| Summary/Abstract |
This paper offers a new reading of Rabindranath Tagore's acclaimed novel Ghare Baire (Home and the World) by looking at it explicitly through the prism of hospitality. Drawing on the critical vocabulary of Jacques Derrida, it frames the central question of the novel as that of taking the risk of offering (un)conditional hospitality, with all its consequences. This involves exploring and tracing the ideological roots of the radical ethical position of the main protagonist, Nikhilesh, who self-consciously allows a guest to overstay his welcome. The novel is read as a paean to hospitality as risk-taking, and therefore to the frightening ordeal of freedom with ambiguous outcomes.
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