According Badal Basu, one of the head honchos of Kolkata's largest publishing house, Ananda Publishers, "Tagore is still tremendously popular with readers across the world and in the post-copyright period, many publishers have come forward with innovative adaptations of Tagore's works."

This, he feels, has not only added to the revenue, but has also created a wider clientele. "People, who were so far used to Visva-Bharati brand, were offered a wide variety to choose from. An end to Tagore copyright did sometimes lead to a mad publishing rush and low grade publication, but it also opened new business avenues for many top ranking publishers across India," Basu says.

According to a publishing industry insider, out of an approximate Rs 50-crore (Rs 500 million) revenue earned by Bengali publishing industry every year on an average, at least Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million) is culled from the sale of Tagore's literature.

However, if sales figures were any indication, Tagore still lags behind two other literary chart-toppers -- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, the duo contributing more than Rs 7 to 8 crore (Rs 70 to Rs 80 million) annually.

Another Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) is accrued from sales of Tagore's paintings, posters, clay models, et al.

Image: An Indian artist makes clay models of Rabindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan, 200 kms north of Kolkata.