RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Born: May 7, 1861, Calcutta

Died: August 7, 1941, Calcutta

Father's Name: Debendranath Tagore

Mother's Name: Sarada Devi

BIOGRAPHY OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali Rabīndranāth Ṭhākur, (born May 7, 1861, Calcutta [now Kolkata], India—died August 7, 1941, Calcutta), Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist, and painter who introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early 20th-century India. In 1913 he became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The son of the religious reformer Debendranath Tagore, he early began to write verses, and, after incomplete studies in England in the late 1870s, he returned to India. There he published several books of poetry in the 1880s and completed Manasi (1890), a collection that marks the maturing of his genius. It contains some of his best-known poems, including many in verse forms new to Bengali, as well as some social and political satire that was critical of his fellow Bengalis.

In 1891 Tagore went to East Bengal (now in Bangladesh) to manage his family’s estates at Shilaidah and Shazadpur for 10 years. There he often stayed in a houseboat on the Padma River (the main channel of the Ganges River), in close contact with village folk, and his sympathy for them became the keynote of much of his later writing. Most of his finest short stories, which examine “humble lives and their small miseries,” date from the 1890s and have a poignancy, laced with gentle irony, that is unique to him (though admirably captured by the director Satyajit Ray in later film adaptations). Tagore came to love the Bengali countryside, most of all the Padma River, an often-repeated image in his verse. During these years he published several poetry collections, notably Sonar Tari (1894; The Golden Boat), and plays, notably Chitrangada (1892; Chitra). Tagore’s poems are virtually untranslatable, as are his more than 2,000 songs, which achieved considerable popularity among all classes of Bengali society. (Written by W. Andrew Robinson)

Today marks the 159th birth anniversary of India’s first Nobel Award winner Rabindranath Tagore. From his poetries to essay, to his songs & paintings, Tagore has a great contribution to Indian literature, music, as well as art

Rabindranath Tagore is famous by many names - Gurudev, Kabiguru, Biswakabi and often referred to as "the Bard of Bengal".

The man who composed National Anthems for 3 nations

Do you know that the literary icon is father to national anthems of three nations of Indian sub-continent? From India’s ‘Jan Gan Man’ to Bangladesh’s ‘Amar Sona Bangla’, Sri Lanka’s national anthem is also based on Tagore’s poem. It is said that Tagore’s Bangla poem was translated in Sinhalese and adopted as the national anthem in 1951.

The man who conferred the title of ‘Mahatma’ to Father of Nation

The special bond shared between Bapu and Tagore is well-known. However, little do people know that it was ‘Gurudev’ who conferred the title ‘Mahatma’ on the Father of Nation.

The beautiful friendship with Albert Einstein

Tagore and Einstein met four times between 1931 and 1931. Not only did they revere each other, but they also shared a common interest of music and curiosity for general things. In describing Einstein, Tagore wrote, “There was nothing stiff about him - there was no intellectual aloofness. He seemed to be a man who valued human relationship and he showed me a real interest and understanding.”

The bard who was a music icon

From his iconic body of work in the field of literature, Tagore was also a well-known expert in music. Gurudev wrote more than 2,000 songs, which are now known as ‘Rabindrasangit’. Several of them are inspired by his travels. He was also highly influenced by the up-beat English, Irish and Scottish folk music that he often listened to along with Hindustani classical music.

World traveller at heart

Tagore travelled to over 30 countries on five continents in a little over five decades in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The more he travelled, the more he fell in love with the concept of internationalism.

When Tagore returned his Knighthood in protest against Jallianwala Bagh massacre

On May 31st, 1919, a month after Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Tagore renounced his 1915 knighthood. In his letter to the viceroy, Tagore wrote: "The time has come when the badge of honour makes our shame glaring in their incongruous text of humiliation, and I, for my part, wish to stand shorn of all special distinctions, by the side of those of my countrymen who, for their so-called insignificance are liable to suffer degradation not fit for human beings."

On his 159th birth anniversary, here are some of his INSPIRING QUOTES that celebrate the genius that he was.

“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”

“The small wisdom is like water in a glass: clear, transparent, pure.
The great wisdom is like the water in the sea: dark, mysterious, impenetrable.”

“A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.”

“Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.”

“By plucking her petals you do not gather the beauty of the flower.”

“If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door- or i’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.”