The spectre of nationalism: 'Terrifying Vision' by Jyotirmaya Sharma & ' Nationalism' by Rabindranath Tagore   June 2009

Terrifying Vision: M S Golwalkar, the RSS and India by Jyotirmaya Sharma Penguin, 2007	Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore, introduction by Ramachandra Guha Penguin, 2009

Rabindranath Tagore is the best-known Southasian litterateur, and that is not only because he was the first Asian to receive a Nobel Prize in any discipline. A prolific writer, he wrote novels, plays, short stories and essays, besides his better-known poems and songs. He travelled widely and lectured extensively, and had friends in different parts of the globe. Closer to home, M K Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were his admirers. Late in his life, he took up painting and exhibited in London, Moscow, Paris and New York. To call Tagore a mere polymath, however, would be an injustice to his versatility. A person of great and varied learning certainly he was. But more than that, Tagore possessed that rare attribute found in abundance only in poets and artistes – deep insight and an ability to peep into the souls of fellow beings.

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~ C K Lal is a columnist for this magazine and for the Nepali Times.