Khyati Akhyatir Nepathye by Sourindra Mitra [Hardcover]

Our nature is to create legends around anything extraordinary, whether it's an event or an achievement. Sometimes, those legends are so exalted that the extraordinary becomes supernatural; other times, they originate from such envy and slander that the true glory of the extraordinary is diminished. This has happened many times with Rabindranath Tagore. His various accomplishments are shrouded in the mist of these two kinds of legends. Especially, the incident of him receiving the Nobel Prize. Much speculation, misinterpretation, propaganda, and hypocritical evaluation have surrounded this extraordinary event. Just as it was then, it is the same today. Even now, in certain circles, one hears the indiscriminate echoes of various rumors regarding Rabindranath's rise in the West and the spread of his fame as a poet. The accuracy of these rumors has not been verified based on evidence. Verification, of course, was not easy. To do so, one would need to uncover certain crucial pieces of information, many of which are hidden in the background, scattered here and there. Uncovering all that information is indeed a challenging task. That arduous task has been accomplished with remarkable skill by Saurindra Mitra. Through long and relentless efforts, he has rediscovered the entire context of Rabindranath's Nobel Prize and presented it in this book. Not only has he uncovered every related piece of information, but he has also analyzed them with logical discussions in this extensive book. By dispelling the legends of fame and infamy, he has unveiled the unseen image of the true Rabindranath. His form is not veiled by the exuberance of admiration, nor is it diminished by excessive envy. Consequently, the entirety of Rabindra literature has been illuminated anew by this context. This work has already been honored. This book has received the Narasimha Das Award from Delhi. After being out of print for various reasons for a long time, it has now been reissued in a thoroughly revised new edition.