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Gitanjali (Dodo Press)
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), also known by the sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali poet, Brahmo Samaj philosopher, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A cultural icon of Bengal and India, he became Asia's first Nobel laureate when he won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Liter...more
Paperback, 48 pages
Published
September 1st 2007
by Dodo Press
(first published August 14th 1910)
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Verses frm Gitanjali r pasted all ovr my room, in my diary, at d back of my notebooks....I even remember participating in a competition( which i was too afraid 2 b in) with a slip of paper in my pocket with verses frm gitanjali scribbled in it.When in doubt, I run 2 Tagore.Who needs bible ven v hav got buks lyk des?
I am already loving this book of poetry, though I fear I will need to read it several times before I can actually say I have consumed it. Let me give you an offering from this morning's reading...
"I came out alone on my way to my tryst. But who is this that follows me in the silent dark?
I move aside to avoid his presence but I escape him not.
He makes the dust rise from the earth with his swagger; he adds his loud voice to every word that I utter.
He is my own little self, my lord, he knows no sh...more
"I came out alone on my way to my tryst. But who is this that follows me in the silent dark?
I move aside to avoid his presence but I escape him not.
He makes the dust rise from the earth with his swagger; he adds his loud voice to every word that I utter.
He is my own little self, my lord, he knows no sh...more
Gitanjali is a collection of over 100 poems, full of life, full of inspiration and full of color. Gitanjali speaks of birth of life, to the death, the nature and man’s quest for answers from God.Be it song or rain, nature or god, each poems display the simplicity of thoughts. Simple repetitive lines add to certain poems, while other poems are just a collection of sentences joined together. However as said, it’s the content which forms the magic of the whole collection when read together.
Rain for...more
Rain for...more
This is a special edition of the 'Gitanjali' (the name means 'offering of songs') because it contains not only the poems, but their Bengali versions, too (in Tagore's handwriting), plus his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, newspaper clippings announcing his win and introductions by various people. My favourite poem of all of these (though I haven't read all) is the most famous one:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,
Where knowledge is free,
Where the world has not bee...more
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,
Where knowledge is free,
Where the world has not bee...more
Not usually a big fan of poems, but this one by Tagore is an exception. My favorite is this one (it's in the public domain):
The morning sea of silence broke into ripples of bird songs; and the flowers were all merry by the roadside; and the wealth of gold was scattered through the rift of the clouds while we busily went on our way and paid no heed.
We sang no glad songs nor played; we went not to the village for barter; we spoke not a word nor smiled; we lingered not on the way. We quickened our...more
The morning sea of silence broke into ripples of bird songs; and the flowers were all merry by the roadside; and the wealth of gold was scattered through the rift of the clouds while we busily went on our way and paid no heed.
We sang no glad songs nor played; we went not to the village for barter; we spoke not a word nor smiled; we lingered not on the way. We quickened our...more
Hmm, I seem to be too lost to begin with this review. Maybe, it is going to take some time for me to come out of the world that I have lost myself into while reading Gitanjali. One of the most beautiful collection of poems that I have ever read. It feels as if Tagore is a writer, painter, musician and a charioteer of one's soul, all at the same time. With his words, he paints amazingly vivid landscapes incorporating into his verses all the elements of nature that apart from their own hues and ti...more
6 likes
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Jul 21, 2009
Nanny
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
poetry-literature,
2009
Rabindranath Tagore menulis buku ini dengan sangat indah, sebagai sebuah karya sastra yang sangat puitis dengan imaginasi dan makna filosofis yang sangat dalam. Karya sastra yang berbentuk puisi /prosa lirycs ini terbagi dalam 4 bagian yaitu :
- Gitanjali ( Kidung Persembahan ); Pencarian dan pujian kepada yang Maha Pencipta
- Musim Panen; Sekuel lanjutan dari Gitanjali, keduanya merupakan syair2 liris yang ritmis mengisahkan tentang kedalaman makna-makna benda dan arti kehidupan
- Bulan Sabit; Ku...more
- Gitanjali ( Kidung Persembahan ); Pencarian dan pujian kepada yang Maha Pencipta
- Musim Panen; Sekuel lanjutan dari Gitanjali, keduanya merupakan syair2 liris yang ritmis mengisahkan tentang kedalaman makna-makna benda dan arti kehidupan
- Bulan Sabit; Ku...more
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Originally published in Bengali in 1910, Gitanjali (or Song Offerings) won Tagore the Nobel Prize in 1913. The translations are supposedly Tagore's own, and this edition has an introduction by Yeats, 'cause that's just how he rolls.
The poems in Gitanjali has a strong spiritual bent. The first few are full of this sense of exultation, for lack of a better word. Then the tone of the poems change: there's a sense of yearning and frustration now, this is a younger Tagore still seeking spiritual ful...more
The poems in Gitanjali has a strong spiritual bent. The first few are full of this sense of exultation, for lack of a better word. Then the tone of the poems change: there's a sense of yearning and frustration now, this is a younger Tagore still seeking spiritual ful...more
There is so much in the book that even the abundance knows nothing about.......sometimes it was like i am pondering deep inside,asking,seeking and receiving all those answers that lie scattered like stars yet difficult to be fathomed...........i may go on and on and on...writing about my favourite stuff in the book ....but right now I'd just like to share ..."I WILL DECK thee with trophies, garlands of my defeat. It is never in my power to escape unconquered.
I surely know my pride will go to the...more
I surely know my pride will go to the...more
Poetic falls short of describing Gitanjali. I'll have more to say when I'm finished.
April 24, 2011
Finished. Wonderful, poetic, imaginative are just a few words to describe Tagore's work. I don't know of any other way to describe it, so I'll just let Tagore speak for Tagore's self,
On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. The infinite sky is motionless overhead and the restless water is boisterous. On the seashore of endless worlds children meet with shouts and dances
They build their house...more
April 24, 2011
Finished. Wonderful, poetic, imaginative are just a few words to describe Tagore's work. I don't know of any other way to describe it, so I'll just let Tagore speak for Tagore's self,
On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. The infinite sky is motionless overhead and the restless water is boisterous. On the seashore of endless worlds children meet with shouts and dances
They build their house...more
A beautiful combination of Indian religion/philosophy and poetry. God has never been compared to the earth in a more enthralling way. This collection of poems made me feel the connection others might have to god,death,pain and being a human.
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Таагүр нь бурхансаг үзэлтэй хийгээд, өөрийгөө дуулах, дуулал зохиохоор л заягдсан гэж ойлгодог байж. Тиймдээ ч хэдийгээр энгийн амьдралыг дуулсан хэлбэртэй ч бурханд зориулж энэхүү өргөлийн дуулал нь зохиогдсон ажээ. Таагүрийн дээрээс бууж ирснээр бичсэн тэр зүйл бурхан л байсан болов уу? Тэрээр бурхныг дээд тивд заларсаар байгаа бус, хүмүүсийн дэргэд байж байгаа гэж сэтгэдэг байсан нь үнэн гэж үү?
The sites I record my books on — LibraryThing and GoodReads — are filled with glowing 5-star reviews of this work, but I'm just not feeling it. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I can't remember the last time a book of poetry has left me so utterly unmoved.
Perhaps something was lost in Tagore's own translation from Bengali verse to English prose-poems; perhaps it was the decision to go with heavily Biblical-sounding language, full of thees and thous and -sts; but in the end I was left with a...more
Perhaps something was lost in Tagore's own translation from Bengali verse to English prose-poems; perhaps it was the decision to go with heavily Biblical-sounding language, full of thees and thous and -sts; but in the end I was left with a...more
Gitanjali (Song Offerings) is a collection of poems Rabindranath Tagore wrote to express devotion to God. The word gitanjali is composed from “git”, which means song, and “anjali” which means offering, and thus mean “an offering of songs”. I decided to read a work by Tagore to take part in Blogger Buku Indonesia (BBI)’s project for October which is to review any work by Nobel laureates, because of these reasons:
1. I have been a fan of Western poets such as Sir Walter Ralegh and Robert Frost, but...more
1. I have been a fan of Western poets such as Sir Walter Ralegh and Robert Frost, but...more
Devotional poetry from India's preeminent poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore's poetry, if any poetry has found within itself the ability, is conceived in the language of the soul. He recaptures poetry as the art of speaking from within, not with deception and facitiousness, circumscribing the cries of his heart; he lays them bare before us, before God. These contrite, joyful, and didactic poems possess something all at once, more delicate and more steadfast than any I have read in a great long whi...more
Let My Country Awake
Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let...more
Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let...more
4 likes
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Jan 26, 2009
Sharakael
rated it
4 of 5 stars
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review of another edition
Shelves:
poetry,
philosophy
A translated Indonesian version of this book was given to me as a birthday present, and upon reading I found the words inside to be beautiful and haunting. One of my favourite poetry books, and the poetry inside... they painted such a beatiful picture in my mind, with words that are open to interpretation and contemplation.
This and Kahlil Gibran's works became my favourites. One of my favourite from this book:
On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. The infinite sky is motionless overhea...more
This and Kahlil Gibran's works became my favourites. One of my favourite from this book:
On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. The infinite sky is motionless overhea...more
Jan 09, 2013
Asha Seth
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Every Living soul!
Recommended to Asha by:
Chris Adams(College Professor)
Shelves:
indian-literature,
2013,
audio-books,
classics,
philosophy-spiritual,
ebooks,
re-readables,
poetry
A collection of beautiful poems you might not want to miss reading!
Although now that I have finished reading it, I do not recollect each of the poems but there are a few that I shall always remember.
I loved these for instance,
Day after day, O lord of my life, shall I stand before thee face to
face. With folded hands, O lord of all worlds, shall I stand before thee
face to face.
Under thy great sky in solitude and silence, with humble heart
shall I stand before thee face to face.
In this laborious wo...more
Although now that I have finished reading it, I do not recollect each of the poems but there are a few that I shall always remember.
I loved these for instance,
Day after day, O lord of my life, shall I stand before thee face to
face. With folded hands, O lord of all worlds, shall I stand before thee
face to face.
Under thy great sky in solitude and silence, with humble heart
shall I stand before thee face to face.
In this laborious wo...more
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Цэрэн надад дурсгаж билээ. Нэг зун Мэндээ Цэрэн бид 3 анагаахын байранд нэг сар гаран хамт амьдарч билээ. Гоё дурсамж байсан шүү. Цэрэн бүжгийн бэлтгэлдээ яваа л, Мэндээ бид 2 япон монгол орж өдөржингөө япон хэл хийгээ л, орой нь цуйван идэж няслах мөрийтэй покер тоглоо л, өглөө нь Монтень уншиж философи яриа л, тэр гайхалтай өдрүүд дуусч бүгд гэр гэрлүүгээ буцах болоход Цэрэн надад энэ номыг дурсгаж билээ. Энэ номоороо Рабиндранат Таагүүр 16 онд Нобель авсан. Маш сайн бүтээл болж чадсан гэж бод...more
Sep 14, 2009
Dilesh Bansal
rated it
3 of 5 stars
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review of another edition
Shelves:
indian-fiction,
poetry
Who dare say much against a Nobel Laureate who has written national anthems for 2 countries ? Its a book I appreciate, but I didn't enjoy reading it.
True to the title, Geet-anjali is essentially a set of prayers (song-offerings)...inspirational thoughts to uplift you from your defeatist mode of thinking into an elevated mode of thinking...now I personally am not too fond of this metaphysical brainwashing by repetition...i wonder if it was intended for the masses ?!! ...i like to view my life as...more
True to the title, Geet-anjali is essentially a set of prayers (song-offerings)...inspirational thoughts to uplift you from your defeatist mode of thinking into an elevated mode of thinking...now I personally am not too fond of this metaphysical brainwashing by repetition...i wonder if it was intended for the masses ?!! ...i like to view my life as...more
Jul 22, 2008
Ibrahim
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Ibrahim by:
Jesuits in the Middle East
Shelves:
spirituality
Here is a sample of the beauty of Tagore and this sweet poem was actually sung by a Sr Marie Keyrouz in such a way as to make me cry:
Face to Face
Day after day, O lord of my life,
shall I stand before thee face to face.
With folded hands, O lord of all worlds,
shall I stand before thee face to face.
Under thy great sky in solitude and silence,
with humble heart shall I stand before thee face to face.
In this laborious world of thine, tumultuous with toil
and with struggle, among hurrying crowds
shall...more
Face to Face
Day after day, O lord of my life,
shall I stand before thee face to face.
With folded hands, O lord of all worlds,
shall I stand before thee face to face.
Under thy great sky in solitude and silence,
with humble heart shall I stand before thee face to face.
In this laborious world of thine, tumultuous with toil
and with struggle, among hurrying crowds
shall...more
"Gitanjali" is a collection of prose poems by Indian author Rabindranath Tagore, who lived from 1861 to 1941.
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; I could imagine a Christian, a Buddhist, a Muslim, or an adherent of another tradition finding much in this book that would...more
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; I could imagine a Christian, a Buddhist, a Muslim, or an adherent of another tradition finding much in this book that would...more
Day by day thou art making me worthy of the simple, great gifts that thou gavest to me unasked--this sky and the light, this body and the life and the mind--saving me from perils of over-much desire.
There are times when I languidly linger and times when I awaken and hurry in search of my goal; but cruelly thou hidest thyself from before me.
Day by day thou art making me worthy of thy full acceptance by refusing me ever and anon, saving me from perils of weak, uncertain desire.
There are times when I languidly linger and times when I awaken and hurry in search of my goal; but cruelly thou hidest thyself from before me.
Day by day thou art making me worthy of thy full acceptance by refusing me ever and anon, saving me from perils of weak, uncertain desire.
There were some really beautiful poems that really got to me - and then there was a large amount that just didn't do anything for me. I suppose the translation full of thy and thous didn't help, which I would normally not really pay attention to, but this is Tagore's own translation.
Still, some were really really beautiful, so it was worth reading. I especially liked "the ocean of forms"and "my dungeon" as well as many sentences from other poems I didn't personally love as a whole.
Still, some were really really beautiful, so it was worth reading. I especially liked "the ocean of forms"and "my dungeon" as well as many sentences from other poems I didn't personally love as a whole.
this book is written on nature.first of all this book is written by Rabindranath Tagore in Banglaand then it is transllated to English by Dr.W.B.Yeats.
actually geetanjali is the collections of "songs offering" to the creators.the book is written in the form of poem based onnature, the Earth looks in summer,the bride awaiting in her empty house for the returnung of her groom and many more.
I like this book very much because of the coolections of so many sall poems in a single book.
actually geetanjali is the collections of "songs offering" to the creators.the book is written in the form of poem based onnature, the Earth looks in summer,the bride awaiting in her empty house for the returnung of her groom and many more.
I like this book very much because of the coolections of so many sall poems in a single book.
Its rare that I give 5 stars to a book, but for this one, I could have easily given 10/5, if good reads would just have let me do it. Its one of those few books that I read time and again and everytime I go back to it, it just adds more it its meaning. Tagore's poems are simple and yet heart wrenching. They hold the charm and magnetism of a man who loved his land and people in all forms and this is evident in all his verses. A prized book for your collection.
Dec 28, 2008
Shirley
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Karyn, Lotsche
Shelves:
2008
Gorgeous collection of poems/songs about life, death, spirituality.
As an example,
Song #69:
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow.
I feel my limbs are made glorious b...more
As an example,
Song #69:
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow.
I feel my limbs are made glorious b...more
Gitanjali is a celebration of God's creations, a song of delight and a poem of divinity. Rabindranath Tagore addresses God with reverence and a feeling of gratitude to express his love and devotion through rhymes. He uses numerous similes which compare him to many facets of nature, e.g. a flower which opens up towards the sun and many more. A good read for the poets who look for inspiration and poet lovers as well.
Beautiful lyrical prose translations of worship/spiritual poetry by Rabindranath Tagore. In particular, I really appreciate that the translation from the original Bengali was completed by the author himself. Furthermore, the introduction by W.B. Yates is a great piece in its own right. I liked hearing Yates' perspective on approaching world literature and translations, as well as his reverence for Tagore.
Happy to be in this new part of my life where I've read Gitanjali and can go back to it, any time, like an old friend (or like a favorite album).
(I'm 20 years old...gimme a few lifetimes before I try to say anything about this book.)
Also, Yeats' introduction is filled with Romanticism and Orientalism. I'd just skip it.
(I'm 20 years old...gimme a few lifetimes before I try to say anything about this book.)
Also, Yeats' introduction is filled with Romanticism and Orientalism. I'd just skip it.
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Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West."
Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and ess...more
More about Rabindranath Tagore...
Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and ess...more
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“Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high,
where knowledge is free.
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.
Where words come out from the depth of truth,
where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection.
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost it's way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.
Where the mind is led forward by thee
into ever widening thought and action.
In to that heaven of freedom, my father,
LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE!”
—
80 people liked it
and the head is held high,
where knowledge is free.
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.
Where words come out from the depth of truth,
where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection.
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost it's way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.
Where the mind is led forward by thee
into ever widening thought and action.
In to that heaven of freedom, my father,
LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE!”
“On the seashore of endless worlds children meet.
The infinite sky is motionless overhead and the restless water is boisterous. On the seashore of endless worlds the children meet with shouts and dances.
They build their houses with sand, and they play with empty shells. With withered leaves they weave their boats and smilingly float them on the vast deep. Children have their play on the seashore of worlds.
They know not how to swim, they know not how to cast nets. Pearl-fishers dive for pearls, merchants sail in their ships, while children gather pebbles and scatter them again. They seek not for hidden treasures, they know not how to cast nets.
The sea surges up with laughter, and pale gleams the smile of the sea-beach. Death-dealing waves sing meaningless ballads to the children, even like a mother while rocking her baby’s cradle. The sea plays with children, and pale gleams the smile of the sea-beach.
On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. Tempest roams in the pathless sky, ships are wrecked in the trackless water, death is abroad and children play. On the seashore of endless worlds is the great meeting of children.”
—
41 people liked it
More quotes…
The infinite sky is motionless overhead and the restless water is boisterous. On the seashore of endless worlds the children meet with shouts and dances.
They build their houses with sand, and they play with empty shells. With withered leaves they weave their boats and smilingly float them on the vast deep. Children have their play on the seashore of worlds.
They know not how to swim, they know not how to cast nets. Pearl-fishers dive for pearls, merchants sail in their ships, while children gather pebbles and scatter them again. They seek not for hidden treasures, they know not how to cast nets.
The sea surges up with laughter, and pale gleams the smile of the sea-beach. Death-dealing waves sing meaningless ballads to the children, even like a mother while rocking her baby’s cradle. The sea plays with children, and pale gleams the smile of the sea-beach.
On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. Tempest roams in the pathless sky, ships are wrecked in the trackless water, death is abroad and children play. On the seashore of endless worlds is the great meeting of children.”
Jan 09, 2013 04:12am