On The Edges of Time

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This is not a book of reminiscences in the conventional sense. It is a series of kaleidoscopic pictures- sometimes intimate and personal, sometimes objective and remote- of a son's memory of a great father.

Rabindranath Tagore represented in his long life the richest legacy of the nineteenth century and the best hopes of the twentieth. Through his work in creative and cultural spheres he became a true link between the East and the West.

The author has throughout his life been closely associated with his father's work and here, presented in a charming style, are glimpses of some aspects of Rabindranath's life and personality not dealt with by his biographers. Rabindranath's greatest poem, says that author, 'is the life he has lived.'

Born in Calcutta on 27 November 1888, the author is the Poet's eldest son. He was one of the first batch of five students at Santiniketan in 1901. Educated at Santiniketan and also privately under the guidance of his father and at the University of Illinois, U.S.A., where he obtained his B.Sc., in Agriculture in 1909. Married 1910. Accompanied his father on the Gitanjali tour to England and U.S.A. in 1912. Played a leading part in the establishment of the Vichitra Club in 1917. In 1921, after the inauguration of Visva-Bharati, became General Secretary of the Visva-Bharati Society. Became the first Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati when in 1951 it was incorporated as a Central University. Retired in 1953 for reasons of health. Author of several books and is also a well known artist and craftsman. Breathed his last on 3 June, 1961, the year of the birth centenary of the Poet.

I am told these reminiscences may be of some help to those who are interested in the life and works of my father. My memory chooses to highlight certain events without going into factual details or following a chronological sequence. but it is possible that from the somewhat disconnected anecdotes penned during leisure hours at different times and put together in these pages, the reader may obtain glimpses of some aspects of my father's personality not dealt with by his biographers. I shall remain ever grateful to Krishna Kripalani, Indira Devi Chaudhurani, Nirmal Chandra Chatterji, Amal Home and especially to Kshitis Roy for their ungrudging help in various ways in the preparation of this book. Thanks are also due to the Visva- Bharati for permission to use certain portions that have appeared in the pages of the Visva- Bharati Quarterly.

**Contents and Sample Pages**