3 Review(s)

Broken Ties & Other Stories is a short story collection by the Nobel Prize winner, Rabindranath Tagore. Summary Of The Book This book is Rabindranath Tagore’s sixth creative work. The book is different from all his other works and is written in a refreshingly different style. The main story in the book, Broken Ties, revolves around the life of Satish, who lives with his uncle Jagamohan. One day, Satish and Jagamohan have a conflict and Satish leaves his uncle’s house. Some time passes Satish’s departure, and soon, he returns to the same house with a request for a favour. Satish wants to save a girl named Nonibala who is being tortured by one of the neighbourhood goons. Jagamohan offers refuge to Noni in his home. But Satish’s brother, Purandar, misbehaves with Noni. Disappointed with the developments and eager to save Noni, Satish offers to marry her. But, before the ceremony can take place, one of the characters decides to take a drastic step. Satish is an atheist, and in pursuit of spirituality he becomes a disciple of Swami Lilananda and travels along with him doing ‘kirtans’. In pursuit of Satish, Srivilas joins him too. They visit Shivatosh, one of Lilananda’s chief disciples in Calcutta. There they meet the beautiful, vivacious Damini, Shivatosh’s wife. Shivatosh has donated all his wealth to the Swami. When he passes away suddenly, Damini joins Swami’s entourage. She falls in love with Satish and the feeling is mutual. Damini hates the Swami and Srivilas is her only aide in the group. When things begin to look up for Damini, a terrible twist of fate turns her life upside down. Without being able to choose a life partner of her own volition, Damini is forced into something unpleasant. What happened to Damini? What does Satish feel about the incidents that take place? This book answers these questions and more. The other stories in the book include In The Night, The Editor, The Lost Jewels, The Fugitive Gold, Giribala, and Emancipation. About Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet and author. Gora, Gitanjali, Letters from an Expatriate in Europe and My Boyhood Days are some of the other works of this author. Tagore’s writing is well-known for its rustic flavour and deep-rooted devotion to his country and its culture. His works are detailed and each character is etched with a realistic perfection. He grew up in his hometown, Calcutta. At a very young age, Tagore got together with his friends and read literature from various parts of the world. Though Tagore was proficient in English, most of his writings are in Bengali. Tagore visited the United States to attend his son, Rathindranath’s graduation ceremony, and lectured in Chicago and Harvard University. He died in 1941, aged eighty.