Remembering Rabindranath Tagore on his 78th DeathAnniversary
7th August is the death anniversary of the renowned poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore. He was a prolific writer with works ranging from poetry and songs to short stories and plays. Rabindranath is famous by many names like Gurudev, Biswakabi, and Kabiguru and referred as 'the Bard of Bengal'. The life and times of Tagore were extraordinary, to say the least. When India was under British rule, he raised his voice through his writing. Some of Rabindranath Tagore's best-known works include Gora, Ghare-Baire, Gitanjali, The Postmaster, and Kabita among others.
Hewas the first Indian as well as Asian to receive Noble Prize in the year 1913for his book of songs, "Gitanjali. The man, who never had formal schooling, wonNobel Prize. Surprising, but his journey was all about gathering knowledge andadopting it in real life. He came up with a sense of modernity from theinformal tutoring he got at home. He was a multifaceted personality and startedwriting poetry at the age of eight years. When Rabindranath was only 16 yearsold, he released his first collection of poems under the pseudonym'Bhanusimha'. His contributions to the music, literature and his several worksare unforgettable.
Thestory of Rabindranath is incomplete without mentioning Shantiniketan. Hefounded this residential schooling system where students would not just learnliterature but enhance their creativity in singing, dancing, painting and more.He was also an expert in music and wrote over 2,000 songs."
Nodoubt Rabindranath has transformed the dimensions of Bengali literature. Fromfamous poet to the active social reformer to a wonderful singer to composer,Tagore was a complete package. Present-day, nation remembers him on his 78thdeath anniversary, but the man is still alive with his devotion and work.
RabindranathTagore was born May 7, 1861, in the Jorasanko mansion in Calcutta. He was theson of Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj and Sarada Devi. He spendshis last years in severe pain and even in 1937, he went into a comatosecondition. After a lot of suffering, he died on 7 August 1941 in the Jorasankomansion, where he was brought up.
Itis tough to script the complete story of such a legend that composed nationalanthem of two countries- India and Bangladesh.
"Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born inanother time." – Rabindranath Tagore
