Three Sideway Story from Wayside school Summary, Three sideways stories from wayside school by louis sachar summary, Three Sideway Story from Wayside School by Aaron Shepard Essay, Three Sideway Story from Wayside School Joe's Story, Three Sideway Story from Wayside School Bebe's Story, Three Sideway Story from Wayside School Calvin's story, Three Sideway Story from Wayside School Analysis

Three Sideway Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Stories on Stage – Aaron Shepard

Joe's Story - Short Essay 

Introduction:

          The story takes place at Wayside School, a very strange school built sideways. Mrs. Jewls teaches on the thirtieth floor, and one of her students, Joe, has a hard time learning how to count. Even though Joe thinks he can count, Mrs. Jewls believes he needs more practice.

Joe’s Counting Challenge:

          Mrs. Jewls asked Joe to count to ten, but he said the numbers in the wrong order. Even though he ended with the number ten, Mrs. Jewls told him he was wrong. Joe didn’t understand because he thought reaching ten meant he had counted correctly.

The Counting Activities:

          Mrs. Jewls tried different objects—pencils, potatoes, and books—to help Joe count. Each time, Joe said the numbers in a mixed-up way but still got the right total. When Mrs. Jewls taught him to count in the correct order, he did it perfectly, but then he gave the wrong total. This confused both Joe and Mrs. Jewls.

Mrs. Jewls’s Frustration:

          Frustrated, Mrs. Jewls hit her head against the wall five times. Joe counted in his own way and got the right answer. The bell rang, and poor Joe missed his recess.

Conclusion:

          Joe’s story shows how learning can sometimes be confusing. Even when he tried hard, things didn’t make sense—but he always tried his best.

Where the Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore summary, Where the Mind is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore Essay

 Where the Mind is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore 

 Short Summary 

Introduction:

          Where the Mind is Without Fear is a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore before India became free. It is the 35th poem in his famous book Gitanjali. The poem is a prayer to God and a dream of an ideal nation where people live with freedom, knowledge, and truth.

A Fearless and Educated Nation:

          Tagore dreams of a country where people are fearless and confident, holding their heads high with self-respect. He wants everyone to get good education, so people can think clearly and make wise choices. Education, he believes, helps people live with dignity and remove ignorance.

Unity, Honesty, and Hard Work:

          Tagore wishes for a nation that is united and free from divisions like religion, caste, or race. He wants people to be truthful and sincere in their words and actions. He also believes that people should work hard to make their country better every day.

Reason and Progress:

          Tagore prays for a society that values reason and logic, not blind traditions. He asks God to guide people’s minds toward progress, truth, and goodness.

Conclusion:

          Tagore’s poem is not only about political freedom but also about freedom of the mind and spirit. He dreams of a heaven of freedom where people live with courage, knowledge, and unity.

Literary Periods, Literary Ages, Literary Movements, Periods of English literature, English literature Timeline, History of English literature, literary Periods for students, English literature Timeline for exams, literary movements list, literary Ages

 Literary Periods 

Literary Movements 

1) Old English period (450-1066)

✨Also known as Anglo-Saxon Period

2) Middle English Period (1066-1500)

Subdivisions:

👉Anglo Norman Period(1066 - 1300)

👉Age of Chaucer (1340 - 1400)

👉The Age of Revival (1400-1550)

3) The Renaissance (1500-1660)

Subdivisions; 

👉Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)

👉Jacobean Age (1603-1625)

👉Caroline Age (1625-1649)

👉Commonwealth period (1649-1660)

👉The Puritan Age (1620- 1660)

✨Also known as Age of Milton

4) The Neoclassical Period (1660-1798)

Subdivisions; 

👉The Restoration (1660-1700)

✨Also known as Age of Dryden 

👉 Enlightenment Age (1700 - 1798)

👉👉The Augustan Age (1700-1745) 

✨Also known as Age of Pope 

👉👉 The Age of Sensibility (1745-1798)

✨Also known as Age of Johnson 

5) The Romantic Period (1798-1837)

6) The Victorian Period (1837-1901)

7) The Edwardian Period (1901-1910)

8) The Georgian Period (1910-1936)

9) The Modern Period (1914-1945)

10) The Postmodern Period (1945-Present)

✨Also known as contemporary period.

Thanks for reading friends 

📚 LET'S LEARN TOGETHER 📚

Banumathi K's Literature Insights 

Nobel Prize in Literature, List of Nobel Laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize Winners List, Nobel Laureates, Nobel Prize, Nobel Prize in Literature Winners, Nobel Prize in Literature 2024

 List of Nobel laureates in Literature

Nobel Prize in Literature 

✨1901 - Sully Prudhomme 

(Born - 1839; Died - 1907) 

✓A French poet and essayist 

✨1902 - Theodor Mommsen

(Born - 1817; Died - 1903) 

✓A German historian, journalist, archaeologist, classical scholar, jurist and politician. 

✨1903 - Bjornstjerne Bjornson

(Born - 1832; Died - 1910)

✓A Norwegian writer

✨✨1904 - Jose Echegaray

(19 April 1832 – 14 September 1916) 

✓A Spanish dramatist, civil engineer, mathematician and statesman. 

✨✨1904 - Frederic Mistral

(8 September 1830 – 25 March 1914)

✓An Occitan (France) writer and lexicographer

✨1905 - Henryk Sienkiewicz

(5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916)

✓A Polish epic writer. 

✨1906 - Giosue Carducci

(27 July 1835 – 16 February 1907)

✓An Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher.

✨1907 - Rudyard Kipling

(30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)

✓An English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer.

✨1908 - Rudolf Christoph Eucken

(5 January 1846 – 14 September 1926)

✓A German philosopher.

✨1909 - Selma Lagerlof

(20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940)

✓A Swedish writer.

✨1910 - Paul von Heyse

(15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) 

✓A German writer and translator.

✨1911 - Maurice Maeterlinck

(29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949)

✓A Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French.

✨1912 - Gerhart Hauptmann

(15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946)

✓A German dramatist and novelist.

✨1913 - Rabindranath Tagore

(7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) 

✓A Bengali poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renaissance.

✓Tagore became the first non-European and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

✨1914 - Not Awarded 

✨1915 - Romain Rolland

(29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) 

✓A French dramatist, novelist, essayist and art historian.

✨1916 - Verner von Heidenstam

(6 July 1859 – 20 May 1940) 

✓A Swedish poet, novelist.

✨✨1917 - Karl Adolph Gjellerup

(2 June 1857 – 11 October 1919) 

✓A Danish poet and novelist.

✨✨1917 - Henrik Pontoppidan

(24 July 1857 – 21 August 1943)

✓A Danish realist writer.

✨1918 - Not Awarded 

✨1919 - Carl Spitteler

(24 April 1845 – 29 December 1924)

✓A Swiss poet

✨1920 - Knut Hamsun

(4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952)

✓A Norwegian writer

✨1921 - Anatole France

(16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) 

✓A French poet, journalist, and novelist.

✨1922 - Jacinto Benavente

(12 August 1866 – 14 July 1954) 

✓A Spanish dramatist.

✨1923 - William Butler Yeats

(13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) 

✓An Irish poet, dramatist and writer.

✨1924 - Wladyslaw Reymont

(7 May 1867 – 5 December 1925) 

✓A Polish novelist.

✨1925 - George Bernard Shaw

(26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950)

✓An Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist.

✨1926 - Grazia Deledda

(27 September 1871 – 15 August 1936) 

✓An Italian writer

✨1927 - Henri Bergson

(18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941)

✓A French philosopher.

✨1928 - Sigrid Undset

(20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) 

✓A Danish-born Norwegian novelist.

✨1929 - Thomas Mann

(6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) 

✓A German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist.

✨1930 - Sinclair Lewis

(February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951)

✓An American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright.

✨1931 - Erik Axel Karlfeldt

(20 July 1864 – 8 April 1931)

✓A Swedish poet.

✨1932 - John Galsworthy

(14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933)

✓An English novelist and playwright.

✨1933 - Ivan Bunin

(1870 – 8 November 1953)

✓The first Russian writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature

✨1934 - Luigi Pirandello

(28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936)

✓An Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer.

✨1935 - Not Awarded

✨1936 - Eugene O'Neill 

(October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) 

✓An American playwright.

✨1937 - Roger Martin du Gard

(23 March 1881 – 22 August 1958)

✓A French novelist.

✨1938 - Pearl Buck

(June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) 

✓An American writer and novelist.

✨1939 - Frans Eemil Sillanpaa

(16 September 1888 – 3 June 1964)

✓A Finnish writer.

✨1940 - Not Awarded 

✨1941 - Not Awarded 

✨1942 - Not Awarded 

✨1943 - Not Awarded 

✨1944 - Johannes Vilhelm Jensen

(20 January 1873 – 25 November 1950) 

✓A Danish author.

✨1945 - Gabriela Mistral

(7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957)

✓A Chilean poet-diplomat, educator.

✨1946 - Hermann Hesse

(2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) 

✓A German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter.

✨1947 - Andre Gide

(22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) 

✓A French author

✨1948 - Thomas Stearns Eliot

(26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965)

✓An English poet, essayist and playwright.

✨1949 - William Faulkner

(September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962)

✓An American writer.

✨1950 - Bertrand Russell

(18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) 

✓A British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual.

✨1951 - Par Lagerkvist

(23 May 1891 – 11 July 1974) 

✓A Swedish author

✨1952 - Francois Mauriac

(11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970)

✓A French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist.

✨1953 - Winston Churchill

(30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) 

✓A British statesman, military officer, and writer.

✨1954 - Ernest Hemingway

(July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) 

✓An American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. 

✨1955 - Halldor Laxness

(23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) 

✓An Icelandic writer

✨1956 - Juan Ramon Jimenez

(23 December 1881 – 29 May 1958) 

✓A Spanish poet, a prolific writer.

✨1957 - Albert Camus

(7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960)

✓A French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist and political activist. 

✨1958 - Boris Pasternak

(1890 – 30 May 1960)

✓A Russian poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator.

✨1959 - Salvatore Quasimodo

(20 August 1901 – 14 June 1968) 

✓An Italian poet and translator.

✨1960 - Saint-John Perse

(31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975)

✓A French poet, writer and diplomat.

✨1961 - Ivo Andrić

(9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975)

✓A Yugoslavia novelist, poet and short story writer

✨1962 - John Steinbeck

(February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) 

✓An American writer. 

✨1963 - Giorgos Seferis

(1900 – September 20, 1971)

✓A Greek poet and diplomat.

✨1964 - Jean-Paul Sartre

(21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) 

✓A French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic.

✨1965 - Mikhail Sholokhov

(1905 – 21 February 1984)  

✓A Russian novelist

✨✨1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon

(August 8, 1887 – February 17, 1970)

✓An Austro-Hungarian-born Israeli novelist, poet, and short-story writer.

✨✨1966 - Nelly Sachs

(10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970)

✓A German–Swedish poet and playwright.

✨1967 - Miguel Ángel Asturias

(19 October 1899 – 9 June 1974) 

✓A Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright and journalist. 

✨1968 - Yasunari Kawabata

(11 June 1899 – 16 April 1972) 

✓A Japanese novelist, and short story writer known for spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works.

✓The first Japanese author to receive Nobel Prize in Literature. 

✨1969 - Samuel Beckett

(13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) 

✓An Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator.

✨1970 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

(11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008)

✓A Russian author.

✨1971 - Pablo Neruda

(12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973)

✓A Chilean poet-diplomat and politician. He is famous for his surrealist poems, historical epics, political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems.

✨1972 - Heinrich Böll

(21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) 

✓A German writer.

✨1973 - Patrick White

(28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990)

✓An Australian novelist and playwright.

✨✨1974 - Eyvind Johnson

(29 July 1900 – 25 August 1976) 

✓A Swedish novelist and short story writer.

✨✨1974 - Harry Martinson

(6 May 1904 – 11 February 1978) 

✓A Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. 

✨1975 - Eugenio Montale

(12 October 1896 – 12 September 1981) 

✓An Italian poet, prose writer, editor and translator.

✨1976 - Saul Bellow

(June 10, 1915 – April 5, 2005)

✓An American writer. 

✨1977 - Vicente Aleixandre

(26 April 1898 – 14 December 1984)

✓A Spanish poet.

✨1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer

(1904 – July 24, 1991) 

✓A Polish-born Jewish-American novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, essayist, and translator.

✨1979 - Odysseas Elytis

(2 November 1911 – 18 March 1996)

✓A Greek poet, man of letters, essayist and translator.

✨1980 - Czeslaw Milosz

(30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) 

✓A Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat.

✨1981 - Elias Canetti

(25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994)

✓A German-language writer, born in Ruse, Bulgaria to a Sephardic Jewish family.

✨1982 - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

(6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) 

✓A Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist.

✨1983 - William Golding

(19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993)

✓A British novelist, playwright, and poet.

✨1984 - Jaroslav Seifert

(23 September 1901 – 10 January 1986) 

✓A Czech writer, poet and journalist.

✨1985 - Claude Simon

(10 October 1913 – 6 July 2005) 

✓A French novelist

✨1986 - Wole Soyinka

(born 13 July 1934) 

✓A Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language.

✨1987 - Joseph Brodsky

(24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) 

✓A Russian and American poet and essayist.

✨1988 - Naguib Mahfouz

(11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006)

✓An Egyptian writer.

✨1989 - Camilo Jose Cela

(11 May 1916 – 17 January 2002) 

✓A Spanish novelist, poet, story writer and essayist.

✨1990 - Octavio Paz

(March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) 

✓A Mexican poet and diplomat.

✨1991 - Nadine Gordimer

(20 November 1923 – 13 July 2014)

✓A South African writer and political activist.

✨1992 - Derek Walcott

(23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017)

✓A Saint Lucian poet and playwright.

✨1993 - Toni Morrison

(February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019)

✓An American novelist and editor.

✨1994 - Kenzaburo Oe

(31 January 1935 – 3 March 2023)

✓A Japanese writer.

✨1995 - Seamus Heaney

(13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) 

✓An Irish poet, playwright and translator.

✨1996 - Wislawa Szymborska

(2 July 1923 – 1 February 2012) 

✓A Polish poet, essayist, translator.

✨1997 - Dario Fo

(24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016)

✓An Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner.

✨1998 - Jose Saramago

(16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010)

✓A Portuguese writer.

✨1999 - Gunter Grass

(16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) 

✓A German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor.

✨2000 - Gao Xingjian

(born January 4, 1940) 

✓A Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator.

✨2001 - V. S. Naipaul

(17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018)

✓A Trinidadian born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English.

✨2002 - Imre Kertesz

(9 November 1929 – 31 March 2016)

✓A Hungarian writer.

✨2003 - John Maxwell Coetzee

(born 9 February 1940) 

✓A South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, translator.

✨2004 - Elfriede Jelinek

(born 20 October 1946) 

✓An Austrian playwright and novelist.

✨2005 - Harold Pinter

(10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) 

✓A British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor.

✨2006 - Orhan Pamuk

(born 7 June 1952)

✓A Turkish novelist, screenwriter.

✨2007 - Doris Lessing

(22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) 

✓A British novelist. 

✨2008 - Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio

(13 April 1940)

✓A French and Mauritian writer and professor.

✨2009 - Herta Muller

(born 17 August 1953)

✓A Romanian-German novelist, poet, essayist.

✨2010 - Mario Vargas Llosa

(born 28 March 1936)

✓A Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician.

✨2011 - Tomas Tranströmer

(15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) 

✓A Swedish poet, psychologist and translator.

✨2012 - Mo Yan

(born 5 March 1955) 

✓A Chinese novelist and short story writer.

✨2013 - Alice Munro

(10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) 

✓A Canadian short story writer

✨2014 - Patrick Modiano

(born 30 July 1945) 

✓A French novelist

✨2015 - Svetlana Alexievich

(born 31 May 1948) 

✓A Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian.

✨2016 - Bob Dylan

(born May 24, 1941) 

✓An American singer-songwriter.

✨2017 - Kazuo Ishiguro

(born 8 November 1954) 

✓A Japanese-born British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer.

✨2018 - Olga Tokarczuk

(born 29 January 1962) 

✓A Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual.

✨2019 - Peter Handke 

(born 6 December 1942) 

✓An Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter.

✨2020 - Louise Gluck

(April 22, 1943 – October 13, 2023)

✓An American poet and essayist.

✨2021 - Abdulrazak Gurnah

(born 20 December 1948)

✓A Tanzanian-born British novelist and academic.

✨2022 - Annie Ernaux

(born 1 September 1940)

✓A French writer

✨2023 - Jon Fosse

(born 29 September 1959) 

✓A Norwegian author, translator, and playwright.

✨2024 - Han Kang

(born 27 November 1970) 

✓A South Korean writer. 

✓She became the first South Korean writer and the first female Asian writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Some interesting facts about the Nobel Prize in Literature:

1. Established by Alfred Nobel:

       The Nobel Prize was established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is the inventor of dynamite and also wrote poetry and drama. He wanted the prize to be awarded to authors who produced outstanding work in literature, but they were first awarded in 1901, after his death.

2. Who Awards the Nobel Prize in Literature?

      The Nobel Prize in Literature is given every year by the Swedish Academy to writers who have made exceptional contributions to literature. 

3. First Award: 

       The first Nobel Prize in Literature was given in 1901 to Sully Prudhomme, a French poet.

4. International Focus: 

        The prize is awarded to authors from all over the world, not just one country. Many winners write in languages other than English. As of 2024, France, with 16 Nobel Laureates in Literature, holds the record for the highest number of laureates in that category. 

5. Oldest Winner: 

    Doris Lessing, a British writer, won the prize in 2007 at the age of 88. 

6. Youngest Winner: 

      Rudyard Kipling, best known for The Jungle Book, won in 1907 at the age of 41, making him the youngest recipient.

7. Diverse Genres: 

      Writers of novels, plays, poetry, essays, and even songs (like Bob Dylan in 2016) have won the prize.

8. Controversial Choices: 

     Some winners, like Bob Dylan or Winston Churchill, were surprising to many because they were not primarily known as traditional "authors."

9. Missed Chances: 

      Some famous authors, like Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf, never won the Nobel Prize, even though they are now regarded as literary giants.

10. Women Writers: 

     As of 2024, only 18 women have won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The first female winner was Selma Lagerlöf in 1909. The most recent female laureate is Han Kang, who won in 2024.

11. Years When the Nobel Prize in Literature Was Not Awarded:

     1914 & 1918: Not awarded during World War I.

     1935: No prize was awarded; no specific reason was given.

     1940-1943: Not awarded during World War II.

12.  Alfred Nobel's Broad Definition:          

       Alfred Nobel didn't specify what type of literature the prize should be for. He simply said it should go to the person who produced "the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency." This has allowed for a wide range of genres and styles to be considered.

13. Rejections: 

     Some winners declined the award. Boris Pasternak, a Russian author who wrote Doctor Zhivago, was forced to reject the prize in 1958 due to pressure from the Soviet government.

    Jean-Paul Sartre refused the prize because he did not want to be "institutionalized" and believed it would limit his freedom as a writer. He also involved in politics and felt that accepting the prize would legitimize the bourgeois establishment he opposed.

14. Languages of Winners: 

      There is no specific language requirement or eligibility criteria; authors from any language can be considered for the prize. As of 2024, The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to authors writing in over 26 different languages. Most winners have written in English, French, German, and Spanish, but there are also laureates from languages like Arabic, Bengali, Japanese, and more.

15. First Non-European Winner:

      Rabindranath Tagore from India became the first non-European winner in 1913. His poetry and writings brought Indian literature to the global stage.

16. Prize Money: 

      The prize comes with a large monetary award. As of 2024, the Nobel Prize in Literature winner receives about 11 million Swedish kronor (SEK).

17. Secrecy: 

      The nomination process is kept secret for 50 years. After this period, the names of the nominees and the discussions surrounding their candidacy are revealed to the public. The nomination process begins in September each year. 

18. Total Recipients:

      As of 2024, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to 121 individuals, including 18 women and 103 men.

Here, I provide the list again to focus only on the names of Nobel Laureates and the years they received the Nobel Prize in Literature.👇👇👇

✨1901 - Sully Prudhomme

✨1902 - Theodor Mommsen

✨1903 - Bjornstjerne Bjornson

✨✨1904 -Jose Echegaray

✨✨1904 - Frederic Mistral

✨1905 - Henryk Sienkiewicz

✨1906 - Giosue Carducci

✨1907 - Rudyard Kipling

✨1908 - Rudolf Christoph Eucken

✨1909 - Selma Lagerlof

✨1910 - Paul von Heyse

✨1911 - Maurice Maeterlinck

✨1912 - Gerhart Hauptmann

✨1913 - Rabindranath Tagore

✨1914 - Not Awarded 

✨1915 - Romain Rolland

✨1916 - Verner von Heidenstam

✨✨1917 - Karl Adolph Gjellerup

✨✨1917 - Henrik Pontoppidan

✨1918 - Not Awarded 

✨1919 - Carl Spitteler

✨1920 - Knut Hamsun

✨1921 - Anatole France

✨1922 - Jacinto Benavente

✨1923 - William Butler Yeats

✨1924 - Wladyslaw Reymont

✨1925 - George Bernard Shaw

✨1926 - Grazia Deledda

✨1927 - Henri Bergson

✨1928 - Sigrid Undset

✨1929 - Thomas Mann

✨1930 - Sinclair Lewis

✨1931 - Erik Axel Karlfeldt

✨1932 - John Galsworthy

✨1933 - Ivan Bunin

✨1934 - Luigi Pirandello

✨1935 - Not Awarded

✨1936 - Eugene O'Neill 

✨1937 - Roger Martin du Gard

✨1938 - Pearl Buck

✨1939 - Frans Eemil Sillanpaa

✨1940 - Not Awarded 

✨1941 - Not Awarded 

✨1942 - Not Awarded 

✨1943 - Not Awarded 

✨1944 - Johannes Vilhelm Jensen

✨1945 - Gabriela Mistral

✨1946 - Hermann Hesse

✨1947 - Andre Gide

✨1948 - Thomas Stearns Eliot

✨1949 - William Faulkner

✨1950 - Bertrand Russell

✨1951 - Par Lagerkvist

✨1952 - Francois Mauriac

✨1953 - Winston Churchill

✨1954 - Ernest Hemingway

✨1955 - Halldor Laxness

✨1956 - Juan Ramon Jimenez

✨1957 - Albert Camus

✨1958 - Boris Pasternak

✨1959 - Salvatore Quasimodo

✨1960 - Saint-John Perse

✨1961 - Ivo Andrić

✨1962 - John Steinbeck

✨1963 - Giorgos Seferis

✨1964 - Jean-Paul Sartre

✨1965 - Mikhail Sholokhov

✨✨1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon

✨✨1966 - Nelly Sachs

✨1967 - Miguel Ángel Asturias

✨1968 - Yasunari Kawabata

✨1969 - Samuel Beckett

✨1970 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

✨1971 - Pablo Neruda

✨1972 - Heinrich Böll

✨1973 - Patrick White

✨✨1974 - Eyvind Johnson

✨✨1974 - Harry Martinson

✨1975 - Eugenio Montale

✨1976 - Saul Bellow

✨1977 - Vicente Aleixandre

✨1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer

✨1979 - Odysseas Elytis

✨1980 - Czeslaw Milosz

✨1981 - Elias Canetti

✨1982 - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

✨1983 - William Golding

✨1984 - Jaroslav Seifert

✨1985 - Claude Simon

✨1986 - Wole Soyinka

✨1987 - Joseph Brodsky

✨1988 - Naguib Mahfouz

✨1989 - Camilo Jose Cela

✨1990 - Octavio Paz

✨1991 - Nadine Gordimer

✨1992 - Derek Walcott

✨1993 - Toni Morrison

✨1994 - Kenzaburo Oe

✨1995 - Seamus Heaney

✨1996 - Wislawa Szymborska

✨1997 - Dario Fo

✨1998 - Jose Saramago

✨1999 - Gunter Grass

✨2000 - Gao Xingjian

✨2001 - V. S. Naipaul

✨2002 - Imre Kertesz

✨2003 - John Maxwell Coetzee

✨2004 - Elfriede Jelinek

✨2005 - Harold Pinter

✨2006 - Orhan Pamuk

✨2007 - Doris Lessing

✨2008 - Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio

✨2009 - Herta Muller

✨2010 - Mario Vargas Llosa

✨2011 - Tomas Tranströmer

✨2012 - Mo Yan

✨2013 - Alice Munro

✨2014 - Patrick Modiano

✨2015 - Svetlana Alexievich

✨2016 - Bob Dylan

✨2017 - Kazuo Ishiguro

✨2018 - Olga Tokarczuk

✨2019 - Peter Handke 

✨2020 - Louise Gluck

✨2021 - Abdulrazak Gurnah

✨2022 - Annie Ernaux

✨2023 - Jon Fosse

✨2024 - Han Kang

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The Booker Prize Winners List / What is The Booker Prize / The Booker Prize / The Booker Prize Winners / Facts about the booker prize / The Booker Prize for Fiction/ The Man Booker Prize

 The Booker Prize Winners List &

 Facts about The Booker Prize 

✨1969 - Something to Answer For by an English novelist and broadcasting administrator P. H. Newby

✨1970 - The Elected Member by a welsh novelist Bernice Rubens

_____

✨1971 - In a Free State by a Trinidadian born British Writer V. S. Naipaul

✨1972 - G. by an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet John Berger

✨1973 - The Siege of Krishnapur by an English born novelist of Irish descent J. G. Farrell

✨1974 - Holiday by a British novelist Stanley Middleton

✨✨1974 - The Conservationist by a South African writer and political activist Nadine Gordimer

✨1975 - Heat and Dust by a British and American Novelist and Screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

_____

✨1976 - Saville by an English playwright, screenwriter and novelist David Storey

✨1977 - Staying On by an English novelist Paul Scott

✨1978 - The Sea, the Sea by an Irish and British novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch

✨1979 - Offshore by an English novelist, poet, essayist and biographer Penelope Fitzgerald

✨1980 - Rites of Passage by a British novelist, playwright, and poet William Golding

_____

✨1981 - Midnight's Children by an Indian-born British-American novelist Salman Rushdie

✨1982 - Schindler's Ark by an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor Thomas Keneally

✨1983 - Life & Times of Michael K by a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist and translator J. M. Coetzee

✨1984 - Hotel du Lac by an English novelist and art historian Anita Brookner

✨1985 - The Bone People by a New Zealand novelist, poet and short-story writer Keri Hulme

_____

✨1986 - The Old Devils by an English novelist, poet, critic and teacher Kingsley Amis

✨1987 - Moon Tiger by a British writer Penelope Lively

✨1988 - Oscar and Lucinda by an Australian novelist Peter Carey

✨1989 - The Remains of the Day by a Japanese-born British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer Kazuo Ishiguro

✨1990 - Possession by an English critic, novelist, poet and short-story writer A. S. Byatt

_____

✨1991 - The Famished Road by a Nigerian-born British poet and novelist Ben Okri

✨1992 - The English Patient by a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist Michael Ondaatje

✨✨1992 - Sacred Hunger by an English writer Barry Unsworth

✨1993 - Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle

✨1994 - How Late It Was, How Late by a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist James Kelman

✨1995 - The Ghost Road by a British writer and novelist Pat Barker

_____

✨1996 - Last Orders by a British writer Graham Swift

✨1997 - The God of Small Things by an Indian writer Arundhati Roy

✨1998 - Amsterdam by a British novelist and screenwriter Ian McEwan

✨1999 - Disgrace by a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, translator J. M. Coetzee

✨2000 - The Blind Assassin by a Canadian novelist, poet, and literary critic Margaret Atwood

_____

✨2001 - True History of the Kelly Gang by an Australian novelist Peter Carey

✨2002 - Life of Pi by a Canadian author Yann Martel

✨2003 - Vernon God Little by an Australian writer DBC Pierre

✨2004 - The Line of Beauty by an English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator Alan Hollinghurst

✨2005 - The Sea by an Irish novelist, short story writer and screenwriter John Banville

_____

✨2006 - The Inheritance of Loss by an Indian author Kiran Desai

✨2007 - The Gathering by an Irish writer Anne Enright

✨2008 - The White Tiger by an Indian writer and journalist Aravind Adiga

✨2009 - Wolf Hall by a British writer Hilary Mantel

✨2010 - The Finkler Question by a British novelist and journalist Howard Jacobson

_____

✨2011 - The Sense of an Ending by an English writer Julian Barnes

✨2012 - Bring Up the Bodies by a British writer Hilary Mantel

✨2013 - The Luminaries by a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Eleanor Catton

✨2014 - The Narrow Road to the Deep North by an Australian writer, film director and screenwriter Richard Flanagan

✨2015 - A Brief History of Seven Killings by a Jamaican writer Marlon James

_____

✨2016 - The Sellout by an American author and an associate professor Paul Beatty

✨2017 - Lincoln in the Bardo by an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels George Saunders

✨2018 - Milkman by an Irish novelist Anna Burns

✨2019 - The Testaments by a Canadian novelist, poet, and literary critic Margaret Atwood

✨✨2019 - Girl, Woman, Other by a British writer Bernardine Evaristo

✨2020 - Shuggie Bain by a Scottish-American writer and fashion designer Douglas Stuart

_____

✨2021 - The Promise by a South African novelist and playwright Damon Galgut

✨2022 - The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by a Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka

✨2023 - Prophet Song by an Irish novelist Paul Lynch

Facts about The Booker Prize 

👉 The Booker Prize used to be called the Booker Prize for Fiction from 1969 to 2001 and the Man Booker Prize from 2002 to 2019.

👉When The Booker Prize was first created, only novels written by citizens of the Commonwealth, Ireland, South Africa, and later Zimbabwe, were eligible to receive it.

👉 In 2014, eligibility was widened. Now, authors from any country can win the Booker Prize if their book is written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.

👉 The Booker Prize is a prestigious literary award given every year for the best fiction book written in English. 

👉A five-person panel, which changes each year, is appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation to select the winning book. This panel includes authors, publishers, journalists, and sometimes politicians, actors, artists, and musicians. Each judge is expected to read all of the books that have been submitted.

👉 The prize money awarded with the Booker Prize was originally £5,000. In 1978, this amount was increased to £10,000. Then in 2002, with sponsorship from the Man Group, the prize money was raised to £50,000, making it one of the most valuable literary awards in the world.

👉The Booker Prize winner received international publicity, which typically leads to a significant boost in sales.

👉Each of the shortlisted authors receives £2,500.

🤩 Four authors have won the Booker Prize more than once. 

1 :-) J.M. Coetzee was the first to win it twice, in 1983 and 1999. In 1983 for Life & Times of Michael K and in 1999 for Disgrace. 

2 :-) Peter Carey won in 1988 and 2001. In 1988 for Oscar and Lucinda and in 2001 for True History of the Kelly Gang.

3 :-) Hilary Mantel won in 2009 and 2012. In 2009 for Wolf Hall and in 2012 for Bringing Up the Bodies.

4 :-) Margaret Atwood won in 2000 and 2019. In 2000 for The Blind Assassin and in 2019 for The Testaments.

✨Salman Rushdie has been nominated seven times for the Booker Prize. He won The Booker Prize in 1981 for Midnight’s Children.

✨Margaret Atwood, J.M. Coetzee, Iris Murdoch and Ian McEwan have each been nominated for the Booker Prize six times.

💫 Eleanor Catton became the youngest winner of the Booker Prize in 2013 at the age of 28. Kiran Desai was previously the youngest woman to win the Booker Prize, winning in 2006 at the age of 35.

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The Taxi Driver by K. S. Duggal Summary / The Taxi Driver by K. S. Duggal Essay, The Taxi Driver essay, The Taxi Driver summary

 The Taxi Driver by K.S.Duggal 

The Taxi Driver Short Essay 

Introduction:

The Taxi Driver is a short story by K.S. Duggal that shows the hard life of a poor family. It focuses on Dittu, a taxi driver, and his wife Banti, as they struggle between being honest and surviving tough times.

Dittu Finds a Wallet:

One evening, Dittu finds a wallet full of money in his taxi. He wants to return it, but doesn’t know who left it. His wife, Banti, sees the money as a chance to pay debts and give their children a better life. Dittu feels it’s wrong to keep money that isn’t theirs.

Past Lessons and Dreams:

Dittu remembers a childhood lesson about honesty. He also has a bad dream where everything goes wrong after keeping the wallet. This makes him more sure that using the money is wrong.

Conflict at Home:

Dittu and Banti argue about the wallet. Dittu loses his temper and hits Banti, which shocks him. Banti later counts the money, still planning to use it, while Dittu feels helpless.

Conclusion:

This story shows the daily struggle between right and wrong in poor families. Dittu values honesty, while Banti thinks about survival. It highlights the difficult choices people must make in real life.

The Taxi Driver in Tamil @Banumathi K's Literature Insights 👇 

The Taxi Driver Detailed Essay 

Introduction:

 

     In The Taxi Driver,  K.S. Duggal explore the complex lives of a struggling family. Dittu, a hardworking taxi driver, finds a wallet in his taxi, which leads to a battle between morality and practicality. 

    Dittu has a strong sense of morality and decides that they should not use the money that does not belong to them, while his wife Banti has a strong desire to use the money for a better life. Their conflict shows the tough choices families face when they are in difficult situations.  

About the Author:

  

       Kartar Singh Duggal (1 March 1917 – 26 January 2012) an Indian writer who wrote in Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, and English. His works include short stories, novels, dramas and plays. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Government of India in 1988. K.S.Duggal is known for his insightful portrayal of human emotions and social issues in his writing.

Dittu’s Life Changed by Partition:

      The protagonist of the story is a taxi driver named Dittu. Dittu’s real name was Hardit Singh. He was born into a wealthy family in Pakistan. But after the Partition (1947), everything changed. He came to India as a refugee, leaving behind his old life. In India, he started driving a taxi to earn a living.   

The Trouble with the Lost Wallet:

       As Dittu parked his taxi outside his small kholi, he spotted a wallet on the back seat, stuffed with currency notes. It belonged to one of his passengers. Instead of joy, a wave of uneasiness washed over him.

     Tired from driving all day and unsure of what to do, he sat for a moment, thinking. It was already late in the evening. His final passenger had been picked up from the roadside and dropped off at the railway station. Dittu believed that finding money like this could cause trouble. 

Dittu’s Journey with Lost Items /

Rich People’s Carelessness:

      He had a bad experience before when a woman left her briefcase in his taxi. He believed that rich people were often careless and forgetful, thinking that if they weren’t wealthy, they would be more careful. 

      After that incident, Dittu started asking passengers for their name and address to avoid problems. People thought he was strange for asking. He explained that it was to help him return lost items. Unfortunately, passengers would argue with him when he asked. Because of the arguments, Dittu stopped asking for names and addresses.    

A Heart Guided by Integrity:

     Now, he found another lost item and wished he knew who the passengers were so he could return it easily. He is a person who believes that he has nothing to do with money that doesn’t belong to him. 

An Embarrassing Lesson in Honesty:

 

     Dittu had someone else’s wallet in his hand and remembered an event from his past. This event happened years ago in the main market of his hometown in Pakistan.  

     Dittu had just finished his matriculation exams and was riding his bicycle through the market one evening.  He saw a heavy parcel lying in the middle of the road. He looked around, market was busy, no one noticed him. So Dittu quickly picked up the sealed parcel which was heavy and rode away from the market with the parcel.  

      He found a quiet spot and began to open the parcel. He unwrapped layer after layer of packing paper, but there was nothing inside. Dittu realized that someone had tricked him and felt embarrassed.  He understood that it was done by the shopkeepers to test the honesty of the citizens.

        He thought he should have given the parcel to a shopkeeper instead of taking it. He felt foolish for hurrying away with it.      

Dittu’s Caution with Money:

     He felt ashamed and hesitated to go back to the market. He never had to return because partition occurred soon after. He always remembered that incident and became extremely cautious when it came to money related matters. 

An Evening Routine: Dittu and Banti:

     Now, Dittu walked into his small room lost in thought, and his wife, Banti, was waiting for him, as she did every evening. When Banti saw the wallet in Dittu’s hands, she quickly snatched it from him. Dittu didn’t usually use a wallet; he kept the money he earned in his pocket and gave it to Banti when he got home. Banti arranged the money Dittu earned, putting the notes on one side and the coins on the other. 

Dittu’s Moral Dilemma:

      She noticed the worried look on Dittu’s face and guessed that someone had left the wallet in their taxi. Banti was excited and asked who had left the wallet in their taxi.

      He didn’t know who had left the wallet in their taxi, and if he knew, he would have definitely returned it. Dittu, feeling uneasy, said they shouldn’t keep money that didn’t belong to them. Banti casually mentioned that she would give the money to the creditors who kept bothering her.    

Banti’s Financial Concerns:

       He felt worried because he knew Banti wouldn’t listen to him about this. Banti complained about their dark and dingy room, saying they couldn’t stay there forever. She pointed out that their son would soon be old enough for school and reminded Dittu that they also had a daughter. She mentioned that girls usually grow up quickly and started worrying about dowries. Dittu agreed but questioned why they should think about all these things. 

Ownership Debate: Dittu vs. Banti:

      Dittu was against spending the money that didn’t belong to them. Banti insisted that the money was theirs since they hadn’t stolen it; someone had simply left it in their taxi. Dittu tried to ignore Banti’s arguments. 

      Banti shouted that people don’t usually lose their honest earnings, and if the money had been earned through hard work, they would have been more careful with it so it was good luck for them to find it. 

Tension Over Handling Lost Money:

      Dittu called her reasoning rubbish and said he wouldn’t allow her to take the money. Banti asked what Dittu planned to do with the wallet. 

      Dittu said he would offer it to a deity. Banti replied that priests are often dishonest, so that wouldn’t work. Dittu suggested giving it to someone in need. Banti countered that they were just as needy as anyone else. 

       Dittu firmly told her not to touch the money. Banti asked what he would do if she spent the money. Dittu, very angry, replied that he would skin her alive. He had never been so rude to Banti before. To avoid losing his temper again, he got into bed and went to sleep.

Dittu’s Disturbing Dream:

     Dittu had not slept for long when he started having bad dreams. In his dream, he had just left his house in his taxi in the morning. A policeman on duty on the main road stopped him for no reason. Dittu begged the policeman to forgive him again and again, but the policeman wouldn’t listen. When Dittu tried to touch the policeman’s feet, the mean policeman kicked him in the belly.

      Dittu arrived at the taxi stand long before the other drivers, but no one came to hire him. He waited and waited all day, but no passengers showed up. Finally, tired of waiting, he decided to drive his taxi around to look for a passenger. He had hardly gone a kilometer when a military truck came speeding toward him. The truck crashed into his taxi, crushing the car and killing Dittu instantly.   

Dittu’s Anger Unleashed:

     

       Dittu woke up from his sleep, sweating a lot. Banti was fast asleep in her bed, holding the wallet tightly against her. Dittu tried to take the wallet from her, which woke her up. Banti and Dittu struggled over the wallet. In his frustration, Dittu slapped Banti on the face. Banti screamed loudly, and Dittu hit her again.

       It was common for taxi drivers in their neighborhood to have such fights, so no one else paid attention. However, their son Gullu woke up and rushed to his mother. Dittu felt ashamed of himself for how he acted; he had never lost his temper like that before. Feeling very sorry, he slipped back into bed and covered his face with a blanket.   

Normalizing Abuse:

      Gullu asked his mother why Bapu (his father) hit her, but she didn’t answer. Banti told Gullu that sometimes husbands beat their wives. She normalized the abuse she received. Then, as if nothing unusual had happened, she hugged Gullu, turned off the lantern, and went back to bed.  

Counting Coins in the Dark:

     A little later, Banti got up again, lit the lantern, and started counting the money in the wallet that Dittu found in his taxi. She counted the notes for a long time. She called out to Gullu, who was still trying to sleep. Banti asked Gullu if he had ever seen a hundred rupee note, and he said no. She then asked if he had ever seen a fifty rupee note, twenty rupee note and he replied no again. Banti continued asking Gullu about different notes, but he eventually fell asleep like his father. 

A Moral Dilemma:

 

     Banti wanted to use that money to support her family and take care of their children. She prioritised her family’s needs over morality. But Dittu wanted to be honest about the situation.

Conclusion:

      The story shows a conflict between morality and practical. Dittu is honest, even though he doesn’t have much money. On the other hand, Banti thinks the extra money is a good chance for them. she is willing to use the money from the wallet to improve their lives. Dittu feels helpless because he cannot convince Banti to not use the money. The story portrays the life of a family that struggles to survive. 

Themes:

  

✨The Burden of Honesty

✨Wealth and Carelessness

✨The Struggle of the Working Class

✨Moral Dilemmas

✨Shame and Regret

✨Impact of Past Experiences

✨Money and Responsibility

✨Honesty and Integrity

✨Normalization of Abuse  

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Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore Summary / Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore Essay, Kabuliwala Essay, Kabuliwala Summary

 Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore 

Kabuliwala Short Essay 

Introduction:

Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore is a heartwarming short story that explores themes of friendship, fatherhood, and the passage of time. Set in Kolkata, it tells the touching tale of an unusual bond between a little girl named Mini and a fruit-seller from Kabul named Rahamat.

Mini and the Kabuliwala:

Mini, a lively five-year-old, first fears Rahamat, the Kabuliwala, thinking he kidnaps children. However, they slowly become friends. Rahamat, who misses his own daughter back home in Afghanistan, finds comfort in Mini’s chatter. They share laughs, jokes, and raisins.

Separation and Change:

Rahamat is later imprisoned for stabbing a man in a dispute. Years pass. Mini grows up, and their bond fades. On Mini’s wedding day, Rahamat returns, hoping to meet her. He is shocked to see her as a grown bride, and she barely remembers him.

Conclusion:

The story ends with the narrator giving Rahamat money to return to his daughter. Though Mini’s wedding becomes simpler, the narrator feels fulfilled, having honored a father’s love. Kabuliwala is a gentle reminder of the emotional ties that transcend borders, time, and language.

Kabuliwala in Tamil @Banumathi K's Literature Insights 👇 

Kabuliwala Detailed Essay 

Introduction:

  

     Kabuliwala, is a Bengali short story written by Rabindranath Tagore. It was first published in 1892. This story tells a bond between a fruit-seller from Kabul and a little girl, highlighting themes of love, separation, and fatherhood.   

About the Author:

       Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) is a Bengali poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renaissance. He is referred as “the Bard of Bengal”. In 1913 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

       His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India’s “Jana Gana Mana” and Bangladesh’s “Amar Shonar Bangla” His Song “Banglar Mati Banglar Jol” has been adopted as the state anthem of West Bengal. 

Kabuliwala: Meaning 

“Kabuliwala” refers to a man from Kabul, Afghanistan, typically a traveling merchant or fruit-seller.

Kabuliwalas typically sold dry fruits, spices, or other goods, traveling across regions. 

    

Characters:

👳‍♀️Rahamat - (Kabuliwala)

👧Mini - a five-year-old girl 

🧔🏻Mini’s Father – The Narrator 

🙎🏻‍♀️Mini’s Mother

👨‍✈️Ramdayal – watchman 

Mini: The Talkative Child:

 

     The story begins with the narrator introducing his lively five-year-old daughter, Mini. She started talking at the age of one. She is known for her endless chatter, Mini can’t stop talking for a minute. Mini’s mother often scolds her for being overly talkative. 

A Father’s Delight in Conversation:

     In contrast, the narrator finds Mini’s silence unnatural and enjoys her company. He spends a lot of time engaging with her, answering her countless questions, and cherishing their conversations.

Mini’s Curious Questions:

      One morning, while the narrator is busy writing the 17th chapter of his latest novel, Mini, comes to him and tells him that their watchman  Ramdayal doesn’t know anything. Ramdayal don’t even know the correct word for a crow. Instead of calling it “kāk,” he says “kauyā.”

[Additional info;

The word “kak” in Bengali (কাক) translates to “crow” in English. 

The word “kauya” (কাউয়া) in Bengali also translates to “crow”. It is often used colloquially to refer to a crow.

Kāk – Sanskrit, Bengali and Hindi.]

        The narrator tries to explain the diversity of languages in the world. Before he can explain this to her, Mini changes the topic. Mini tells him that Bhola told her an elephant in the sky squirts water through its trunk to make it rain.   

        Again, the narrator doesn’t get a chance to respond because Mini abruptly asks, what relation her mother is to him. unsure how to answer, the narrator simply tells her to go play. But instead of leaving, Mini sits on the floor next to him and starts playing quietly. 

A Kabuliwala Appears:

     The narrator is busy working on his book. Through the window, Mini sees a Kabuliwala outside. He is a tall man, wearing dirty, loose clothes, a turban (men from Afghanistan usually wore), a bag over his shoulder and a few boxes in his hands.  

Mini’s Fear of the Kabuliwala:

       Mini shouts "Kabuliwala, O Kabuliwala." When the Kabuliwala hears Mini shouting about him, he approaches the house but she ran away and hide. because she’s scared he might be carrying children in his bags. 

        The narrator, not wanting to be rude, invites the Kabuliwala inside and buys something from him. They talk about politics in Afghanistan and the conflict between the British and Russians.

        The Kabuliwala asked about Mini, and when the narrator called her, she approached hesitantly, pressing against the narrator and looking at the Kabuliwala and his bag with suspicion. The Kabuliwala took out some raisins from his bag and offered them to Mini, but she refused to take them. 

Mini’s New Companion / 

A Growing Friendship:

        A few days after the Kabuliwala’s first visit, the narrator steps outside and sees Mini happily chatting with the Kabuliwala. He seems delighted to listen to her, even as he tries to communicate in his hybrid sort of Bengali. 

       The narrator observes that, apart from himself, Mini has never encountered such a patient listener. He also notices Mini holding a handful of nuts and raisins. Concerned, he tells the Kabuliwala not to give her any more and gives him half a rupee but he returned it to mini, before walking away. 

       Later, when the narrator returns home, he finds his wife scolding their daughter, Mini, for obtaining a half-rupee coin. Mini explains that the Kabuliwala gave it to her, which upsets her mother for accepting such things from a stranger. The narrator intervenes, saving Mini from her mother’s anger, and brings her outside for a conversation.   

A Bond Beyond Borders:

      He discovers that the Kabuliwala has been visiting the house almost daily, winning Mini’s affection with small gifts like nuts and raisins. Their bond has grown so strong that they share inside jokes, and the narrator begins to enjoy watching them laugh together. 

Laughter and Love: Mini and the Kabuliwala:

      Mini asks Rahamat, what is in his sack. Rahamat humorously says that there is an elephant inside his bag. Rahamat jokingly tells Mini not to go to her Śvaśur-bāṛi.

[Additional info; Śvaśur-bāṛi is a Bengali term that translates to “father-in-law’s house” or “in-law’s home.”]

       Mini doesn’t understand what Śvaśur-bāṛi means because her parents are progressive people who don’t discuss her future marriage with her. In her innocence, she asks Rahamat if he is going to his in-laws. Rahamat humorously shakes his fist and replies that he’ll settle him, which causes Mini to burst into laughter. 

Wanderlust of the Imagination:

       The narrator talks about the perfect autumn weather, which makes him think about ancient times when kings would go on big adventures to conquer the world.

       Unlike these kings, the narrator has never left his home city, Calcutta. Because of this, he often daydreams about exploring the world, even though he is stuck at home. He loves imagining what life would be like in faraway places.

        The narrator enjoys talking to the Kabuliwala too, asking him about his home country of Afghanistan, and all about his travels. The narrator enjoys hearing stories from the Kabuliwala about the high, scorched, blood-colored, forbidding mountains, where laden camels, turbaned merchants, and wayfarers can be seen traveling from one place to the next. The picture passed before his eyes when the Kabuliwala told stories about his travels.    

Fear and Suspicion of the Kabuliwala

    

       The narrator’s wife is very different from the narrator. She is easily alarmed and convinced that the world outside their home is dangerous. She believes that this world is filled with thieves, robbers, drunkards, snakes, tigers, malaria, caterpillars, cockroaches, and gorse.

       The narrator’s wife repeatedly requests the narrator to keep an eye on the Kabuliwala. When the narrator tries to dismiss her suspicions, but she asks, Are there no such instances of child abduction? Isn’t slave-trade still in practice in Afghanistan? Is it altogether impossible for a giant Afghan to kidnap a little child?.      

      The narrator acknowledges that his wife’s concerns are not completely baseless, but he doesn’t see any harm in allowing the Kabuliwala to visit their home and converse with Mini. 

Rahamat’s Annual Visit;

     Once every year, Rahamat would return to his homeland to visit his family. Before leaving, he stayed busy all day, focusing on collecting debts from his clients in preparation for his journey. However, he always made sure to visit the narrator’s house to see Mini.

The Kabuliwala’s Descent into Violence:

        One morning, the narrator hears a loud noise in the street. Looking outside, he sees Rahamat being taken away in handcuffs, covered in blood. One of the policemen is carrying a bloodstained knife. 

       Concerned, the narrator goes outside to find out what has happened. The narrator goes outside to find out what happened. He learns that a neighbor had taken a Rampuri shawl from Rahamat on credit, but he denied owing the debt, it sparked an argument between them and they got into a fight. During the fight, Rahamat stabbed the neighbor. 

Turning Tears into Laughter:

     At this time Mini comes outside and approaches the Kabuliwala like she normally does. Mini asks him if he is going to his in-laws’ house, and he smiles and says yes. To make mini happy, he showed his hands and remarked that he would have beaten up his father-in-law, but there was nothing he could do since his hands were tied.  

Transformations in Mini’s Life:

     This results in his imprisonment for several years. During this time, Mini grows up, forming friendships with girls her own age, and she also stops visiting the narrator while he’s working on his novel. gradually the memory of the Kabuliwala fades for both mini and the narrator.   

A Bittersweet Farewell:

  

     Years later, the narrator and his wife arrange Mini’s marriage, filled with sadness at the thought that their beloved daughter would soon leave their home to live with her husband. The house buzzes with activity as the preparations take place.

The Kabuliwala’s Return:

    Unexpectedly, the Kabuliwala walks into the room. He looks so different now that it’s hard to recognize him, and he seems to have lost his energy. He explains to the narrator that he has just been released from prison, reminding him that he had been imprisoned for an attempted murder. Feeling uneasy, the narrator asks the Kabuliwala to leave because they are busy with wedding preparations. 

A Father’s Love:

      Before he goes, the Kabuliwala asks to see the narrator’s little girl, Mini, not realizing how much time has passed and believing she is still the child he once knew. The narrator explains that he cannot let him see Mini. 

       As the Kabuliwala gets ready to leave, he asks the narrator to give Mini a packet of grapes and raisins. When the narrator offers to pay for them, the Kabuliwala declines, saying he thinks of Mini as his own daughter, showing his fatherly love for her. 

       He explains that he remembers his own daughter, Parvati, who is far away from him. The Kabuliwala reaches into his shirt, near his heart, and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper with a small handprint.

        Seeing the handprint of Rahamat’s daughter reminds the narrator of his own daughter, and understands his fatherly love for mini which prompts him to call for Mini to come down.    

Mini’s Entrance and Shyness:

      Mini enters, dressed in her wedding clothes, which surprises the Kabuliwala. After a pause, he addresses her as little one and asks if she is going to her Śvaśur-bāṛi. Now that Mini understands the meaning of the word, she feels embarrassed and shyly leaves the room.   

Hope for reunion:

     With a heavy sigh, the Kabuliwala sits on the floor, realizing that his own daughter must have grown up too, and that he would have to get to know her again after being away for eight years. 

      The narrator gives him some money and told Rahamat to return to his daughter in Afghanistan and expressed a wish that the happiness of their reunion would also bring blessings for Mini.   

A Modest Celebration:

     Giving Rahamat the money means that Mini’s wedding party isn’t as extravagant as it could have been, but the narrator feels content with it, believing that the ceremony was illuminated by a warmer, more generous spirit. 

Themes:

✨Parental Love

✨Cultural Identity

✨Friendship Across Barriers

✨Loss and Separation

✨Childhood Innocence

✨Longing and Nostalgia

✨Immigration and Displacement

✨The Passage of Time 

Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore Explanation in Tamil @Banumathi K's Literature Insights - A YouTube channel 

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