Tagore A Novel

Tagore: A Novel is a fictionalized retelling of Rabindranath Tagore’s life and times. Sahitya Akademi awardee K.C. Ajayakumar unravels the mind of an incomparable visionary and genius in this book by exploring how the sensory impressions from Tagore’s early days shaped his creative ideation; how his boyhood experiences and beliefs reflected in his writings; how his complete and unapologetic immersion in everyday life played out against his lifelong obsession with death; and how his unbelievably multifaceted sensibility came alive through his literature, music, theatre and painting. This book not only examines the virtuosity of Tagore through his highly acclaimed works but also charts his rise to international fame and his friendship with William Rothenstein and William Butler Yeats. It presents an intimate account of his contentious relationships with Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, among others. Tagore’s ever-debated, ambivalent and enigmatic engagement with Mahatma Gandhi is also captured brilliantly in the book. His love for Shelaidaha, Patisar, Jorasanko Thakurbadi, Shantiniketan and the river Padma is portrayed beautifully. This is the story of a man like no other