Hungry stones by Rabindranath Tagore is the compilation of stories with a varied tune and diverse mood that aids the reader to gain a rather deep insight into the haze of the mind of men. The mental wanderings, passion, anger, emotion and indeed that spiritual aspiration gain a diction in this remarkable collection - The Hungry stones".
Tagore was born on 7th May 1861, in Calcutta, which was then under British rule. His father Debendranath Tagore was a famous religious reformer, mystic, and scholar who were popularly referred to as Maharshi. From 1879 to 1880, Tagore attended University College in London, but returned to India before completing his studies. At twenty-two Tagore married a ten-year-old girl. He published several volumes of poetry during the 1880s, and throughout the 1890s Tagore managed his family estates in rural Bengal. There he encountered the villagers upon whom many of his characters are based, and many of his most renowned short stories were written during this period. All these characters inspired a lot in his career. In 1901, Tagore founded an experimental school, combining Indian and Western thought and culture; this school became Visva-Bharati University in 1921. During the first decade of the new century, Tagore suffered extensive personal tragedy as he endured the deaths of his wife, his father, and three of his children. In 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his poetry collection Gitanjali. The later years he spent by traveling throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas to lecture and read from his works. Tagore was a supporter of the cause for Indian national independence from Britain, although he publicly criticized some of Gandhi`s ideas. However, like Gandhi, Tagore was also active in combating the Indian caste system. Throughout his life, Tagore was a prolific writer of novels, plays, popular songs, and numerous works of nonfiction. While in his seventies, Tagore began painting and made a significant contribution to modern Indian art. Tagore died on August 7, 1941.
The Hungry stones by Rabindranath Tagore is the collections of stories that help the reader gain a deeper insight into the heart of men, women and children. It touches us as deeply as the kind words of the God. It is collections of stories as for example the story `My Lord, The baby` in which paternal emotions have been studied help the children understand these same emotions. Similarly the stories `The Home-coming` and `Once there was a King` help elders who have long lost themselves in the material world to respect the child, his mental wanderings, emotions, passions, his spiritual aspirations, etc. `The Babus of Nayanjore` digs deep into your heart and will most certainly leave an impression on your heart and will make you humble. And there are other stories and all of them dig deep into your heart. Their main objective is almost the same and that is to help one to find their way back home. Another story `The inscrutable ways of the woman`s heart` have also been thrown light so that women do not continue to be victims of the collective consciousness of society.
The Hungry stones written by Rabindranath Tagore is published by Rupa publishing house.