RABINDRANATH TAGORE –
We remain ever grateful to our Bharath Matha, who has gifted with many great sons and daughters. One of them is Rabindranath Tagore born in Bengal, (7.5.1861 – 7.8.1941). He was a rare individual with great skill in being a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He reshaped Bengali literature. We are proud of him as he was the first non-European, the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.in 1913. He is globally known as the Bard of Bengal and Gurudev. From the age of 8, he was a poet. He is the founder of ViswaBharathi University. His works include classical novels, stories, songs, dance dramas, essays and he has presented to all of us a matchless treasure trove, which include Gitanjali.
Today 7th August we stand up with great respect and salute Rabindranath Tagore. remembering him and his eternal gift to us and sing our national anthem “Jana Gana Mana” composed and gifted to us by him. His Bangladesh’s “Amar Shonar Bangla is another great piece of art and meaningful poem.
Tagore hailed from a big family and was the youngest of 13 children, Tagore born to Devendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi. Tagore became a barrister in England in 1878.
He was married to 10year-old Mrinalini Devi.Child marriage was a common practice then. Tagore was a born Nature lover and he preferred to write his poems and stories enjoying nature by sitting on his family boat (bajra or budgerow), named “Padma”.
In 1901 Tagore moved to Santiniketan to found an ashram whch has a marble-floored prayer hall—The Mandir—an experimental school, amidst groves of trees, gardens,and it has a library.
In 1912, Tagore translated his 1910 work Gitanjali into English as otherwise we, non Bengalis would have missed a great work of international repute . Tagore was awarded knighthood by King George V in the 1915. He renouced this title in protest against Jallianwalabagh maasaacre after 1919.
Tagore wrote many novels and short stories in both Bengali and English. It is admirable that at sixty, Tagore took up drawing and painting; successful exhibitions of his many work were thrown open for public to enjoy. India’s National Gallery of Modern Art lists 102 works by Tagore in its collections
– Nanganallur J. K Shivan
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