As a Bengali myself, I am very interested in Rabindranath Tagore, as I have heard his songs, read many of his books and poems and seen his art closely most of my life. My grandfather was a researcher on Tagore’s in his autumn days and wrote a book about him. He also presented me a copy of Tagore’s most famous work: The Gitanjali.
My grandmother owns many different books written by Tagore, and whenever I travel to India, she reads them out loud with joy and pride. I feel so happy and so blessed to write about him, for he is an influence on all our lives in one way or another.
Rabindranath Tagore was born on the 7th of May 1861 to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi, who were at the forefront of the Bengali Renaissance. Tagore was the youngest of his thirteen siblings and had the nickname Rabi.
Rabindranath grew up watching plays, listening to music, looking at art, and doing everything that would prove its value later in his life. His father invited numerous singers and songwriters to play their music and sing their songs at his residence so his children could get an exposure of their Indian heritage. He started writing his poetry when he was barely eight years old.
Although Tagore was a brilliant student, he did not like the idea of studying in the traditional school system. He wanted to spend time outdoors and learn from nature. Tagore was a true rebel, and that is why, later on in his life, he established Shantiniketan, defying all the traditional ways of learning.
When he turned sixteen, he published his first substantial poems, not under his name, but under the title Bhanusingho. After graduating in 1877, Rabindranath started writing stories and plays under his real name.
However, because of his parents’ wishes , Rabindranath moved to England and went to a public school in Brighton, East Sussex. There, Rabindranath got to study and learn about various authors and playwrighters. Tagore was highly influenced by William Shakespeare and had researched his plays regularly. As soon as Tagore reached Bengal, he started publishing his stories and poetries and became popular.
Around 1880-1890, Tagore published a series of dramas and poetry, which granted him a little more fame. Tagore then got married to Mrinalini Devi, a ten-year-old, in 1883. Together, they had five children. Around 1890, Tagore moved to one of his estates in Shelaidaha. Once he settled there, he wrote his Manasi poems, which were thought to be a part of his best works. This time was called Tagore’s Sadhana period, a time in which Tagore was the most creative in all his life. In his Sadhana period, he wrote most of his works and songs. He also drew and painted.
In 1901, he founded a university called Shantiniketan and lived close to it permanently. Sadly, Tagore had to bear many losses. First his wife Mrinalini devi became extremely ill and died due to her sickness, followed by two of Tagore’s five children.
The first verse in the Gitanjali:
Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and finest it ever with fresh life. This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through its melodies eternally new.
In 1910, Tagore started work on his collection of poems called Gitanjali, which in Bengali means, Song Offerings. Tagore would end up winning the Nobel Prize for this collection, but that was only after he’d translated it into English, while another poet, W.B. Yeats, wrote the introduction. He received the Nobel Prize for it in the field of Literature in the year 1913. He is also the first non-European to win the Nobel prize.
After receiving the Nobel Prize, Tagore was also conferred a knighthood from King George V in 1915. But, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre caused by the British in 1919, Rabindranath renounced his title.
After 1912, Tagore spent his time outside India and became a spokesperson for the Indian Independence.
In 1921, Tagore established the Institute for Rural Reconstruction with the economist Leonard Elmhrist. The Institute was later given the name Sriniketan and was used for both Indian and Western purposes.
Tagore left for heavenly abode on the 7 August, 1941 at the age of eighty. He died at his estate in Jorasanko, Calcutta. He was the first Non-European to receive the most prestigious Nobel Prize. Even today, we listen to his poetry and his songs, watch his plays and admire his art. Rabindranath Tagore was one of the most influential people in Bengal, his works became an integral part of Bengali culture.