Gitanjali [with Biographical Introduction]

by Rabindranath Tagore

Tagore began writing poetry at the age of eight. By his sixteenth year, he had accumulated a large amount of works. He produced his first recognized work "Sun Lion" under the pseudonym BhnusiCha. The long poem followed a specific form developed by a Medieval Sanskrit poet that most considered a lost art; the poem is written in one Sanskrit language, but the letters are drawn in a style similar to another. Following a typical Indian theme, the story details the romance of the Hindu deity Krishna and his childhood friend Radha. The story is also an allegory of the soul's connection to God. Tagore used nature imagery to attempt to unite his work with the divinities, an aspiration of all members of the Brahmin class.