s a novel, written nearly eighty years ago by Rabindranath Tagore, representing a society which existed some hundred years ago. The milieu where the action takes place may no longer exist, but the analysis of human relations and personalities are of lasting import. Tagore began Jogajog with the intention of writing a kind of family history--of two families (the Ghosals and the Chatterjees) locked in a bitter feud over trivial issues of pride, and larger issues of incompatibility of values. Madhusudan Ghosal, from the impoverished Ghosal family, with his own efforts, becomes a wealthy man, a director of a prosperous company, and sends a marriage proposal to the last unmarried daughter (Kumudini) of the zamindari Chatterjees, now reeling under financial debt. This relationship is an instrument used by Madhusudan to impress and insult the Chatterjees. The novel is a self-evaluation of the Bengali bourgeoisie, one in which Tagore's own emotional and ideological investments are critically involved.

One of India's most cherished renaissance figures, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) put India on the literary map of the world when his Gitanjali was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Myriad-minded, he was a poet, short story writer, novelist, dramatist, essayist, painter and composer of songs. His worldwide acclaim as a social, political, religious and aesthetic thinker, innovator in education and a champion of the 'One World' idea makes him a living presence.