Shades of Difference

This unusual collection brings together Rabindranath Tagore's writings on forms of difference based on gender, caste, class, nation, community, religion, language, art, literature, philosophy, social custom and political belief. Via new translations, along with Tagore's own writings, lectures and conversations in English, this illustrated anthology presents his complex, dynamic approach to commonly perceived dualities -- such as life/death, nature/culture, male/female, tradition/modernity, East/West, local/universal, urban/rural etc. -- to highlight his humanistic vision and its significance for us today.