Losing Greatness In Translation

Rabindra Rachnavali An eight-part series

Rabindranath Tagore

Rupa

Rs 50 each

Tagore in English translation can often be a painful experience. And if the translation is by Tagore himself, the pain can be even more. The English used by him for translating many of the poems is erudite. But it lacks the simplicity, warmth and lyricism that endow his Bengali so abundantly.

For lovers of Tagore in Santiniketan and elsewhere, this may be construed as blasphemy. But consider the other side. If William Butler Yeats could be so influenced by Tagore