RE: Rabindranath Tagore: Educator, Poet, Philosopher, Artist
Tagore is a household name in India because he wrote the national anthem but his other works go largely unnoticed. I remember we had one poem of his, Where The Mind Is Without Fear, in our curriculum back in school and that was it. Tagore's writings are a treat to read and show that he was truly ahead of his times (heck, even our time now!) in terms of his thinking.
Last year ago, I hunted down a copy of an extract of his text The City and the Village where he talks about urbanisation and how the city and the village have to 'develop' hand in hand. It was eye opening and I've been reading his other works slowly. I found a first edition of one of his plays in a small bookstore and it's absolutely wonderful.
Your post is a great way to introduce Tagore to the global audience and I can't stress enough how important this man is to our world.
I agree. I have written about him before, in the hope that Western readers will be introduced to his work. I try to make the introduction attractive enough for people to follow the thread and become curious. Thanks for the comment. I will check out the writings you reference. And thanks for the upvote.
Would love to read what else you've written about him. I'm curious to discover more about Tagore too. The poem is not my favourite but because of its pre-independence nationalist sentiment, it is in school curriculum. I can send you a pdf of the original text of The City and The Village if you'd like :)
Unfortunately, my vote counts for nothing but I hope more people will see this.
Your vote counts for everything. Remember, I admire Tagore, so you know I care more about your opinion than the weight of your vote. My previous writing was for young students----my attempt to introduce ideas that aren't part of mainstream curriculum. Thanks so much for the offer, but a lot of his work is available online because the copyrights have expired. I have a blog and I have posted a few times about him. Nothing sophisticated--most of what you already know. I was once a teacher so I can't help trying to open minds. I'm going to follow you, and again, thanks for the upvote. It's heartening.
I just looked at your profile and see that you are based in Seoul. Korea--another of my interests. Recently wrote a blog on Hongeul (Hongul?). Will soon write one on Sejong the Great. I need to learn more, but am fascinated by his foresight. Language was a barrier and he broke that for his people. Tagore would approve :)
Hangeul! Gosh, I'm trying to learn it and while it's easy enough to put the sounds together, it's impossible to get a hang of everything else! People keep telling me 'Oh the Korean language was invented so recently that it's actually quite easy to learn'. But it's also quite sophisticated.