Scan barcode
maketeaa's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
'myriad-minded' is no exaggeration when describing tagore and dutta proves this exceptionally. tracking his life from the earliest years -- days spent in jorasanko reading the mahabarata and the ramayana and playing in the sandbox of poetry amidst dreaded english lessons -- through to every step of his global influence, dutta explores not just tagore's key ideologies, but where they came into conflict with other people, and, often, with themselves. a pioneer in bengali literature in the western world, his works were reacted to in many opposing ways, some embracing his thoughts, some dismissing him as simply an indian mystic. but what is common among every interaction, it seems, is that tagore leaves an impression -- and how could he not? with a vision to unite eastern ideas with western to strengthen the indian nation, he pushed his efforts when they spoke out to him -- the development of shantiniketen, for example -- and exchanged ideas with many prolific figures. but what stands out about tagore is the complicated nature of such a vision, especially seen through the indian struggle under the British raj, and exemplified by his tumultuous yet strong relationship with mahatma gandhi. tagore cannot be boxed in to a singular ideology, a singular perspective, a singular category, and it is this myriad-minded nature that makes his international reaction so complex and yet so marked. dutta's examination is thorough, detailed, and insightful, including translated extracts of poetry, letters, and quotations from lectures. a really great read!
More...