Rabindranath Tagore published his first poetry collection at the age of thirteen. He became a defining figure in Bengali and world literature. Tagore was particularly prolific throughout his life, with his complete works spanning 32 large volumes, which include 60 collections of verses and over 2,000 hymns, two of which have become the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.
In his poetry and writing, he was a great innovator, constantly breaking traditions and changing his own style, thus making it a volume full of variety and surprises. Although lyrical poetry was the core of his creativity, Tagore also wrote religious, satirical, humorous, and even nonsense verses.
Thematically, his works cover love, the beauty of nature, philosophy, politics, his hopes and fears for his country, and the future of humanity. In his fiction, he showed deep sympathy for the perspectives of women, children, and the poor.
This selection – a significant collection of 900+ pages – offers an indicative overview of his work, including his most famous novel, “The Home and the World,” and his most famous play, “Red Oleander,” as well as many novellas, short stories, essays, poems, and hymns.
Rudrangshu Mukherjee has drawn from the work of various translators, from the early renditions of Surendranath Tagore, the author’s nephew, to contemporary views of William Radice, Kaiser Haq, and Madhuchhanda Karlekar. Tagore himself translated some of his works, and all the essays and lectures were written in English.
