Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941)

n a Nutshell: A good collection of Tagore’s works, but the translation could have been better. A nice option for readers of character-oriented short fiction who are interested in Indian non-mythology classics.

Rabindranath Tagore is, to date, the only Indian winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was a skilled poet and novelist, but his short fiction was a cut above the rest. The fourteen short stories in this collection were originally written in Bengali, and translated to English by various writers.

The biggest plus of this collection is seeing the strong command that Tagore has over his narrative. His stories don’t go the way we want or the way a typical happy-ending tale should proceed. Rather, he takes each story where he wants and stops, whether the ending is complete or not, whether the characters are happy or not, whether the readers get closure or not. This could go either way for a reader, but to those accustomed to literary fiction and slice of life stories, this kind of writing won’t present a big hurdle.

The main hurdle in enjoying this collection to the fullest is the shoddy translation, or rather, the lack of uniformity in the translation. As various writers have worked on the individual stories, there is no consistency to the writing or the vocabulary. Some stories are needlessly verbose while a few are too simple to seem like Tagore's work. Some use formal language while others are almost jargonistic. Some explain terms while others assume that the readers are knowledgeable enough. A couple of the stories break the fourth wall for no rhyme or reason. All this makes for an uneven experience, as some stories don’t hold up to the potential. Of course, this flaw is not to be assigned to Tagore’s writing.

Despite the mixed translation, the stories offers a comprehensive study of human behaviour. All the main narrators are flawed male protagonists who miss the obvious and jump to conclusions. The women’s role are somewhat limited to their being docile and sweet though there are some worthy exceptions as well.

The stories might have been contemporary in their time, but to a reader of 2024 and familiar with the country, the stories are clearly historical, with many of these issues no longer that prevalent at least in urban areas. However, human emotions and reactions don’t change with eras. The response of the characters to their circumstances is still realistic, though a tad melodramatic. The setting is Bengal, as is the case with Tagore’s works.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the fourteen stories, four stories touched the four-star mark while most of the rest hovered around three stars. I am sure the performance would have been better had I read this a couple of decades ago and had the translation been better. These were my top favourites:

🦚 Mashi - At a time when child marriage was fairly common, it's easy to sympathise with the young bride. This story makes us question some of our assumptions. Wish there was more detailing at the end, otherwise a great work. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🦚 The Auspicious Vision - Hasn't aged that well, but for the time it was written in, it's a good story. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🦚 The Trust Property - When you allow ego to dominate your decisions, the result can be disaster. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🦚 The Postmaster - I've read this before and it was a treat to read it again. This is an excellent reflection on how humans interpret the same situation differently. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Recommended to short fiction readers who would be interested in trying a classic Indian work. Do keep in mind the era the stories were written in. This isn’t the best way to get introduced to Tagore’s work, but it is a start. I am sure it would have been better if read in the original Bangla.

3.2 stars, based on the average of my ratings for the stories.

As this book is in the public domain, you can read it online for free. I borrowed my copy from archive.org using the below link.
https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.04200
This edition has proper footnotes for the trickier words, so it is a great option for those unfamiliar with Tagore’s world.… (more)

The Home and the World is a classic Indian novel that focuses on a trio of characters living in the time of the Indian independence movement. Rotating between each of their perspectives, the novel does an excellent job of portraying each of their unique viewpoints, and, particularly when it comes to Nikhil and Sandip, playing them off each other in a way that allows the reader to ponder on their own beliefs. By the end of the book, I had a deep understanding of each character's ethical standpoint and how they disagreed on what should be done for the sake of the country despite all being in favor of independence.

I especially appreciated that Bimala was given so much focus. This in itself tells the reader that women are full people whose viewpoints matter. I also liked the development of Bimala's sister-in-law throughout the course of the story. In fact, she was my favorite character. But I also found myself questioning certain aspects of Bimala's characterization as I read. Most disturbing to me personally is her persistent belief that a "woman's heart... must worship in order to love". Is she attributing to all women something that applies only to herself? Is this a form of internalized sexism that real women experience or have experienced in the past? Or is it the result of a male author justifying the treatment of women in his society by claiming it aligns with their nature?

Unfortunately, I'm far from an expert when it comes to this cultural context, so I spent much of the book considering rather than concluding. I'm sure Indian readers have a far different reading experience, including appreciating aspects that went right over my head. As a US reader of the translation, I can only advise doing research on the Swadeshi movement and Indian history in general (if you were never taught much on the subject) before reading and say that, as I read, I found myself comparing the philosophies of these characters with others I'm familiar with and thinking about independence movements in general. I do believe books like this can provide readers with a deeper insight into humanity as well as specific insights into the history and culture of a particular country. I think it's a shame that my library system doesn't have a copy of this book, as I think it's an indication that not many people here are reading it.

Beyond that, I would be remiss to neglect the beauty of the writing itself. Although I read the English translation and therefore can't speak to the original, I can say that I highlighted more passages in this book than in any other I've read this year. The thoughts being communicated are striking in themselves. Each character expresses themselves so passionately and with such insight that I was truly impressed. This book undeniably deserves to be a classic, and I would have loved studying it in a university-level literature course. It's not difficult to understand without one, but I can feel how much depth there is to be explored and imagine how rewarding it would be.

Overall, I'm very glad I chose to read this book, and I hope this review will convince other readers to try it as well. If you love classics, you won't be disappointed.… (more)