Rabindranath Tagore Research Articles

Образ Индии в социальной мысли Бенгальского Возрождения

A process of creation of India’s image by the Bengal Renaissance intellectuals (from Rammohun Roy to Rabindranath Tagore) is analyzed in the article based on phenomenological approach and hermeneutics of the thinkers’ texts. A phe­nomenon of invention of native country’s image is a special result of ‘Discovery of India’ (Jawaharlal Nehru’s term) in many-sided interaction with Other, first of all the West. The process is the intellectual construction of a whole conception on India as ‘our own’ geographical and civilizational space with general tradi­tion, culture and history. A use of comparative, historical and axiological meth­ods along with ‘ideal type’ (M. Weber) method allows to invent two-fold image of ideal and real India. The ideal one unites meanings of India’s being in history, the goals of human, society and culture, the real image opens a number of prob­lems, evils and failures in the present social life and in history, along with real dignities and achievements. The Bengal thinkers have created ‘imaginary’ (B. Anderson) India in their representations, as attractive by her humanity, toler­ance and peacefulness; with high goals of harmony, morality and love. The ‘ideal’ in India was detected first of all for the compatriots as a base for self-re­spect and dignity and secondly for the entire world. ‘Reality’ in India had ap­pealed active change and constructive work for social renaissance.

Book Review: Bhattacharyya, M. (2020). Rabindranath Tagore’s Śāntiniketan Essays: Religion, Spirituality and Philosophy. London & New York: Routledge

Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was the first non-European poet and lyricist who received the most coveted of international awards, the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, “because of his profound 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.” (www.nobelprize.org ) His most notable work highly praised and duly appreciated by The Swedish Academy was Gitanjali: Song Offerings (1912), a collection of poetry, but Tagore is also famous for having written a variety of genres, including drama, essay, novel, novella, short-story, dance-drama, and song.
 While Tagore is recognized today mostly for his poetry, his short stories also proved to be extremely popular in what is called the Bengali-language version of the genre, and his essays reveal another facet of his personality, and that is his philosophical thought in which he distinguished himself as a language innovator. Rabindranath Tagore’s Śāntiniketan Essays were translated and published by Medha Bhattacharyya in 2020 in a book celebrating Tagore’s “fundamental meditations on life, nature, religion, philosophy, and the world at large.” (Flyer, Bhattacharyya, 2020)

PANDEMIC AND LITERATURE: A STUDY ON KAKKANADAN'S VASOORI

The current pandemic situation has completely altered our lives. In this context, it is imperative to look back at the history of human civilization to see how the ancient faced such situations. Works dealing with the horrors of plague have been written in various regional literature across India, the famous being Rabindranath Tagore’s Puraton Bhritto, Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi and U.R Anandamoorthy’s Samskara. The article focuses on a Malayalam novel, Vasoori, written by Kakkanadan (1968) which revolves around the lives of common village folk caught in the jaws of smallpox. The novel focuses on the lived in experience of a community forced to face the disease almost every year. It is enlightening to go through the novel in the current Covid-19 pandemic as it concentrates on the first human reaction to pandemics – fear. By using the motif of smallpox, Vasoori pushes the reader to reflect on the ancestral fear of humans to infectious diseases and how it completely shatters the body’s internal perceptions. Thus reading Vasoori in the current pandemic situation is one way of understanding how the human race dealt with a disease for which there seemed no solution in sight.

Small-medium-large countryism: divesting the nation-state

ABSTRACT 2018 marks the sixty-third anniversary of the 1955 Bandung Conference and fifty-fifth anniversary of the 1966 Belgrade Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement. This presentation addresses one aspect of the Bandung and Belgrade legacies, which has inherited from the anti-colonial struggle and continued to shape the post or ex/colony in the present moment of world history, namely the consolidation of the modern nation-state form. Revisiting intellectual sources of thoughts, such as Rabindranath Tagore’s 1917 Nationalism, I wish to argue that we need to first recognize the critical and liberating power of the Third World nationalism against imperialism and colonialism (“the politics of the anti”) as the assumption of our reflection, but then proceed to examine the problems embedded in the struggle via revisiting histories, so as to search for grounded alternatives (“the politics of the alter”) without avoiding the depth of psychic energy always and already invested in the national, if not nationalist, history. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s notion of “trusteeship” and Choi Wonshik’s analysis of the Chinese Warring States (770–403 B.C.) experiences to address contemporary deadlock of the nation-state formation, invented in Western Europe, I will begin to explore the possibility of a “small-medium-large countryism,” to liberate ourselves from the colonial and imperial invention of the “nation-sate” and to open up intellectual space for imagining the future world.

From Deconstruction to Reconstruction: Indian and Nigerian Nationalism and Colonial Encounter in Comparative Perspective

The article converses how the culture and history of the Indians and Nigerians were mutilated by the colonists by creating the adverse stereotypes of the indigenous people as uncivilized whose history and societal ideals were annulled as mock and vicious that required the instructive mediation of the Europeans and, correspondingly how the dramatists of the two said countries interrupt and oust overriding and tyrannical European data. I have explored in the article through which technique the biculturalism in Rabindranath Tagore and Wole Soyinka's temperament and background enabled them both to develop a style of syncretic dramaturgy for the cultural relations that imperialism created in their nations. Primarily expert in abilities that empowered them to accomplish noteworthy functions in the lives of their countries, together Tagore and Soyinka was particularly ingrained in their specific cultures. Though the authors did not discard the past, they did not urge a return to it.

PROPAGATION OF MANIPURI DANCE TO THE WORLD

The then Manipur was a sovereign state ruled by a lineage of many kings. Inspite of being situated in a far, isolated place from other lands and countries and also surrounded by ranges of hills with thick forestation, the inhabitants of this place faced untold hardship in communicating with other external lands and countries. But the state is now recognised by the outside world due to its rich storage of custom, tradition and culture of dance and music. 
 Indeed, it is very surprising and happy when we think of the matter. That we cannot but remember afresh and count the Universal poet Guru Rabindranath Tagore, the descendants of king of Tripura and Miss Luis Lightfoot of Australia and all dedicated and pioneer preceptors in the field of dance.

The concept of humanity in Bengali literature as Predicted by Rabindranath Tagore

The concept of humanity in Bengali literature as Predicted by Rabindranath Tagore

Can Art Embody Truth? Ethics, Aesthetics and Gandhi

The philosophical question of whether moral standards apply in art and the practical one of whether the arts can be vehicles of positive social transformation run through a great deal of social theory. In this article, these issues are discussed through an examination of Mahatma Gandhi’s approach to art and in particular his views on music and visual arts as they formed part of his personal world view and his socio-political programme. The article contextualises this in relation to Gandhi’s over-arching concern with the pursuit of truth and its theistic basis, his relationship to certain aspects of classical Indian philosophy and in particular the status of rasa among the four traditional purusharthas, and his relationship with Rabindranath Tagore and the artists at Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan, in particular Nandalal Bose. The article suggests that Gandhi was far from uninterested in aesthetic matters, but that the key to his thought lies in his holistic approach to both philosophy and lifestyle where the arts play an important role when integrated with ethical and religious demands.

Tagore’s exploration of Hindu identity in Gora

Published between 1907 and 1910, Rabindranath Tagore’s novel Gora reflects its author’s evolving cultural, political, and ideological views in the first decade of the twentieth century. This period was significant not only for Tagore’s engagement in and disenchantment with the Swadeshi movement, but also in terms of his critical assessment of the viability of a Hindu cultural-national identity for India. Reading the novel in the light of some of his relevant writings in and around the 1900s, this essay puts Tagore’s exploration of Hindu identity into perspective in order to distinguish it from the exclusionary Hindutva ideologies later promoted and popularized in Indian politics. Using a dialogic method in the novel, Tagore pits a limited, divisive, and communalist Hindu ideology against an open, liberal, and alternative Hindu selfhood for India which is compatible with the universal-humanist perspective propounded at the end. Despite endorsing the latter perspective, Tagore nevertheless reveals his concerns and uncertainties about the position of minority communities and outsiders within that holistic paradigm of Indian identity.

A Comparative study of the most important components of romanticism in Shamloo and Tagore poetry

A Comparative study of the most important components of romanticism in Shamloo and Tagore poetry

Interpreting for Tagore in 1920s China: a study from the perspective of Said’s traveling theory

ABSTRACT This article will study how Xu Zhimo interpreted Rabindranath Tagore’s theory during Tagore’s trip to China in 1924. Taking Said’s traveling theory as a model for the structure of this analysis, I explore Xu Zhimo’s decisions by analyzing parallel texts and paratexts through four Saidian phases – that is, from the perspectives of point of origin, distance traversed, resistances and final accommodation. The study reveals that Xu, an interpreter making his own self-directed decisions, acted as a trailblazer for the spread of Tagore’s theories in 1920s China, restoring Tagore’s image and defending Tagore’s values despite suffering an array of harsh criticisms.

Mutant worlds, migrant words: Rabindranath Tagore, Mahasweta Devi and Amitav Ghosh

Drawing upon the insights of Rabindranath Tagore, who coined the term viswasahitya to express his own understanding of comparative literature, this essay resituates translation as the cornerstone for new directions in world literature. While conventional understandings of world literature tend to reconfirm existing power structures and hierarchies, translation opens up the possibility of thinking beyond the national/global binary by interrogating the lines along which such binaries are conceptualized. Translation operates at the borders that are seen to divide cultures, languages, worldviews and geographies. This essay explores the dynamic relationship between translation and world literature within contemporary South Asian writing, through an analysis of heteroglossia, multilingualism and ‘translatedness’ in selected texts by Mahasweta Devi and Amitav Ghosh, opening up larger questions about multilingualism and also about the very discipline of comparative literature. Highlighting the role that translation has historically played in shaping power relations in the world, this paper projects the transformative potential of translation as the key to a radical reconceptualization of a world literature for the future.

Which world, whose literature?

This essay argues that the ‘thought figure’ of world literature has been under incalculable strain from its inception, given the diversity of linguistic and cultural contexts within which it must be understood. After a brief introductory discussion of Rabindranath Tagore’s talk on world literature (1907), the essay goes on to connect world literature debates with those in global modernism, especially modernism in the colony. Looking at the networks of modernism, and the role of little magazines in India, particularly Bengal, in creating a sense of world literature through reviews and translations, it stresses the importance of location, language, and perspective in the wake of decolonization. However, in the present time of ecological and planetary crisis, with a global upsurge of xenophobia, insularity, and ethnic, racist, or communal violence, the notion of a world, or of a world literature, is hard to sustain.

"ওই ঘাসিয়ারাকে বলোনা আমার ওই গাছ গুলো যেন না কাটে"/"গাড়িভি ঘরকা আওরাত হায় ক্যা?": Examining Rabindranath Tagore's Bolai and Subodh Ghosh's "Ajantrik" from a Posthumanist and Transhumanist Perspective Respectively

"ওই ঘাসিয়ারাকে বলোনা আমার ওই গাছ গুলো যেন না কাটে"/"গাড়িভি ঘরকা আওরাত হায় ক্যা?": Examining Rabindranath Tagore's Bolai and Subodh Ghosh's "Ajantrik" from a Posthumanist and Transhumanist Perspective Respectively

Social Harmony and Integrity: An Advocacy of Universal Humanism in Rabindranath Tagore’s “Chandalika”

The world is replete with racial, regional, lingual, religious and cultural diversities. The terms racism, religiosity, caste divisions etc. are the social constructs rather than natural, by birth phenomena. This study examines Rabindranath Tagore’s Two act play – “Chandalika” focusing social harmony and solidarity as an integral aspect of universal humanism. Conceptualizing the theoretical frameworks of humanism that elevates human dignity and fraternity, this research attempts to display how the writer advocates the universal humanism through the social harmony and integrity in the play. Caste discrimination is still prevalent in Hindu culture, and racial, cultural and regional prejudices have had a long history in different the parts of the world. The conflict amid different castes, religions, regions and races has soared up in some parts of the world dismantling social harmony. When a human being regards and respects another human being regardless of diverse castes, races, religions, and cultural and regional disparities, it echoes the sense of universal humanism. This research explores Tagore’s ideals of social, religious and racial harmony as a part of universal humanism enshrined in the Text. It answers the question: how does the play Chadalika advocate the aesthetics of social harmony as a part of universal humanism? The prejudices and discriminations in the name of caste, races, regions and religions have wrought the world since long. Tagore appeals for the end of such prejudices through his play, thereby cherishing and nourishing universal humanism.

Difficult Subjects: Conceptualising the Politics of Women’s Lifewritings

The paper seeks to enquire about a significant gap and absence in 19th and early 20thcentury literary history. While lifewritings as a genre was becoming increasingly popular among newly literate women, there is often a silence about the histories and life narratives of many recalcitrant, difficult subjects. Peculiarly and perhaps paradoxically, some of these subjects-often women- were well-known in their lifetime, but have later been relegated to anonymity and neglect.
 This paper focuses on the autobiographical narrative of Sarala Debi Chaudhurani’s (1872-1945)“JibanerJharapata,” which could be translated to “Life’s Scattered/ Fallen Leaves”. As Rabindranath Tagore’s niece, she aspired to India’s freedom, and believed that the key to India’s freedom and progress lay in developing a physical culture. She propounded the invention of traditions which propagated and put forward a culture of ‘muscular nationalism’. In the course of her work, she came into conflict with Tagore whose ideas of nationalism were in stark contrast.
 This paper glances at her ideological divide with Tagore, her interaction with Gandhi and wonders why her autobiography has been neglected for the better part of a century. Is it because her right wing views sat oddly with secular historians? Or is it because she was a difficult, recalcitrant subject whose story-and life narrative did not ‘fit’ in either with dominant trends in historiography or existing paradigms of women’s autobiography?

Eco-Aesthetics in the Short Stories of Tagore: A Cultural Perspective

Rabindranath Tagore -the iconic figure of World Literature has contributed incessantly to the developing realms of Environmental Studies with a prime concern to preserve aesthetically and culturally of course the divine rapport of Man and Nature in the absolute unity of the composite universality. In the orbit of this profuse pedagogy of Ideas, the present study aims to explore the intrinsic philosophy of the human – nonhuman rapport in the rich narratives of the short stories of Tagore.

Rabindranath Tagore: A Reappraisal of His Universality and Relevance

Abstract: Rabindranath Tagore stands as a millennium in himself reflecting the ancient Indian wisdom through the raptures of his lyrics and mystic vision. His metaphysical bent of mind was quite rooted to the realities of his time inasmuch as he served as an anchor of intellectual moorings upon which the emerging nation state was to set foot on to shape a new course of journey. As a liberal humanist he advocated for Inclusive nationalism. The national anthem itself speaks of universality of Indian thought. He crystallised the Indian Renaissance of new awakening in the 19th century via the path of Bengal Renaissance which first stimulated all the Indian vernaculars of a promise of lofty creative potentials. Tagor’s international repute as the first noble Laureate of Asia helped the subalterns to gain a voice during freedom struggle. Though the English translation of his poems and other literary works lost the vitality of language, the mellifluous rhyming quality, lyrical beauty and the word-magic but the power of his vision continues to be a source of great inspiration for whoever reads them. This paper is attempted to illumine on Tagore’s universality as a poet-seer and his relevance in modern time when the world is still reeling under indeterminacy of post modern fluidity that continues to witness global terrorism, religious hatred, racism, rampant corruption and discrimination of various sorts. Hence, it is worth that the myriad minded man, ‘the East of Suez’, may be reviewed afresh for his universality and relevance ever.

The problem of the nation and nationalism in the social-philosophical thought of Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore’s lectures Nationalism (1916) were an early attempt to interpret and analyze the phenomenon from the social-philosophical point of view. In non-Western social thought it was one of first approaches to comprehend nationalism in its fullness and complexity of content with the complex of its objective consequences. Based on hermeneutical methods and phenomenological approach, the author offers a reconstruction of Tagore’s theoretical interpretation of nationalism in a broad social context from India to the East and the West. The interpretation is based on Tagore’s understanding of the nation as a mechanical organization for economic and political purposes, born in the “political civilization” of Europe. According to him, the nation is the problem for all societies both Western and non-Western, because it destructs its freedom, morality and humanity, and generates conflicts, aggression, violence and war. Nationalism is presented as “perfect organization of power” for domination over other peoples, as well as over their own society. Both constructs are exported to non-Western peoples who are not nations, and consequently create difficult problems in their societies. For Eastern peoples both ways of responding to Western nationalism’s challenge are dangerous in Tagore’s opinion. The first is nation-building by the state according to the Western model which turns into statism and militarism (the example of Japan). The second response is an attempt to solve social problems through belief in the achievement of political independence (the example of India). Essentially, Tagore had anticipated the modernist (constructivist) approach to the analysis of nationalism as an artificial and purposeful mechanism for achieving political goals, primarily in regard to the state, and pointed to the borrowed nature of nationalism in non-Western societies.

Elements of Greek musical tradition: a case study in Yiannis Constantinides' <i>Five Songs of Anticipation</i>

The music of Greek composer Yiannis Constantinides (1903-1984) has clear connections to traditional Greek folk music. Although various works explicitly demonstrate this connection, can certain works of his showing a more musically ambiguous character still yield a connection to Greek musical tradition? This question features prominently in the song cycle five Tραγoύδια της Πρoσμoνής (Five Songs of Anticipation), the text of which was not written by a Greek poet but India's Rabindranath Tagore. This paper first examines the compositional elements of Greek musical tradition and evidence of non-musical 'hellenicity' within the text of the song cycle in question. Analysis of the five songs reveals evidence of certain elements of the Greek musical tradition and at least one example of hellenicity. Although not one of his most 'Greek' works, the findings strongly underline Constantinides' classical influences in Five Songs of Anticipation and confirm some form of connection to Greek musical tradition.