Rabindranath Tagore

Paper Summary:

This essay is an analysis on the life of Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali who had a privileged upbringing in Britain, but who loved his native land. The essay describes Tagore as being primarily known as a multitalented artist - a novelist, essayist, philosopher, poet, Nobel Prize winner, song-writer and singer, playwright and actor. However, he was frequently distracted from artistic creativity due to his concerns about the realities and problems of life in India. This essay argues that to truly appreciate Tagore, it is necessary to go beyond his artistic oeuvre. Instead, it recognizes that Tagore also made an important contribution through his political message, and it argues that his anti-nationalism message is entirely relevant to important modern day problems.

From the Paper:

"The non-literary achievements of Tagore may be seen as deriving primarily from his grasp of the poverty of the concept of nationalism. Quayum explains that Tagore perceived the poverty of the notion of nationalism, despite the fact that the notion attracts so many fervent followers. Crucially, Tagore saw that this notion grew out of 'the post-religious laboratory of industrial-capitalism' (Quayam 3), and its problems derive directly from this inauspicious origin. Reflecting this origin, nationalism is, in Tagore's words, an 'organization of politics and commerce' that brings 'harvests of wealth' due to the operation of greed, power and selfishness (Quayam 3). The problem is that nationalism on the one hand impoverishes our souls and cuts us off from our common humanity - and on the other hand, is the direct inspiration for much of the suffering in our world..."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Quayum, Mohammad A. "Editorial: Tagore and Nationalism." Sage Publications 39.2 (2004): 1-6.
• Ninian, Alex. "Rabindranath Tagore as Reformer." Contemporary Review (Feb. 2005): 118+.
• Samaddar, Ranabir. "The Futures of the Colonised." Futures 36.6-7 (2004): 655+.

More papers on Rabindranath Tagore:

• Term Paper # 134515 : "Rabindranath Tagore"
• Essay # 33603 : "Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)"
• Book Review # 13939 : " Sir Rabindranath Tagore"

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