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The Tagore Omnibus, Volume One
'A towering figure in the millennium-old literature of Bengal' — Amartya Sen
Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, Rabindranath Tagore was one of India’s pioneering novelists, keen to experiment with form and bold in his choice of subjects. This collector’s edition of Rabindranath Tagore’s novels in English translation brings together the writer’s best known novels in two omnibus volumes. The first volume features three novels—Chokher Bali, Ghare Baire and Yogayog—and two novellas: Chaturanga and Malancha.
Chokher Bali (A Grain of Sand) is a classic exposition of an extramarital affair that takes place within the confines of a joint family. Asha, the simple, demure wife of the rich, flamboyant Mahendra, befriends Binodini, a vivacious young widow who comes to live with them; but both Mahendra and Binodini betray Asha’s trust and elope, leaving the marriage in ruins. Set against the backdrop of the Partition of Bengal by the British in 1905, Ghare Baire (Home and the World) is also the tale of a triangular relationship: between the liberal-minded zamindar Nikhilesh, his educated and sensitive wife Bimala, and Sandip, Nikhilesh’s friend, a charismatic revolutionary who Bimala becomes attracted to. Chaturanga (Quartet) traces the philosophical and emotional developments between Sachish, a brilliant young atheist who turns ascetic after the untimely death of his mentor, his friend Sribilash, and Damini, a young widow sheltered by the guru Lilananda, who Sachish and Sribilash become devotees of. Set in the historical context of the decline of the landed aristocracy in Bengal and the emergence of the entrepreneur class, Yogayog (Nexus) is the tale of Kumudini, the daughter of a cultured family that has fallen on bad times, who is torn between her loyalties to Madhusudan, her crass and self-serving husband, and Bipradas, her artistic and compassionate brother, as she struggles desperately to find an identity for herself. Finally, Malancha (The Garden) features the loving but childless couple Aditya and Neerja whose calm domestic world is shattered when Neerja is struck down by illness and suspects Sarala, Aditya’s childhood friend, of usurping her place both in Aditya’s heart and in their beloved garden.
Written in Tagore’s inimitable style and full of surprising turns of plot and unforgettable studies of the human psyche, each of these novels, available here in modern, lucid translations, will delight all lovers of classic fiction.
Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, Rabindranath Tagore was one of India’s pioneering novelists, keen to experiment with form and bold in his choice of subjects. This collector’s edition of Rabindranath Tagore’s novels in English translation brings together the writer’s best known novels in two omnibus volumes. The first volume features three novels—Chokher Bali, Ghare Baire and Yogayog—and two novellas: Chaturanga and Malancha.
Chokher Bali (A Grain of Sand) is a classic exposition of an extramarital affair that takes place within the confines of a joint family. Asha, the simple, demure wife of the rich, flamboyant Mahendra, befriends Binodini, a vivacious young widow who comes to live with them; but both Mahendra and Binodini betray Asha’s trust and elope, leaving the marriage in ruins. Set against the backdrop of the Partition of Bengal by the British in 1905, Ghare Baire (Home and the World) is also the tale of a triangular relationship: between the liberal-minded zamindar Nikhilesh, his educated and sensitive wife Bimala, and Sandip, Nikhilesh’s friend, a charismatic revolutionary who Bimala becomes attracted to. Chaturanga (Quartet) traces the philosophical and emotional developments between Sachish, a brilliant young atheist who turns ascetic after the untimely death of his mentor, his friend Sribilash, and Damini, a young widow sheltered by the guru Lilananda, who Sachish and Sribilash become devotees of. Set in the historical context of the decline of the landed aristocracy in Bengal and the emergence of the entrepreneur class, Yogayog (Nexus) is the tale of Kumudini, the daughter of a cultured family that has fallen on bad times, who is torn between her loyalties to Madhusudan, her crass and self-serving husband, and Bipradas, her artistic and compassionate brother, as she struggles desperately to find an identity for herself. Finally, Malancha (The Garden) features the loving but childless couple Aditya and Neerja whose calm domestic world is shattered when Neerja is struck down by illness and suspects Sarala, Aditya’s childhood friend, of usurping her place both in Aditya’s heart and in their beloved garden.
Written in Tagore’s inimitable style and full of surprising turns of plot and unforgettable studies of the human psyche, each of these novels, available here in modern, lucid translations, will delight all lovers of classic fiction.
- GenresFiction
726 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Rabindranath Tagore
2,288 books3,951 followersAwarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West."
Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays spoke to topics political and personal. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are his best-known works, and his verse, short stories, and novels were acclaimed—or panned—for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation. His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India's Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh's Amar Shonar Bangla.
The complete works of Rabindranath Tagore (রবীন্দ্র রচনাবলী) in the original Bengali are now available at these third-party websites:
http://www.tagoreweb.in/
http://www.rabindra-rachanabali.nltr....
Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays spoke to topics political and personal. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are his best-known works, and his verse, short stories, and novels were acclaimed—or panned—for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation. His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India's Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh's Amar Shonar Bangla.
The complete works of Rabindranath Tagore (রবীন্দ্র রচনাবলী) in the original Bengali are now available at these third-party websites:
http://www.tagoreweb.in/
http://www.rabindra-rachanabali.nltr....
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 7, 2018
It was so daunting to read after so long but once i began I could not stop. Loved the charters and stories.
Read
November 3, 2023My unruly notes after re-read & finished Chokher Bali:
Watching Netflix series “Stories by Ravindranath Tagore” with director/ creator Anurag Basu, picked up this omnibus again to follow along.
Book (translator Sreejata Guha) translated title Chokher Bali as grain of sand in the eye
Screen adaptation (SA) translated as eyesore or irritant
SA extra differences: Asha & Binodini first meet when looking at the train that passed by
First meeting between Mahen & Binodini - Binod playing piano with white sari right shoulder & back uncovered. Mahendra takes over the piano playing, all 3 sing a number
Book Binod pretends to fall asleep, Mahen is taking pics of her with his photography hobby, Binod wakes up & gets angry.
SA Binod moves chess piece for Mahen, he is impressed
PICNIC
Mahen teaches Asha how to play chess on the picnic incident
Behari & Binodini have a pointed convo with a lot of hidden meaning
Book second carriage gets lost, Bihari has prepared everything
SA More (sexual) tension between Mahen & Binodini
Asha touching Mahen's feet before she leaves (I wasn't sure what she was bending down to do)
Visual cues of widows in white saris without makeup vs married women red bindi, colorful clothes, makeup
Asha also orphan, more pitiful in book
Of the 4, Binodini & Behari more interesting
Asha is pretty darn naive, doesn't protect her own interests
Is Behari partial to Asha or Binodini?
SA 6 years later they meet at a railway station
Does it matter if a woman doesn't know how to do household chores?
Read Taslima Nasrin's Revenge instead.
Every woman unhappy threatened to leave: Mahen's mother Rajlakshimi, wife, Binodini
The ending, ugh, even Tagore himself didn't like it.
My review from 2020:
Tagore was a proponent for women's education but I still find it difficult slogging through this setting where the men's needs, thoughts and whims are paramount and the women (wives, mothers, aunts, secret lover) orbit around serving them. Almost finished Chokher Bali, the back and forth relationships and circular conversations are exhausting. Regretful DNF.
More notes to come as we progress along.
Watching Netflix series “Stories by Ravindranath Tagore” with director/ creator Anurag Basu, picked up this omnibus again to follow along.
Book (translator Sreejata Guha) translated title Chokher Bali as grain of sand in the eye
Screen adaptation (SA) translated as eyesore or irritant
SA extra differences: Asha & Binodini first meet when looking at the train that passed by
First meeting between Mahen & Binodini - Binod playing piano with white sari right shoulder & back uncovered. Mahendra takes over the piano playing, all 3 sing a number
Book Binod pretends to fall asleep, Mahen is taking pics of her with his photography hobby, Binod wakes up & gets angry.
SA Binod moves chess piece for Mahen, he is impressed
PICNIC
Mahen teaches Asha how to play chess on the picnic incident
Behari & Binodini have a pointed convo with a lot of hidden meaning
Book second carriage gets lost, Bihari has prepared everything
SA More (sexual) tension between Mahen & Binodini
Asha touching Mahen's feet before she leaves (I wasn't sure what she was bending down to do)
Visual cues of widows in white saris without makeup vs married women red bindi, colorful clothes, makeup
Asha also orphan, more pitiful in book
Of the 4, Binodini & Behari more interesting
Asha is pretty darn naive, doesn't protect her own interests
Is Behari partial to Asha or Binodini?
SA 6 years later they meet at a railway station
Does it matter if a woman doesn't know how to do household chores?
Read Taslima Nasrin's Revenge instead.
Every woman unhappy threatened to leave: Mahen's mother Rajlakshimi, wife, Binodini
The ending, ugh, even Tagore himself didn't like it.
My review from 2020:
Tagore was a proponent for women's education but I still find it difficult slogging through this setting where the men's needs, thoughts and whims are paramount and the women (wives, mothers, aunts, secret lover) orbit around serving them. Almost finished Chokher Bali, the back and forth relationships and circular conversations are exhausting. Regretful DNF.
More notes to come as we progress along.
Read
July 30, 2011its a complete masterpiece! hes such a good story teller, but also he delves deep into the character so a more fuller picture emerges of the characters! having said that, in ghair bhaire, its unrealistic to expect the widow to not sleep with the runaway,its a bit bollywoodesque! having the quartret is a beautiful piece of work, he captures the mood of revoloutionary pre independence india. bit hard to read at times but well worth. breathtaking work by a meastro.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews