A Poet's Ashram

The remarkably creative life of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) has long been an area of scholarly enquiry. Yet, surprisingly, his role as the founder of an experimental ashram community remains unexplored. A Poet's Ashram retrieves the idea of his ashram through an exploration of his writings on the institutions he built.

Sukalyan Chanda is Assistant Professor of English at Gushkara Mahavidyalaya, Gushkara, West Bengal, India. He has been a recipient of the Inlaks Research Travel Grant (2011) awarded by Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation. He grew up and still lives in Santiniketan where Rabindranath Tagore had founded his ashram community.

1. Re-inventing the Idea of Ashram: Cultural Contexts 2. In Search of a 'Spiritual Culture': Rabindranath's Ashram and the Politics of Self-respect 3. "The Message of the Forest": Santiniketan and the Idea of Tapovana 4. Beyond National Boundaries: Visva-Bharati and the Question of Selfhood 5. Towards Swaraj: Ideals of Freedom at Rabindranath's Ashram Epilogue