Rabindranath Kathasahitya by Buddhadeb Basu
ebook name- ‘Rabindranath Kathasahitya’
Collected by – Buddhadeb Basu
Book genre- A lot of Bengali ebook
File format- PDF
Pages- 139
File size- 22Mb
Quality- Best, without any watermark,
Buddhadeb Basu holds a respected position in Bengali literary criticism, and of his notable works, “Rabindranath Kathasahitya” is arguably the most authoritative book on Rabindranath Tagore’s short stories. Basu looks at Tagore’s kathasahitya (prose fiction, specifically short stories) in this book with his critical eye and provides a detailed assessment of their literary merit, composition, and cultural significance.
Early on, Basu follows the origin and slow development of Tagore’s short stories. During his early phase, Tagore’s stories tended to be lyrically and romantically inclined—true to his poetic instincts. Stories during this period tended to be more atmospheric than psychological. But as Tagore grew older as a writer, his short stories increasingly responded to deeper psychological observations, nuanced human relations, and urgent social realities. Basu is keenly aware of this evolution, demonstrating how Tagore evolved from a romantic fiction writer to an art master of human complexity and contemporary narrative craft.
One of the book’s prime arguments is that Tagore was the actual innovator of the modern Bengali short story. Prior to him, the genre was still unfolding in Indian literature, more frequently confined to moral fables or obvious narratives. Tagore imbued it with reality, social consciousness, and deep emotional complexity. His characters—whether peasants, zamindars, clerks, tradition-bound women, or children torn by innocence and experience—spoke for not only their respective situations but for the more general antagonisms of an emerging Bengal.
The reason why Basu’s criticism is particularly useful lies in his balanced analysis. He does not simply idealize Tagore but also identifies his flaws. For instance, he refers to some of Tagore’s early tales as having a tendency towards sentimentality or too much lyricism. On the other hand, he also points out the excellence of tales such as Kabuliwala, Kshudhita Pashan (The Hungry Stones), Haimanti, or Streer Patra, which speak volumes about Tagore’s capacity to engage realism, imagination, and social commentary in the form of eternal art.
By this critical perspective, Basu not only makes the excellence of Tagore’s short stories but also situates it within the grand world of world literature, demonstrating how Tagore’s fiction remains at par with the best short story traditions.
To put it briefly, “Rabindranath Kathasahitya” is both an homage and a critical work—it sheds greater light on Tagore’s genius as a writer while also broadening Bengali critical thought. For anyone who wants to know how Tagore’s short stories influenced modern Bengali prose, this book is still necessary.
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