A Collection of 22 works by Rabindranath Tagore
a) Rabindranath Tagore, The Fugitive, London: Macmillan & Co., 1921, first edition
vii, 200 pages, spine re-backed
The Fugitive is an excellent example of his work, featuring six stories and several spiritual songs.
b) Rabindranath Tagore, The Gardener, London: Macmillan & Co., 1929
150 pages, frontispiece of Rabindranath Tagore at age 16 by Gaganendranath Tagore after a drawing by Jyotindra Nath
c) Rabindranath Tagore, The King of the Dark Chamber, London: Macmillan & Co., 1914
200 pages
The King of the Dark Chamber was first published in 1914. It was translated by Kshtish Chandra Sen and revised by Tagore. The play is an allegory of man's spiritual adventure. It is about a king who is ugly and lives in a dark chamber. Sudarshana, his queen, seeks him in beauty but finds him only in suffering.
d) Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali (Song Offerings) , London: Macmillan & Co., 1919
xxii, 101 pages, frontispiece of Rabindranath Tagore
e) Rabindranath Tagore, Sacrifice and other plays, London: Macmillan & Co., 1917
v, 256 pages
This book contains four plays - Sanyasi or The Ascetic (Prakriti Protishodh), Malini, Sacrifice (based on Bisarjan) and The King and the Queen. The range is wide and colourful with Tagore having himself enacted the roles of Raghupati and Jayasingha at different times while having stage productions of Sacrifice.
f) Rabindranath Tagore, Chitra a play in one act, London: Macmillan & Co., reprinted in May 1914
xi, 58 pages
Chitra, a lyrical drama, is the translation of Chitrangada (1892), based on a story from the Mahabharata. This English translation, in Edward Thompson's words, presents "an interesting study of Tagore's method and is the best example of his insight into another language..."
g) Rabindranath Tagore, My Reminiscences, London: Macmillan & Co., 1917
xi, 272 pages, frontispiece, 13 illustrations
This work is written with, wisdom and more than a little self-mockery. It gives a unique and endearing insight into his life.
h) Rabindranath Tagore, The Crescent Moon, London: Macmillan & Co., 1914
xii, 82 pages, 8 illustrations in colour by Nandalal Bose, Asit Kumar Haldar, Abanindranath Tagore, SN Ganguly
This is a wonderful collection of lyrical poetry and poetry in prose by India's most well-known poet, Rabindranath Tagore, whose book Gitanjali shot him to fame in the west. Originally written in Bengali, the poet himself translated the book into English. Most of the poems in The Crescent Moon focus on the love in a mother-child relationship and its development over the years as the child grows up, with a lot of nature imagery sprinkled in the verses.
i) Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana the realization of life, London: Macmillan & Co., reprinted in1931
xi, 164 pages, Ex library stamp on verso of title page
"These papers embody in a connected form ... ideas which have been culled from several of the Bengali discourses which I am in the habit of giving to my students in my school at Bolpur in Bengal." - Author's preface.
The writer has been brought up in a family where texts of the Upanishads are used in daily worship; and he has had before him the example of his father, who lived his long life in the closest communion with God, while not neglecting his duties to the world, or allowing his keen interest in all human affairs to suffer any abatement. This book gives an opportunity of coming into touch with the ancient spirit of India as revealed in the sacred texts and manifested in the life of to-day.
j) Rabindranath Tagore, The Post office translated by Devabrata Mukherjea, London: Macmillan & Co., 1914
vii, 88 pages
This book represents a young boy who has received the call of the open road. He seeks freedom from the comfortable enclosure of habits sanctioned by the prudent and from walls of rigid opinion built for him by the honourable.
k) Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism, London: Macmillan & Co., reprinted in1921s
135 pages
l) Rabindranath Tagore, Personality, lectures delivered in America, London: Macmillan & Co., reprinted 1918
184 pages, frontispiece, 6 illustrations
m) Rabindranath Tagore, Mashi and other stories translated from the original Bengali by various writers, London: Macmillan & Co., 1918, first edition
223 pages
n) Rabindranath Tagore, Creative Unity, London: Macmillan & Co., reprinted in 1926
203 pages, a very good copy in original dust wrappers
This collection of essays reveals Tagore's ideas on the nature of creative process and his own interpretation of Indian civilization. He explains the idea of the unity of the universe in its endless show of variety. These essays, remarkable for their elegance and lucidity of expression, are not just an exposition of ancient values but are of abiding interest and great relevance to the modern man searching for truth and freedom.
o) Rabindranath Tagore, Hungry stones and other stories translated from Bengali by various writers, London: Macmillan & Co., 1916, first edition
271 pages
The thirteen stories in this compilation are the truest representation of life by Rabindranath Tagore. These heart-warming short stories are both dramatic and poetic in effect. The stories are aesthetically orchestrated and constructed and bring to light the trials and tribulations of human life, the simplicities and complexities of relationships, overlaid with supernatural issues, morality and the sufferings of the soul. The many shades and tones of various supernatural and mysterious experiences are portrayed by the two narrators in the 'The Hungry Stones' and 'The Victory' revolve around the central themes of love, loss and destiny: 'The Kabuliwallah', which has been adapted into a number of movies, focuses on an uncanny father-daughter relationship between a little girl and an Afghan trader in rural Bengal.
p) Rabindranath Tagore, Glimpses of Bengal selected from the letter of Sir R N Tagore, 1885-1895, London: Macmillan & Co., 1921, first edition
166 pages, ex -library
q) Rabindranath Tagore, Broken Ties and other stories, London: Macmillan & Co., 1925, first edition
229 pages
r) Rabindranath Tagore, Lovers Gift and Crossing, London: Macmillan & Co., 1918
117 pages
The first poem in 'Lover's Gift', is appropriately enough, addressed to Shah Jahan, the man who built the Taj to enshrine the memory of his beloved wife and their love. Tagore's gift to his lover are his songs lyrical, profound and moving. In 'Crossing', Tagore's poetry gains a religious tone. Images like the boat, the road, the sail and the lantern are used to symbolise the ultimate journey to God, the ultimate lover. A perfect complement to 'Lover's Gift', these poems clearly reveal Tagore's mystical genius.
s) Rabindranath Tagore, Fruit Gathering, London: Macmillan & Co., reprinted in 1922
123 pages
Fruit Gathering was first published in 1916. Three varying styles of thought and writing merge in Fruit Gathering and one is presented with a mystic Tagore with only one voice. The poems collected are from Gitimala, Gitali, Naivedya, Kheya etc
t) Rabindranath Tagore, The Cycle of Spring, London: Macmillan & Co., 1917, first edition
134 pages
The Cycle of Spring is a translation of Phalguni. It was one of the two Tagore dramas associated with the festivals of seasons, the other being Autumn Festival. The play is full of nature. There are songs in the rustling bamboo leaves, in birds' nests, and in blossoming branches. They are the heralds of spring.
u) Rabindranath Tagore, One Hundred poems of Kabir, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore assisted by Evelyn Underhill, London: Macmillan & Co., reprinted in 1918
xliv, 105 pages, ex -library
Kabir is one of the most beloved Indian mystics. He is also amongst the pioneers of the Bhakti Movement in North India. One Hundred Poems of Kabir is a classic book of poems, translated into English by Rabindranath Tagore. These poems are songs of love written in the voice of a lover longing for the beloved. The mystical connotations unravel the journey of the soul to its union with the Supreme Being.
v) Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, London: Macmillan & Co., reprinted in 1933
84 pages, coloured frontispiece by Willy Pogany
Collected here are three hundred twenty short poems by Rabindranath Tagore. They were written in Bengali before being translated into English by Tagore. These poems are beautiful, thought provoking, and somewhat reminiscent of Haiku. Stray birds of summer come to my window to sing and fly away. And yellow leaves of autumn, which have no songs, flutter and fall there with a sigh.
Macmillan was the first company to publish the writings of Rabindranath Tagore, in Britain (translated into English by Tagore himself). Macmillan also negotiated terms for translation of his works elsewhere. In 1913, following the publication of Gitanjali / Song Offerings, Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
(Set of twenty two)
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