Present at the launch were the author Martin Kampchen himself, Amiya Deb, Sumita Chakraborty and Subhendu Dasmunshi. Singer Debarati Shome presented a few songs at the launch which was compered by the actress Chaiti Ghoshal.

Born in 1948, Martin Kampchen came to India after completing his PhD in German literature in Vienna. He taught German at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture in Kolkata for three years, thereafter studied Comparative Religion in Chennai, and finally came to Shantiniketan for his PhD in Philosophy and Religion. 

After learning Bengali, he translated the Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita into German, and has continued ever since to perfect his knowledge of Bengali during his stay in India for over 35 years… based on his conviction that German translations of Rabindranath Tagore’s works should be done only from their Bengali originals.

Rabindranath Tagore has indeed been the pole star of his life’s work, and inspired by his ideals, he established and ran schools at Ghoshaldanga and Bishnubati, two Adivasi villages near Shantiniketan. As a researcher and writer on Rabindranath Tagore, Martin Kampchen has achieved great success. 

His works include Rabindranath Tagore and Germany: A Documentation which won the Rabindra Puraskar in 1992, and Rabindranath Tagore: One Hundred Years of Global Reception which he co-edited with Imre Bangha.

Martin Kampchen’s Anubhabe Anudhyane Rabindranath seeks to open a new vista on Rabindranath Tagore.