BirthBirth

7th May, 18617th May, 1861

DeathDeath

7th August, 19417th August, 1941

CONTENTS1. Biography

2. Early yEars

3. school and collEgE lifE

4. MarriagE

5. faME and intErnational rEcognition

6. political opinion

7. Major works

8. his philosophy

9. awards and achiEvEMEnts

10. soME of his QuotEs and paintings

11. trivia

12. Evaluation of tagorE’s philosophy

Biography

From

To

18611861

19411941

YOUNG TAGORE

Birth 7 th May, 1861

Place of Birth Kolkata

Father’s Name Debendranath Tagore

Mother’s Name Sarada Devi

Grandfather Dwarkanath Tagore

1 st School Oriental Seminary

2nd School Normal School

3 rd School Bengal Academy

4 th School St. Xavier’s School

Occupation Poet, Dramatist, Writer, Painter

Awarded Title Gurudev

Awards Noble Prize for Literature

Death 7 th August, 1941

At the age of 16, he published his first substantial poetry under the pseudonym- Bhanushingho [Sun Lion] and wrote his first book of short stories and dramas.

His father wanted him to become a Barrister and he was sent to England for this reason.

In 1879, he enrolled at University College, London, but was called back by his father to return to India in 1880.

He read law at University College, London, but left his college to explore Shakespeare and more. He was called by his father and returned degreeless to Bengal in 1880.

On 9 t h December, 1883, he married Mrinalini Devi; They had five children, two of whom died before reaching adulthood.

In 1890, Tagore began managing his family’s vast estates in Shilaidaha, a region now in Bangladesh.

In 1901, he moved to Shantiniketan, where he composed ‘Naivedya’, published in 1901 and ‘Kheya’, published in 1906. By then, several of his works were published and he had gained immensely popularity among Bengali readers. 

In 1912, he went to England and took a sheaf of his translated works with him. There he introduced his works to some of the prominent writers of that era, including William Butler Yeats, Ezra Pound, Robert Bridges, Ernest Rhys, and Thomas Sturge Moore. 

In 1890, while on a visit to his ancestral estate in Shelaidaha, his collection of poems, ‘Manasi’, was released. The period between 1891 and 1895 proved to be fruitful during which, he authored a massive three volume collection of short stories, ‘Galpaguchchha’.

His popularity in English speaking nations grew manifold after the publication of ‘Gitanjali: Song Offerings’ and later in 1913, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.  

In 1915, he was also granted knighthood by the British Crown, which he renounced after the 1919 Jalianwala Bagh massacre. 

From May 1916 to April 1917, he stayed in Japan and the U.S. where he delivered lectures on ‘Nationalism’ and on Personality’.  

In 1920s and 1930s, he travelled extensively around the world; visiting Latin America, Europe and South-east Asia. During his extensive tours, he earned a cult following and endless admirers.

*Tagore’s political outlook was a little ambiguous. Though he censured imperialism, he supported the continuation of British administration in India. 

*He criticized ‘Swadeshi Movement’ by Mahatma Gandhi in his essay "The Cult of the Charka", published in September 1925. He believed in the co-existence of the British and the Indians and stated that British rule in India was "political symptom of our social disease". 

*He never supported nationalism and considered it to be one of the greatest challenges faced by humanity. Nevertheless, he occasionally supported the Indian Independence Movement and following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, he even renounced his knighthood on 30 May 1919. 

*On the whole, his vision of a free India was based not on its independence from the foreign rule, but on the liberty of thought, action and conscience of its citizens.

• ‘Gitanjali’, a collection of poems, is considered his best poetic accomplishment.

• A proficient songwriter, Tagore composed 2,230 songs, which are often referred to as ‘Rabindra Sangeeth’. He also wrote the national anthem for India - ‘Jana Gana Mana’- and for Bangladesh - ‘Aamaar Sonaar Banglaa

• ‘Galpagucchaccha’ a collection of eighty stories is his most famous short story collection which revolves around the lives of rural folks of Bengal. The stories mostly deal with the subjects of poverty, illiteracy, marriage, femininity, etc. and enjoy immense popularity even today.

Although Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, he was first of all a poet. Among his fifty and odd volumes of poetry, some of them are:

Manasi (1890) [The Ideal One]

Sonar Tari (1894) [The Golden Boat]

Gitanjali (1910) [Song Offerings]

Gitimalya (1914) [Wreath of Songs]

Balaka (1916) [A Flight of Swans]

Tagore’s Major Dramas

Raja (1910) [The King of the Dark Chambers]

Dakghar (1912) [The Post Office]

Achalayatan (1912) [The Immovable]

Muktadhara (1922) [The Waterfall]

Raktakaravi (1926) [Red Orleander]

Tagore’s Major NovelsGora (1910)

Ghare-Baire (1916) [The Home and the World]

Yogayog (1926) [Crosscurrents]

Gitanjali   is  a  collection  of  poems  .The  original Bengali collection  of  157  poems  was  published  on  August  14, 1910. The  English Gitanjali or Song  Offerings is  a collection  of  103  English poems  of  Tagore's  own  English translations  of  his  Bengali  poems  first  published  in November  1912  by  the  India  Society  of  London.  It contained  translations  of  53  poems  from  the original Bengali Gitanjali, as well as 50 other poems which were from his drama  Achalayatan and eight other books of poetry  —  mainly Gitimalya (17  poems), Naivedya (15 poems) and Kheya (11 poems).In  1913,  Tagore  became  the  first  non-European  to  win the Nobel  Prize  for  Literature  largely  for  the English Gitanjali.  The  English Gitanjali became  very famous in the West, and was widely translated. The  word gitanjali is  composed  from  "gita",  song,  and "anjali", offering, and thus means – "An offering of songs"; but  the  word  for  offering, anjali,  has  a  strong  devotional connotation, so the title may also be interpreted as "prayer offering of song".

The connecting thread between

India and the world and the study of humanity beyond the limits of nation and geography

resurrected his people by the introduction of schools.

As one of the earliest educators to think in terms of the global village, Rabindranath Tagore felt that a curriculum should revolve organically around nature with classes held in the open air under the trees to provide for a spontaneous appreciation of the fluidity of the plant and animal kingdoms, and seasonal changes.

As a Vedantist : He had a firm belief in the philosophy of ‘Veda’.

He believed in “ I am Brahma”

There is a spiritual bond between man and man.

As an Individualist: He believed in giving right type of freedom to individual.

Every individual is unique.

As an Idealist : He believed that the man should live for the ultimate truth which liberates us from cycle of birth and death

Had faith in absolute values.

As a Spiritualist: He believed that every individual should try to attain spiritual perfection.

As a Humanist: He preached human brotherhood, having faith in fundamental unity of mankind.

He remarked that ”even God depends upon man for perfecting his Universe.”

As a Naturalist: He considered nature as a great teacher.God revealed himself through various forms, colors and

rhythm of nature.

Tagore’s Internationalism: He was an ardent prophet of world unity.

He believed in world brotherhood.

For his momentous and revolutionary literary works, Tagore was honoured with the Nobel Prize in Literature on 14 November 1913. 

He was also conferred knighthood in 1915, which he renounced in 1919 after the Jallianwallah Bagh carnage.

In 1940, Oxford University awarded him with a Doctorate of Literature in a special ceremony arranged at Shantiniketan.

SOME OF HIS QUOTES

SOME OF HIS PAINTINGS

This venerated poet and author was the first

non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. 

This great Bengali poet was an admirer of Gandhi and was the one who gave him the name “Mahatma”. 

He is the only poet to have composed national anthems for two nations – India and Bangladesh.

TRIVIA

According to Radha Krishnan – “Rabindranath did not claim to produce any original

philosophy. His aim was not to analyze or speculate about the Indian tradition .He expressed in his own vivid phrases and homely metaphors, and showed its relevance to modern life.”

In the words of H.B.Mukherji – “Tagore was the greatest  prophet of educational

renaissance in modern India. He waged ceaseless battle to uphold the highest educational ideal before the country, and conducted educational experiments at his own institutions, which made them living symbols of what an ideal should be.”