USER MANUAL

PRINCIPLES OF INCLUSION

Items covered

This website incorporates all the literary writings of Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali and English, grouped in the four standard categories of ‘Poems and Songs’, ‘Fiction’ (novels and short stories), ‘Drama’ and ‘Non-fiction’ (prabandha). In terms of sources, it covers

• all available manuscripts in Rabindra-Bhavana, Santiniketan, plus all English manuscripts in the Rothenstein Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University. All published and unpublished works in these manuscripts belonging to the above four categories have been included.
  Manuscript texts of Rabindranath’s works have been included whether or not in his own hand. It is assumed that all manuscripts obtained from the two above sources have one or other claim to authenticity.
• all titles included in the Visva-Bharati edition of Rabindranath’s Bengali Collected Works (Rabindra-Rachanabali), vols.1-32 + 2 vols. Achalita Samgraha, except for certain works as indicated below. Some poems and essays from Rachanabali vol.32 have not yet been incorporated. We hope to include them soon.
• all titles included in the Sahitya Akademi edition of The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vols.1-4, except for certain works as indicated below. However, the specific texts or readings of this edition have not been included: the texts have been taken from other manuscript and printed sources as indicated below under ‘Versions and Editions’.
• other Bengali and English titles not included in the above collections but obtained from anthologies, journals or other publications. Where a collection contains items by other writers besides Rabindranath, only the items by Rabindranath have been included.
• In case of Sphulinga and Lekhan, book-form versions have been included in the bibliography, and images uploaded where available. Journal items have not been included, as few of them could be obtained. Manuscript items have been included in the Title-Wise Index of Manuscripts. Images and transcripts can be seen by clicking on the appropriate icon there.
• In case of Stray Birds, Fireflies and Thought Relics, book-form versions have been included in the bibliography, and images uploaded where available. Journal items have been included in the bibliography, but without images. Manuscript items have been included in the Title-Wise Index of Manuscripts. Images and transcripts can be seen by clicking on the appropriate icon there.

This website does NOT include

• letters, except where formally published as literary or quasi-literary works in Rabindranath’s lifetime: e.g., Chinnapatra/Chinnapatrabali, Bhanusimher patrabali, Letters to a Friend, essays and travelogues written in the form of letters, etc.
• speeches, except where they are substantively essays, or were revised or reprinted as such. The line is often hard to draw. We have erred on the side of inclusion. Thus a number of pamphlets containing a single speech, printed for distribution when it was delivered, have been included.
• textbooks, except for Sahaj Path owing to its special importance
• book reviews, except where substantial enough to count as essays, or revised or reprinted as such
• translations by Rabindranath of writings other than his own
• translations by others of Rabindranath’s writings. This includes translations published in Rabindranath’s name (e.g., The Post Office, The King of the Dark Chamber) but entirely or substantially by other hands. However, the English translation of Crisis in Civilization has been included owing to its special importance.
• miscellaneous manuscript material like notes, letters, accounts, jottings, or copies of writings by other hands. But images of these manuscript pages will be found as part of the image file of the entire manuscript.
• Bengali items found only in manuscripts and/or journals have not been included in the Bibliography, nor have their images/transcripts been uploaded nor collation done. These will be incorporated as soon as possible. A list of such items is given in the Bibliography Guide.
• English items found only in manuscripts and journals have been included in the Bibliography. Their images/transcripts have been uploaded and collation done.
• English items found only in manuscripts have been included in the Titlewise
Index of the Bibliography. Their images/transcripts can be accessed through this Index.
• In addition, full details of all English writings can be obtained from the Master List.

Versions and Editions

The following versions and editions of each title have been incorporated where available. Every attempt has been made to locate and reproduce them. We are specially grateful to Rabindra-Bhavana, Santiniketan, the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation and C-DAC, Kolkata for supplying digital copies of all manuscripts in Rabindra-Bhavana and the greater part of printed material held there. We are also grateful to the Houghton Library, Harvard University, for providing copies of all Tagore manuscripts in their Rothenstein Collection.
We regret that a final batch of images of printed material (books and journals) from Rabindra-Bhavana was not made available to us. Some of the gaps have been filled through the kind co-operation of other partner institutions. However, a number of gaps remain despite our best efforts.
In case of printed books, all editions have been accessed in their first impression. Where this was not available, later impressions have not been incorporated, as this would impair the logic of documentation.
Subject to the above provisos, we have included the following versions and editions of the texts indicated above under ‘Titles covered’:

• all manuscript versions
• all early versions printed in journals (nearly always the first printed version)
• the first print version in volume form, or included in a book-length publication (e.g., a poem or essay in a collection of such pieces)
• the first edition published by the Brahmacharya Ashram, Santiniketan / Santiniketan Press /  Visva-Bharati
• the version in the Visva-Bharati edition of Rabindranath’s Bengali Collected Works (Rabindra-Rachanabali), vols.1-32 + 2 vols. Achalita Samgraha
• versions in early collections like Kabyagranthabali (1303), Kabya-grantha (1310), Rabindra-granthabali (1311), Gadyagranthabali (1314-15), Kabyagrantha (1323) and Gitabitan (1338-9, 1348, 1380)
• other volume-form publications of special textual or bibliographical importance, if any
• for works not printed in Rabindranath’s lifetime, the first printed version after his death
• the first inclusion of a poem in the collections Chayanika and Sanchayita: i.e., from the second or later editions of these collections, only poems included for the first time in that edition
• the words alone of songs in versions inclusive of notation (svaralipi), omitting repetition or rearrangement for musical reasons. Such omission is often a matter of judgment. In transcribing manuscripts, the full wording has been retained including repetition and rearrangement.

Search engine

The search engine covers the following versions only:

Bengali:

• the version in the Visva-Bharati edition of Rabindranath’s Bengali Collected Works (Rabindra-Rachanabali), vols.1-32 + 2 vols. Achalita Samgraha, and the 1380 edition of Gitabitan

English:

• the original version used as base text in the Sahitya Akademi edition of The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vols.1-4 (not the actual text of the Sahitya Akademi edition)
• for works not included there, the first printed version obtained

Collation program

We have collated all printed versions, plus all manuscript versions that can usefully and reliably be collated. We have not included

• manuscript versions of novels, plays etc found in such scattered or uncertain form that the sequence of the text cannot be established
• manuscript or typescript versions with little or no change from some other version being collated. In such cases, the few changes are indicated in a note in the bibliography.
• very short passages from longer works
• very short pieces, often found in multiple versions, like those in Sphulinga, Lekhan, Stray Birds or Fireflies. It is simpler to collate such pieces manually than through the collation program, where the intricate result files might confuse the reader.

 

KEYBOARD CONVENTIONS

The conventions of the Avro keyboard software have been followed for rendering the Bengali alphabet and conjunct letters (yuktakshar). Users are strongly advised to download the Avro keyboard software.
The standard English keyboard may also be used and the text converted to Bengali following instructions given on the specific page. Principles of transliteration as with Avro keyboard.

 

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

While there are no essential system requirements in order to view this website, these suggestions may be of use.

• Owing to the complex nature of the data, this website is best viewed on a desktop or laptop rather than on a tablet or mobile phone.
• An internet connection with a high bit rate is recommended, again owing to the nature of the data.
• You need to have the following software and links:
1. Operating System:
   • Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2/SP3, Windows Vista SP1/SP2, Win 7 or later
   • Mac OS X 10.4 and later
   • Linux: Ubuntu 8.10/8.04/7.10, openSuse 11.0/10.3, Fedora 10/9/7, Debian 4.0, Xandros 4.2 (and later)
   • Any other Operating System supporting internet and javascript enabled browser
2. Any standard Internet browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Internet Explorer (above version 6), preferably in the latest version. Mozilla Firefox sometimes encounters problems while rendering Bengali script. Any browser used should be Javascript enabled.
• It is not necessary to install any Bengali-input mechanism. But since the website's own English-to-Bengali transliteration function follows the Avro phonetic method, it would help to be familiar with the latter.

 

PRINCIPLES OF TRANSCRIPTION

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF TRANSCRIPTION FOR MANUSCRIPTS AND PRINTED MATERIAL

In addition to images of all manuscripts, printed books and periodicals, there are textual transcriptions (in .txt UTF-8 format) of every text. These can be accessed by clicking on the icon in the 'Bibliography/See whole table' and 'Collation' sections. Manuscript transcriptions appear automatically to the right of the images.
Cells that do not have an or icon indicate items we could not obtain for inclusion.

STANDARDIZATION
Some standardization of the transcribed texts was necessary for ease of reading and incorporation in the collation program. This sometimes makes for a departure from the original appearance of the text on the page. The latter can be ascertained from the image.

• The front matter of books, such as cover, half-title, title page, dedication, list of contents have not been transcribed in most cases to avoid confusion in the collation results. Colophons printed as back matter have also not been transcribed. All this material can be viewed in the images.
• Spacing between lines, stanzas, speeches etc.:
• A single blank line has been kept between stanzas of verse but none between paragraphs of prose. Where the stanza break is not clear in the printed layout, we have sometimes applied our judgement.
• Blank lines have been left between the speeches of plays containing both prose and verse dialogue, but not with plays where the entire dialogue is in prose. This is because different parsers are being used for collation in the two categories.
• Space between headers, titles or stage directions and the main body of a text has sometimes been modified from the actual layout. The latter can be viewed in the images
• Spacing at the start or middle of a line:
• All prose paragraphs are flush with the left margin
• All lines of verse start from the left margin, even where indented in the original.
• A gap within a verse line, indicating a caesura and/or internal rhyme, is denoted by a hash sign #. Where the intra-linear spacing is unclear, we have sometimes applied our judgement in placing the #.
• Stage directions and speech-headings of plays:
• The placing of act and scene numbers, place and time of action, characters present at the start of a scene, speech headings and stage directions have been made uniform.
• Speech-headings have always been placed on the same line as the opening of the speech.
• Place, date and time of composition (usually at the end of a work) have been transcribed in a standard format irrespective of their actual position.
• Where the digital image is unclear, usually owing to damaged pages, the signs « » are used to indicate doubt about the reading.
• Misprints have been preserved in transcription. But inverted letters have been silently rectified.

ADDITIONAL PRINCIPLES OF MANUSCRIPT TRANSCRIPTION

In addition to images of the manuscripts, there are textual transcriptions (in .txt UTF-8 format) of the same. These appear automatically to the right of the image. Manuscript transcriptions are provided in two versions:

Page-by-page transcription of the whole manuscript volume

This version follows the page-by-page sequence of the entire manuscript volume (as bound at present, which may not always coincide with the original sequence). As the text of a particular work is often scattered through a volume, or mixed with texts of other works, this version may not allow the user to readily trace the entire text of a work through the volume. Its chief purpose is to help in deciphering the handwriting, deletions, insertions etc.. Hence this version is displayed side by side with the image of the manuscript. It indicates all changes, deletions, later insertions etc. by a set of symbols listed below. It reflects the full process of composition as shown in that particular manuscript.

Separate filtered transcriptions of each item in its final reading in that manuscript

This version, prepared by applying our unique text-filtering software, presents the final reading emerging from that particular manuscript, disregarding all earlier stages and deleted readings.

CONVENTIONS OF MANUSCRIPT TRANSCRIPTION

• If the text beneath a deletion is discernible, we have tried to incorporate it.
• No attempt has been made to transcribe the form or shape of doodles – i.e., to transcribe an image into text. The doodles can be seen in the images. The deleted text beneath a doodle has been rescued wherever possible, like any other deletion.
• The manuscripts often have more than one set of page or folio numbers. The transcription follows the most prominent or consistent sequence of page or folio numbers. Where there was none such, we have introduced our own sequence.
• Page numbers are preceded by double asterisks**. Unnumbered pages in the manuscripts have been assigned a page number following the most prominent sequence.
• Works in the manuscripts usually do not contain titles. We have inserted the titles from the Rachanabali edition (or other print edition if appropriate), preceded by an asterisk *.
• All other text inserted in transcription by way of notes, headings, references etc. are also preceded by an asterisk*.
• If there is more than one version of the same work in the same manuscript, they are distinguished by an asterisk and serial number, as *1, *2 etc.
• Missing dots have been silently added to characters like য়, র, ড়, ঢ়. Other scribal idiosyncrasies have been silently regularized where they clearly do not have any textual or orthographical significance. This is an exception to the general rule that even errors have been exactly reproduced in transcription.

SIGNS USED IN MANUSCRIPT TRANSCRIPTION

Sign	Note/Explanation
<text>	deleted text
{text}	inserted text
+++	illegible text
±text±	text whose position is uncertain
৲text3৲ text2 text2 text2 text 2 text2 ৴text1৴	text which has been transposed
[\text\]	underlined text
⋋text of version1⋋ ⋌text of version2⋌	two juxtaposed versions of the same text
≮text≯	stet: retention of text earlier marked for deletion
[~  ] OR [~]	If a note, comment, instruction etc. is placed in the margin, this marginalia is placed within square brackets [~  ]. The part of the main text against which it is located in the manuscript is indicated by the sign [~] at the beginning and end of that part.
<⋏⋏> OR {⋏text⋏} OR <⋎⋎> OR {⋎text⋎}	Where the original author/scribe has changed the position of a small amount of text (a sentence or less) using an arrow, line or asterisk If a section is moved upward, this sign is placed at the original point (without the text) <⋏⋏> This sign is placed at the destination point, enclosing the text {⋏text⋏} If a section is moved downward, this sign is placed at the original point (without the text) <⋎⋎> This sign is placed at the destination point, enclosing the text {⋎text⋎} If there are multiple cases of migration in a page, they have been numbered as <⋏1⋏>, <⋏2⋏>, <⋏3⋏> according to their sequence in the page.
⋀ OR ⋁	If the position of a large amount of text has been changed, the following sign is placed at the destination point if the text has moved upward: ⋀ and if it has moved downward: ⋁ In these cases, no sign is placed at the original location.
∟	A sign like ∟or a long vertical stroke in the original manuscript to indicate a line break or paragraph break has been recognized by moving the following section of the text to the next paragraph. The sign ∟ appears in the transcription at the start of this new paragraph.

 

BROWSE COLLECTION: MANUSCRIPTS

The 'Manuscripts' section under 'Browse collection' contains images of every manuscript volume used in the project and its transcription following the conventions described elsewhere in these notes.

The manuscripts fall in four categories:

1. RBVBMS: the main series of manuscripts at Rabindra-Bhavana, Visva-Bharati
2. BMSF: the 'Bengali Manuscript Files' series at Rabindra-Bhavana, Visva-Bharati
3. EMSF: the 'English Manuscript Files' series at Rabindra-Bhavana, Visva-Bharati
4. HRVD: manuscripts in the Rothenstein Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University

Manuscript images and transcriptions can be accessed in two ways:

Manuscript-wise Index

• Click Manuscript-wise Index to open a table where the first column lists all the manuscripts. Their contents are detailed in the other columns according to genre.
• Click on the manuscript number to open the images and transcription of that manuscript. You can navigate through the images in two ways:
  • with the keyboard
  • with the toolbar (to open, click the Toolbar button on the top right)

The following keyboard shortcuts are available for viewing the images.

Key	Function
Home	View first page
End	View last page
Backspace	View previous page
Enter	View next page
↑ (Up Arrow)	Scroll upward
↓ (Down Arrow)	Scroll downward
← (Left Arrow)	Scroll left
→ (Right Arrow)	Scroll right
+	Zoom in
-	Zoom out

The following keyboard shortcuts are available for viewing the transcription.

Key	Function
Pg Up	move to top of page
Pg Dn	move to bottom of page
Ctl+	increase font size of text
Ctl-	decrease font size of text
Space Bar	hide/show (toggle) transcription panel

 

Title-wise index

Click Title-wise index to see the locations of all identifiable works in the manuscripts.

• Select the title you want either by using the alphabetical click-and-open menu, or by keying the title into the search box on the left panel.
• Once you have reached the title you want, click on your selected manuscript number to open the images and transcription of the text as in that manuscript. You can navigate through the images in two ways:
• with the keyboard
• with the toolbar (to open, click the Toolbar button on the top right)

View Manuscripts and Transcriptions

You can also access the images and transcription of a manuscript by clicking View Manuscripts and Transcriptions, then clicking on the manuscript no. you want.

 

BROWSE COLLECTION: PRINTED BOOKS AND PERIODICALS

The 'Printed Books and Periodicals' section under 'Browse Collection' contains images of every printed book and periodical used in the project.

• The basic division is into Bengali and English.
• Within each, images are grouped under the following heads.
• Collected works. Images of the Visva-Bharati edition of Rabindranath’s Bengali Collected Works  (Rabindra-Rachanabali), 32 vols. + 2 vols. Achalita Samgraha.

There is no corresponding section for English.

• Anthologies. All collections of material previously published elsewhere as part of other volumes. Here too, there is no corresponding section for English.
• Poems and Songs
• Drama
• Fiction (Novels and short stories)
• Non-fiction (all other prose works)
• On opening the relevant page, access the required title either by using the alphabetical click-and-open menu, or by keying the title into the search box on the left panel.
• Once you have reached the title you want, click on it to open the images of that version. You can navigate through the images in two ways:
• with the keyboard
• with the toolbar (to open, click the Toolbar button on the top right)
• This page is primarily meant for access to complete books and collections in volume form. However, individual short stories published as journal items can be accessed through গল্প. It is simpler to access individual items through the ‘Bibliography’ page, which also offers some extra details.

Key	Function
Home	View first page
End	View last page
Backspace	View previous page
Enter	View next page
↑ (Up Arrow)	Scroll upward
↓ (Down Arrow)	Scroll downward
← (Left Arrow)	Scroll left
→ (Right Arrow)	Scroll right
+	Zoom in
-	Zoom out

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Click the appropriate link on the drop-down menu bar, first choosing the language (Bengali or English)  and then the genre or category you want. For each category (Poems and Songs, Drama, Fiction, Non-Fiction) the bibliography is presented in two ways:

(A) Item-wise display

Colour code: In the pop-up window, entries in black indicate that the version is incorporated in the website. Entries in red indicate that the version is not incorporated: i.e., image, transcription and collation are not available.

(B) Full display of all titles in that genre/category

This opens like a spreadsheet. The cells carry the following icons:

• In the left column, against the title: the collation icon
   
  . Click to access the collation program.
• In each cell:

(a) For manuscripts:

• above the manuscript number, the icon
   
  to open the filtered or final text of that manuscript version (ignoring changes, deletions, insertions etc.)
• below the manuscript number, the icon
   
  to open the image and the full transcription (showing all changes, deletions, insertions etc.)

(b) For printed texts:

• the icon
   
  to access the image
• the icon
   
  to access the plain text

(c) the icon to access additional information, if any (e.g., special details about a manuscript, or instalment division of serial publications)

(d) If there are no icons in any cell, it indicates we have not been able to obtain the images of that particular version, hence cannot provide any transcription or collation either.

(e) To see all the poems in a Bengali poetical collection (Kari o Komal, Manasi, Sonar Tari etc.), go to ‘Bibliography: Alphabetical Index’ and select the volume using the ‘Book’ radio button and click on the volume title. A new table will open comprising all the poems in that volume. Any poem can then be accessed by clicking on the appropriate icons. To see all the poems in an English poetical collection (Gitanjali, The Crescent Moon, Crossing, Fruit-Gathering, Lover’s Gift etc.) go to ‘Bibliography: Full Table’, locate and click on the volume title. A list of all poems in the volume will appear in a pop-up window. Any poem can then be accessed through ‘Bibliography: Alphabetical Index’.

(C) Additional lists

Each genre in the Bengali: Integrated Checklist has a third item – ‘Additional Lists’. These include alternative or associated titles of works listed in the Bibliography under the title in the Visva-Bharati Rachanabali (Collected Works).

To search for an alternative title in these lists (e.g., ঝড়ের খেয়া for the poem beginning দূর হতে কী শুনিস, or ভারত-তীর্থ for the poem beginning হে মোর চিত্ত), press CTL+F (P.C.) or CMD+F (Mac) and type the title you want in the box that will open up. The browser will go to that specific title and highlight it.

For Bengali fiction, there is also a list of the contents of each short-story volume.

(D) Timeline

The Bengali: Integrated Checklist has a Timeline which shows the dates of publications of journals and book-length volumes chronologically.

1. Click on the year or month in the opening page of this section. This opens a pop-up window showing, genre by genre, the titles published in that month or year. Click the boxes in the top left and right corners of this window to go to the previous or following month/year.
2. Click on the 'Search' button at the top of the page to open a toolbar. Choose a genre. Then choose a title from that genre to see its publication details alongside.

Advice: Use the full display of all titles to access the entire range of data concerning that title. Use the item-wise display for quick access to information on publication history plus the image of each version.

SEARCH

Material included

The search engine covers the following versions only:
Bengali: the version in the Visva-Bharati edition of Rabindranath’s Bengali Collected Works (Rabindra-Rachanabali), vols.1-32 + 2 vols. 'Achalita Samgraha, and the 1380 edition of Gitabitan
English:

• the original version used as base text in the Sahitya Akademi edition of The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vols.1-4 (not the actual text of the Sahitya Akademi edition)
• for works not included there, the first printed version obtained

Operation

• Select the search range (all writings, poems and songs, drama etc.) from the drop-down menu.
• Type the search item (word or phrase) in the box on the opening page. For Bengali items, either use the Bengali keyboard, or use the Roman keyboard and press Enter or space bar. For English items, press CTL+M before keying in, so that the transliteration feature is turned off and the word remains in English.
• The results will appear 10 to a page.
• Click the link giving the title and reference for each result to open a page showing the text of that work.
• Then press CTL+F (for PCs) or CMD+F (for Mac), and enter the search term as indicated above in the top right window to highlight the search term in the text in the text. For Bengali words either type in Bengali characters, or cut and paste the search term from the entry on the previous page. Do not type in Roman (English) characters. For English items, press CTL+M before keying in.

COLLATION

Levels of collation

Our software package ‘Prabhed’ carries out collation at three levels: ‘gross’ or macro-collation at Section and Segment levels, and ‘fine’ or micro-collation at Word level.

• Section. A section is a chapter of a novel or other long prose work, a scene in a long play, or a canto in a long poem. At this level, Prabhed will compare the sectional division of different versions of a text, and note their matches and differences. A short poem, song or essay will consist of a single section.

   NB: Owing to the division parameters used, parts of a single chapter, scene etc. separated by a blank line (e.g., stanzas of a poem embedded in a prose novel or drama) may sometimes appear as separate sections.

• Segment. A segment is a paragraph of a prose text, a single speech in a play, or a stanza of a poem. At this level, Prabhed will compare the corresponding segments of different versions of a text, and note their matches and differences. In most cases, matching segments occur within matching sections. However, matching segments in other sections are also recorded.

       A short poem or song without stanza division will appear as a single segment: i.e., here the section and segment will be identical.

• Word. At the most detailed level, Prabhed will compare all matching segments word for word and note their matches and differences.

How to use Prabhed

• Click ‘Collation’ on the home page menu bar. A bibliographical table will open.
• Click the collation logo
   
   in the title column on the left. The Section-level display will open.

Section-level display:

• The Section-level display consists of horizontal bands, each indicating the full text of one version (print or manuscript) of the work. The bands are colour-coded: each version has a different colour. The parts or blocks (‘slices’) into which each band is divided represent the sections (chapters, scenes, etc.) within the full text. These blocks are differently shaded in four light-to-dark gradations for easy viewing. The width of the block is proportionate to the bulk of that section within the full text.
  A short poem, song or essay consists of a single section, hence the band will not be divided but show as a uniform shade.
  The sections are numbered, starting with 0. E.g., 1316/0 means section 0 or the first section of the 1316 edition of the work. 1316/1 means section 1 or the second section of the 1316 edition.
• Choose any version as the base for comparison by moving your mouse over the appropriate band. That band will be highlighted.
• Now select and click on the part or block (‘slice’) representing the section you want to compare. The matching blocks in all the versions will be indicated by red underscoring. The number of that section in the base document will show in the top right corner.
• A panel will appear at the bottom of the page, showing all matching sections with match percentages vis-à-vis the base. A text-link box will appear alongside each section number. Click it to see the text of that section in a pop-up window.
• In the bottom panel, click the section and version of the base document (left-most entry) to open the Segment-level collation page using that version as base.
• In the bottom panel, click any other document to open a colour-coded vertical panel to the right, showing segment-by-segment matches in that section between the base document and the one you have selected. The matching segments are linked by grey bands.

Segment-level display:

• The Segment-level display operates in the same way as the Section-level display.
• Open the Segment-level display as indicated in 5 above. You will see a colour-coded band standing for that section in your chosen base version. By clicking on it, you will see more such bands standing for matching sections in the other versions. The parts or blocks (‘slices’) within each band indicate the segments (paragraphs, speeches, stanzas etc.) into which it is divided.
  The width of the block is proportionate to the bulk of that segment within the full text.
  A short poem, song or essay consists of a single segment, hence the band will not be divided but show as a uniform shade.
  The segments are numbered, starting with 0. E.g., 1316/0/0 means the first segment of the first section of the 1316 edition of the work. 1316/1/0 means the first segment of section 1 or the second section of the 1316 edition. 1316/1/1 means the second segment of the second section.
• Now click on the coloured part or block (‘slice’)  in the topmost band representing the segment in the base document that you want to compare with the others. The blocks standing for matching segments in all the versions will be underscored in red. The number of that segment in the base document will show in the top right corner.
• A panel will appear at the bottom of the page, showing all matching segments and their respective match percentages vis-à-vis the base. A text-link box will appear alongside each segment number. Click it to see the text of that segment in a pop-up window.
• Use the left and right arrows at the top right to move from block to block of a colour band, especially to reach narrow blocks difficult to pinpoint with the mouse.
• Click the ‘Grid View’ box at the top right to see segment-level collation results in the form of a grid or table. Here, the first column on the left gives the segment numbers in that section of the base document. The later columns show the match percentage in corresponding segments of the other versions, indicated as 1, 2, 3 etc. according to the position in the bottom panel of the previous segment-level colour display.
• In the bottom panel, click the segment and version of the base document (left-most entry) to open the word-level ‘fine collation’ page using that version as base.

Word-level or fine collation:

• The fine collation results appear in a four-pane display. The base document (with section and segment number) is indicated in the header. The other versions (with section and segment number) are listed in the left column outside the four-pane frame.
• The top left pane gives the text of the segment being used as base.
• The bottom left pane will display the text of any one other version. Select this version by clicking on its number in the left-column list.
• The top right pane shows the text of the base segment, colour-coded to indicate its correspondence with the matching segments.
• Black means the word is the same in all versions.
• Red means the word is similar but not the same in one or more other versions. Click on the word to see the variant readings in the bottom right pane.
• Blue means the word is found in the base version but not in one or more others. Click on the word to see a dot in the bottom right pane indicating which versions lack that word.
• Green means the word is found in one or more other versions but not in the base version. Click on a green dot to see what the word is, and in which versions it is found, in the bottom right pane.
• A dot means a word missing in the current version but with a word in the matching position in one or more other versions.

Version names

Versions/editions are indicated as follows:

• for printed works, four digits indicating the Bengali year of publication in case of Bengali works, and the English year of publication in case of English works. If there is more than one version published in the same year, they are distinguished by the letters a, b etc.
• for manuscript works, [R+ms.no.] for manuscripts in the main sequence of Rabindra-Bhavana; [B+ ms.no.] for manuscripts in the ‘MSF-Bengali’sequence of Rabindra-Bhavana; [E+ ms.no.] for manuscripts in the ‘MSF-English’sequence of Rabindra-Bhavana; [H+ ms.no.] for manuscripts from Harvard University.

Match percentage settings

Word match:
Words of 1 to 4 characters are held to match if all the characters match. For words of more than four characters, one difference is allowed for every four additional characters or fraction thereof: i.e., one difference for words of 5 to 8 characters, two for words of 9 to 12 characters, and so on.
NB: 1. All vowel markers other than অ-কার count as characters. Each element of a conjunct letter (yuktakshar) counts as a separate character. Thus কাল has 3 characters, বর্ষা has 4 characters, নম্রতা has 5 characters, রবীন্দ্র্নাথ has 9 characters.
2. Punctuation marks, including hyphen and apostrophe/quotation marks, do not count as characters. Two words separated by a hyphen are counted as a single word.
Match percentage for sections and segments:

• The default match level between sections and segments is 60% of the word count between base text and reference text, counting from both directions.
• This will not cover cases where a long section/segment in one text is divided into two or more sections/segments in the other text. To cover such cases, where a match percentage of 60%+ is found in one direction only, a ‘tension’ count with default value of 15% is made in the opposite direction. Where the tension count exceeds 15%, the two sections/segments are taken to match.
• However, this means some invalid matches will also be shown, owing to accidental matches totalling 15%+ between random words. This is most likely to happen with very short segments consisting of one or a few words.

      Users should be cautious about accepting low matches (below 30-35%) without checking the actual text. This is specially the case where a high match (60%+) is also shown for the same section/segment.

• Sometimes a word or phrase occurs repeatedly through a text – e.g., as stage direction or choric refrain. This can result in very high matches (85%+, often 100%) being shown repeatedly between random sections of the text. To obviate such cases, only the first occurrence in each section of multiple very high matches (85%+) is included in the collation.

     Needless to say, a single high match is always incorporated, as it is almost certainly genuine.