Contemporarising Tagore and the World

Contemporarising Tagore and the World reflects on Rabindranath Tagore as a true biswa-kabi, or poet of the world. In the first half of the twentieth century, few traveled as widely as he did, visiting more than thirty countries across five continents. Avoiding the label of 'patriot' and instead 'seeking compatriots around the world,' Tagore placed his faith in humanity, regardless of nation, race, or caste, believing in the power to overcome limitations and perils of all kinds. This faith drove him to cross boundaries, both intellectual and territorial. Tagore understood that 'poverty lay in the separation, and wealth in the union,' an 'original truth' he expressed in every form he knew, from poetry to painting, from education to aesthetics, from music to modes of thought. His essays on society, religion, philosophy, politics, education, rural development, literature, aesthetics, and history show that deliberations on life and living, including what is now called social sciences, came naturally to him. If his countless poems, over 2,200 songs, and more than 2,500 drawings and paintings offer solace to the mind, then the breadth of his writings on state, society, and disempowered persons challenges and transforms the mind. This volume emerged from discussions at the conference, Contemporarising Tagore, held during the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Tagore.