BEST BOOKS WRITTEN BY RABINDRANATH TAGORE TO READ
3 min readMay 23, 2022
RABINDRANATH TAGORE was born on 7 May 1861 in Calcutta,now known as Kolkata. In 1901 he started Visva Bharati University at Shantiniketan. He was the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize for literature. He published his first book “Bhagna Hriday” in 1878. RABINDRANATH TAGORE wrote many books which are being read today also by book lovers. We have named some of books written by Rabindranath Tagore here.
BOOKS WRITTEN BY RABINDRANATH TAGORE
1 Gora
- Gora is one of the best known novels of Rabindranath Tagore, written in 1907.
- It is a story of a Brahmo boy Gora, who was born to a Hindu mother and a Christian father.
- The book deals with several social issues such as casteism and colonialism.
- The novel was originally published under the name “Gora: The Homely Hero”.
- But later editions have used the author’s preferred title “Gorkha”.
2 The Home and the World
- The Home and the World is a novel written by Rabindranath Tagore.
- The story revolves around the character Nilkanto who is an idealistic young Brahmin.
- He becomes disillusioned with her personality after marrying Smarajit’s daughter Bimala.
- He gets involved in politics against his father-in-law’s wishes; as a result, he must choose between his wife or his principles.
- The story was published in 1916 and it was first translated into English by William Radice in 2007
3 Ghare Baire
- Ghare Baire is a Bengali novel by Rabindranath Tagore written in 1907–08. It is set in the aristocratic society of Bengal in the late 19th century.
- Gora’s main character, Nikhil (or Nirmal), is an idealistic young man who believes that Indian society needs to change and evolve.
- He finds himself increasingly at odds with his father-in-law, Gaurisankar Roy Choudhury, who represents the old order.
- Nikhil’s friends include Sandip — who also has progressive ideas — and Bhupati — who is more conservative and traditionalist.
4 The Post Office
- The Post Office is a short play written by Rabindranath Tagore.
- It was first performed in 1918 and later published as part of the collection The Home and the World (1916).
- The protagonist is a sick boy who is confined to his house, which he shares with his mother, father and younger sister.
- The boy dreams about going outside but never dares to ask for permission from his parents.
- One day he sees an old man delivering mail on foot through their town; it turns out that this man has been walking every day since he was a young kid.
- He tells the boy that even though delivering mail may not seem like much work, it requires great discipline: “If we have no courage at all, we can’t do anything.”
5 Kabuliwallah
- Kabuliwallah is a book written by Rabindranath Tagore.
- It was first published in 1913 and is considered one of the author’s most important works.
- The story takes place in Calcutta, where the narrator is introduced to a kabuliwallah who sells saffron-colored ice cream.
- The narrator becomes obsessed with the kabuliwallah, who eventually reveals that he comes from Kabul, Afghanistan.
- The narrator travels to Kabul in an attempt to find him.
- When he arrives there, he finds that the kabuliwallah has already left for his home village near Simla.
- The narrator continues on his journey until he finally finds his beloved kabuliwallah in Simla at the end of summer.