The book presents Tagore's approach into the realm of education and art right from the inception of Santiniketan in 1901. A strong critic of specialisation, he espoused maintaining of the unity and harmony of humankind with its social atmosphere and nature-- the universe as a whole. Originally published in Hindi, the English translation has been done by the author himself.
Shri Devi Prasad, a student of Santiniketan, had been a close witness to Tagore's creativity as a painter. As an art instructor at Sevagram Institute of Education, he worked with teachers and Children of all ages and wrote the original Hindi edition of Art: 'I he Basis of Education, based on his fifteen years of experience in that field. He has been a visiting Professor at Visva-Bharati, Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges (USA) and has several publications to his credit namely, Gramdan : The Land Revolution of India, Peace Education or Education for Peace etc.