rabindranath Tagore: The singer and his song, by Reba Som which maps out the musical journey of the poet and has translations of his most evocative poems. An autobiography – My life in My Words – provides an insight into the author's mind.
Tagore also wrote for children and his first ever complete translation of He (Shey) containing nonsensical verse and illustration is available.
The list is exhaustive and covers an entire range of subjects that Tagore based his writings on. The entire collection is on display now at the British Council Libraries and includes exciting contests for members. More information on the Penguin Tagore Bookshelf is available at >www.penguinbooksindia.com/tagore
