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Rabindranath Tagore’s 158th Birth Anniversary
- The 158th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate and icon of Bengali literature, was celebrated across the country on 7 May.
- The government and several socio-cultural organizations held elaborate programmes and seminars, award-giving ceremonies and cultural activities, to mark the birth anniversary of the poet.
- Celebration programs were held throughout the country, especially at Rabindra Kuthibari in Shilaidaha of Kushtia, in Shahzadpur of Sirajganj, and in Patisar, Naogaon.
- In Kushtia, a three-day festival began on Wednesday at Shilaidaha Kuthibari to celebrate the birth anniversary.
About
- Rabindranath Tagore born Robindronath Thakur,( 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) and also known by his sobriquets Gurudev, Kabiguru, and Biswakabi, was a Bengali polymath, poet, musician, and artist from the Indian subcontinent.
- He started writing poetry at the age of 8 and published his first collection at the age of 16, under the pseudonym Bhanusimha.
- Rabindranath Tagore was also an educationist who started the Viswva Bharati University in Shantiniketan, and in the process, challenged conventional mores of education.
- Instead of going to school and colleges, Rabindranath Tagore opted for an independent study of Shakespeare, Religio Medici, Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra and at the age of 42, he married Mrinalini Devi.
- He reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Famous Novel by Rabindranath Tagore
- Gitanjali: Also known as ‘Song Offerings’, Rabindranath’s Gitanjali is a collection of poems, originally written in Bengali and later translated into English. It made him win him the Nobel Prize in Literature. His unfathomable pain and unshaken devotion to God are captured in the moving prose verses of Gitanjali. Where the mind is without fear and the head held high; Where knowledge is free;Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls’.
- Chokher bali : A Bengali novel written by Tagore, ‘Chokher Bali’ or ‘A grain of sand’ is a story which revolves around an extra-marital affair. It is a story about passion, desires, relationships, unfulfilled dreams as well as honesty. The complexity of relationships and of human character are very well portrayed in this novel.
- Gora: It is the largest and the most complex of the 12 novels written by Rabindranath Tagore. It raises a number of issues/ concerns, which seem very contemporary and are easily applicable to current scenario of our country. This book is a reflection and analysis of the multifarious social life in colonial India.
- The Postmaster This is a touching story of a city-bred young man working as a postmaster in a remote village to earn his bread and butter.
- Ghare Baire (The Home and the World): It is a psychological novel and reflects upon the deeper meaning of life through a portrayal of the struggles of three distinct individuals. The backdrop of this novel is Swadeshi Movement, which played an important role in the independence of India.
Must Know About Rabindranath Tagore
- Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, he became the first non-European to win it. He was awarded the prize after the publication of his acclaimed collection of poems Geetanjali.
- Rabindranath Tagore is the only known person to have written the national anthems for two different countries. He wrote Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem for India, and Amar Sonar Bangla, the national anthem for Bangladesh. That was originally composed as Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata in Bengali by him was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India as the national anthem on January 24, 1950. The national anthem of Bangladesh (Amar Sonar Bangla…) was written in 1905 by Rabindranath Tagore. Some historians, however, claim that the Sri Lankan national anthem too was based on a Bengali song written by Tagore.
- Tagore and Gandhi were well acquainted and in fact, it was Tagore who conferred the title ‘Mahatma’ on the father of nation.
- Tagore and Einstein met four times between 1930 and 1931 and revered each other moved by their mutual curiosity to grasp other’s contributions, their search for truth and love for music.
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