TAGORE, RABINDRANATH: - The Parrot's Training. (Translated by the author from its original Bengali). Calcutta and Simla, Thacker & Spink & Co., 1918.

. 4to. Pp. (12). With eight full-page plates drawn by Abanindranath Tagore (nephew of Rabindranath Tagore). Some staining. Original pictorial paper wrappers designed by Nanda Lal Bose, one of Tagore's most famous pupils. Rare first English edition. The Bengali original "Tota Kahini" was published earlier the same year in the famous journal Sabujapatra. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), renowned Bengali poet, novelist, educator and composer has been considered to be the greatest writer in modern Indian literature. Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 as the first Asian recipient. This story is Tagore's famous satire on the futility of education through rote-learning from books - 'parrot-fashion' - then prevalent in India. He was a pioneer of creative education in India and started the school Patha Bhavana at Santiniketan in 1901 with a philosophy of learning close to the heart as opposed to the strict and repetitive learning system that was common during Tagore's childhood. The poem is a metaphorical story about a king who wants to teach a carefree parrot about traditions and customs, not understanding that they mean nothing to the parrot and that the parrot just wishes to be free. The humorous drawings are by Abanindranath Tagore, the founder of the Bengal School of Art.

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