Publication of Tagore’s song offerings, the Gitanjali : A Study

Abstract

Before establishment of Visva Bharati Granthan Vibhaga (VBGV) in 1923, Rabindranath Tagore’s writings werepublished by his friends and family members and Adi Brahmasamaj Jantra (Press of Brahmasamaj, Calcutta). Rabindranath(1861-1941) received the Nobel Prize for Gitanjali (Song Offerings) in 1913 which is a collection of poems from differentkavyagrantha (book of poems). Copyright of Rabindranath Tagore’s works given to Visva-Bharati expired in December2001. Private publishers have been free to publish the writings of Rabindranath Tagore since then. The present paper is anattempt to assess the quality of publication of Gitanjali published by private publishers before establishment of VBGV andafter expiry of copyright. It is observed that a small portion of Bengali publishers are publishing Gitanjali at a lower pricebut with good number of mistakes. Pre-VBGV publications also have mistakes.