Rabindranath Tagore

Ravindranath Tagore was a great short story writer, poet, playwright, essayist and painter.. He was also an active freedom fighter. On November 13, 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his book Gitanjali. He wrote Gitanjali in 1910. This book is a collection of poems.

Tagore was born on May 7, 1861 at Jorasanko, Calcutta (Kolkata). He was the youngest son of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi and grandson of Dwarkanath Tagore. His father was a religious reformer and a leader of the Brahmo Samaj. Tagore was educated mostly at home under private tutors. Then he studied at the University in London for one year. The famous Henry Morley was one of his teachers at the University.

Rabindranath was born and brought up in a home teeming- with creativity. At a very early age, he started composing verses. When he was twelve years of age, his first poem was published in a magazine. His poems regularly appeared in Bharati - a Bengali

A, tart from poetry, he wrote novels, travel accounts, musical plays, symbolic dramas and essays. He continued to be a prolific writer throughout his life. His elder brother Jyotirindranath was a well-known playwright and translator who along with his wife Kadambari Devi took on the guardianship of fourteen year-old Rabindranath when their mother died. Kadambari Devi's suicide in 1884 left a lasting scar on Tagore's mind. His first collection of songs was published a year later.

By 1890 Rabindranath had entered a new phase of writing which included taking stands on controversial political and social issues. Tagore became the most renowned poet of his time. His works have been translated into many languages. His book Gitanjali was published in English in 1912 and got the Nobel Prize for literature. Tagore was the first Asian to get the Nobel Prize. His writings inspired writers, scholars, patriots and ordinary men in India and abroad. In 1915, Tagore was awarded knighthood, but he renounced it in 1919 as a protest against the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre.

Tagore's other well-known poetic works include Sonar Tari, Puravi, Sandhva Sangeet, etc. Some well-known novels include Gora, Ghare Baire, Nauka Dubi, Chokher Bali, Bauthakuranir Hat, Chaturanga, Charadhaya, Shesher Kabita and Rajarshi.

His most memorable plays are - Visarjan (1890), Dak Ghar (1912), Rakta Karabi (1926) and Chitrangada (1936). Tagore's best loved stories include Kabuliwala, Chhutti, Khsudhita Pashan,  Subha and Nastanir. His songs collectively known as 'Rabindra Sangeet' are considered to be an integral part of Indian music and culture.

Tagore took up painting in the late 1920s. He was at that time above sixty years of age. His paintings were so outstanding that he won a place among India's famous contemporary.

Rabindranath was in favour of the emancipation and education of women. He realized that the root cause of India's problems lay in faulty education system of our country. Tagore believed that education was the only means for India's progress. He had also written and spoken about the problems of the prevailing educational system of that time. In December 1901, he established a school at Shantiniketan in West Bengal. In 1921, this school became the Visva- Bharati University. He also wanted to evolve a world culture, a combination of eastern and western values. This idea is reflected in Visva-Bharati University. M.K. Gandhi, whom Tagore was the first to call 'Mahatma' spent some time there on his return from South Africa in 1915 and urged students and teachers to engage in physical activity for self-help. Tagore was an admirer but also a critic of Gandhiji.

Rabindranath was a great patriot. He protested against the Sedition Bills of 1898. In 1899, he also worked with Sister Nivedita in organising relief for the plague victims in Calcutta.

Tagore composed the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana. This was sung at the Calcutta Congress Session in 1911 for the first time. During the anti-partition Swadeshi movement, his songs led the patriotic upsurge among people. After the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre(1919) Tagore renounced his knighthood as a mark of protest.

Tagore was respectfully addressed as Gurudev. The brutal police firing on political prisoners at Hijili Jail was strongly condemned by him. So, on October 1, 1931. he called for a mass rally in Calcutta.

During the 1920s and 1930s Tagore toured Iran, Egypt, Europe, North and South America, Japan and China. He lectured generally on a high philosophical plane. He delivered a lecture on 'The Religion of Man' in 1932 at Oxford University.

Tagore spent a long period in Europe, America and East Asia. During this period, he worked as a spokesman for the cause of Indian independence.

Tagore passed away in 1941. leaving behind a legacy of world-class literature. He was considered one of the most influential Indian authors. The house in which Tagore used to live in Shantiniketan has been converted into a museum and has been named Rabindra great contribution to Bengali literature and modem India is universally recognised.

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