The Idea of Surplus

This book provides an analytical understanding of some of Tagores most contested and celebrated works and ideas. It reflects on his critique of nationalism, aesthetic worldview, and the idea of surplus in man underlying his life and works. It discusses the creative notion of surplus that stands not for profit or value, but for celebrating human beings continuous quest for reaching out beyond ones limits. It highlights, among other themes, how the idea of being Indian involves stages of evolution through a complex matrix of ideals, values and actionscultural, historical, literary and ideological. Examining the notion of the universal, contemporary scholars come together in this volume to show how surplus in man is generated over the life of concrete particulars through creativity. The work brings forth a social scientific account of Tagores thoughts and critically reconstructs many of his epochal ideas. Lucid in analysis and bolstered with historical reflection, this book will be a major intervention in understanding Tagores works and its relevance for the contemporary human and social sciences. It will interest scholars and researchers of philosophy, literature and cultural studies.