2 h 46 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A river, a houseboat, a passing boatman: how much of life can a poet find in ordinary things?
In Glimpses of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore writes from the river country of eastern Bengal, where he manages his family's estates. His houseboat carries him along waterways, including the Padma. These letters turn toward village landings, sunsets and the people along the banks, giving everyday sights room to hold your attention.
Most letters are addressed to his niece Indira, a close companion who shares his love of music, books and conversation. Their warmth brings you near a poet thinking aloud. Rather than public events or a driving plot, you find rural lives, changing seasons and a mind that keeps looking closely.
What you’ll discover
- Life on the river Follow Tagore's gaze across Bengal's waterways, where passing boats and village landings draw his attention.
- People along the banks Meet farmers, fishermen, boatmen and tenants through a poet's close attention to their everyday lives.
- Nature as a companion Spend time with monsoon clouds, heavy rain, autumn skies and the still heat of summer.
- A friendship in letters Discover the warmth between Tagore and Indira, joined by books, music and conversation.
- A mind at work Watch ordinary sights become occasions for thought as Tagore looks closely and writes with warmth.
Who will love it
For readers who love personal letters, nature writing and observant portraits of village life, and anyone curious about Tagore beyond his poems and songs.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A poet away from Calcutta
- The river is the main character
- Quiet lives along the banks
- Nature as companion and teacher
- Letters as a record of friendship
- How the letters were made into a book
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Glimpses of Bengal
by Rabindranath Tagore · 1921
From a houseboat in Bengal, Tagore's letters reveal rivers, village life and the ordinary scenes that shape a poet.
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In short
Glimpses of Bengal is a book of letters by Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. The letters were first gathered in Bengali, and a selection reached English readers in 1921.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A poet away from Calcutta
The estate years are central to the letters. He was born in 1861 into the Tagore family of Calcutta, a household famous in the city for its music, theatre, reform and writing. Yet around 1890 he was often away from that busy world, attending to estate business in Bengal. The estates lay in places such as Shelidah, Patisar and Shahzadpur, in what is now Bangladesh.
For a young city poet this was a strange posting. He had to deal with accounts, tenants, rents and disputes. He travelled from one estate office to another, and often he lived on a houseboat moored along the rivers. The boat became his study, his bedroom and his window on the countryside.
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What is Glimpses of Bengal about?
It is a selection of Tagore's letters from the early 1890s, written mostly from a houseboat on the rivers of eastern Bengal.
Who was Indira in Glimpses of Bengal?
Most of the letters in the book were addressed to her.
Is Glimpses of Bengal a true story?
Yes. It is made of real letters Tagore wrote while managing his family's estates in eastern Bengal around 1890. The English selection was published in 1921, and the letters give a firsthand view of rural life of that time.
The author
Rabindranath Tagore
1861–1941 · Bengali poet and philosopher
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was a Bengali poet and writer born in Calcutta, British India, where he also died. He lived in Bengal and founded a school at Santiniketan in 1901. He wrote poetry, stories, plays and essays. His Bengali collection Gitanjali appeared in 1910; his English version appeared in 1912.
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