"The present volume [is] a survey of Tagore's contributions to music, drama and dance. It is designed to be our Akademi's tribute to this aspect of Tagore's many-sided genius. We do not claim that it is an adequate tribute or a comprehensive one.

We feel, nonetheless, that the editors have done well in confining themselves, in view of the limited space that the funds permitted, to what may be called the most authoritative writings on the subject. The authority flows from two considerations--first, because of the long and intimate contact that the writers have had with this aspect of Tagore's creative genius, and, secondly, because of the serious study that they have made of the subject. These articles may be said to have stood the test of time. Scattered in books and journals, these fugitive pieces on cognate subjects long awaited collection in an anthology of this kind. We hope, therefore, that the volume will meet a long-felt need." (jacket)