Gitanjali

Like the Psalms of David, "Gitanjali" is a soothing balm to the spirit. In the words of W.B. Yeats, who contributed greatly to the exposure of Tagore to the Western world and subsequently to Tagore's award for the Nobel prize in Literature, "...these prose translation from Rabindranath Tagore have stirred my blood as nothing has for years..." "Gitanjali" is a collection of prose poems by Indian author Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore, who wrote poetry in Bengali, translated "Gitanjali" himself into English. This English version of "Gitanjali" is a series of prose poems that reflect on the interrelationships among the poet/speaker, the deity, and the world. Although Tagore had a Hindu background, the spirituality of this book is generally expressed in universal terms so that Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, or those of other faiths could find much that resonates in "Gitanjali." The language in "Gitanjali" is often very sensuous and beautiful, and sometimes embraces paradox. "Gitanjali," which is translated "Song Offerings," was written with the Creator in mind and reflects Tagore's wish to be united with the Creator. It is hard to read Tagore's poetry without missing his show of devotion and love for the Creator using various metaphorical subjects like flowers, rivers etc. One cannot but admire the beauty and art in it. Rabindranath Tagore was a polymath: a poet, fiction writer, dramatist, painter, educator, political thinker, philosopher of science. He was also a genius in music, choreography, architecture, social service and statesmanship. Over six decades Tagore gave the world some 2,500 songs, more than 2,000 paintings and drawings, 28 volumes of poetry, drama, opera, short stories, novels, essays and diaries and a vast number of letters.