El Milagro de Purun Bhagat

by Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (Bombay, India Britanica, 30 de diciembre de 1865 - Londres, Gran Bretana, 18 de enero de 1936) fue un escritor y poeta britanico. Autor de relatos, cuentos infantiles, novelas y poesia. Se le recuerda por sus relatos y poemas sobre los soldados britanicos en la India y la defensa del imperialismo occidental, asi como por sus cuentos infantiles. Algunas de sus obras mas populares son la coleccion de relatos The Jungle Book (El libro de la selva, 1894), la novela de espionaje Kim (1901), el relato corto The Man Who Would Be King (El hombre que pudo ser rey, 1888), publicado originalmente en el volumen The Phantom Rickshaw, o los poemas Gunga Din (1892) e If- (traducido al castellano como Si..., 1895). Ademas varias de sus obras han sido llevadas al cine.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published June 1, 1977

About the author

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was a journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.

Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".

Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."

Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."

Reviews

[Ankit Garg · Rating 3 out of 5]

One gem of a short-story.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was/ is a rather fun and nice little story to read, very un Kipling like in references to the British and Local Indians. Overall a good light read.

[Ebster Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about an Indian man named Purun and he's really progressive (for the day) in encouraging his district to adopt British standards and policies. Then one day he goes to England and everyone there is so impressed with how sophisticated he is and bla bla bla.

I'm not sure what it exactly was about his visit, but it seems like he wasn't satisfied with it because when he got back he started trying to reconnect with his cultural roots, and trying to find peace and enlightenment and whatnot. He ends up becoming a hermit in this obscure little town. He makes lots of animal friends and the people assume he's a holy man and all these rumors build up around him that he can perform miracles:

"Yet nothing was farther from his mind than miracles. He believed that all things were one big Miracle, and when a man knows that much he knows something to go upon. He knew for a certainty that there was nothing great and nothing little in this world: and day and night he strove to think out his way into the heart of things, back to the place whence his soul had come."

I'm not going to give away how this was resolved, but I thought it was really satisfying and exciting. Very good story!

[Turrean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrilling story...once past the anglocentric crap

[house targaryen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little gem of a story that will stay with you.