Rabindranath Tagore Biography
Rabindranath Tagore Biography:Indian and global literature history, Rabindranath Tagore was without a doubt an astoundingly accomplished polymath. Tagore led a life on the tapestry in which poetry, music, drama, philosophy, and civilization improvement were interwoven. He played a vital role in transforming Bengal`s Renaissance and making India notable globally through his acts. Tagore not only produced a lot but was also a forward-looking man who preached the gospel of humanism, nationalism, as well as peaceful coexistence among diverse cultures.
Rabindranath Tagore Early Life and Education
1861 was the year Rabindranath Tagore was born, on May 7th. A man was born in Jorasanko Thakurbari, Kolkata who was labeled as an epitome of brilliant ideas and extreme opinions. Rabindranath is the son of Debendranath Tagore, a renowned philosopher and social reformer. It was during the time of the Bengal Renaissance in which intellectual and cultural upheaval were evident that Tagore`s family lived. Young Rabindranath who lived in a world that was full of literature music and philosophy from his birth was very keen on creative writing. His early schooling was done at home under private tutors because he did not like formal education.
But Tagore came back home very soon when he turned seventeen to continue his studies. The way rigidness in Western education made it unpalatable for him because Western education was dehumanizing. His stay in England aroused in him a deep longing to return home while simultaneously revealing complexities inherent in East-West dialogues.
Rabindranath Tagore Career
In his early years, Rabindranath Tagore began his journey into his literary prowess. He tried various forms of poetry, prose, and drama before gradually arriving at a unique style that combined traditional Indian aesthetics with contemporary sensibilities. His early works reflect the influence of his family’s background in Brahmo Samaj emphasizing spiritualism and social reform.His father bought a huge land for meditation and named it Shantiniketan. Debendranath Tagore founded an ‘Ashram’ in 1863. In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore established an open-air school. It was a prayer hall with marble flooring and was named ‘The Mandir’. It was also named ‘Patha Bhavana’ and started with only five students. Classes here were held under trees and followed the traditional Guru-Shishya method of teaching. This trend of teaching revived the ancient method of teaching, which proved beneficial when compared with the modernised methodUnfortunately, his wife and two children died and he left alone. At that time, he was very disturbed. In the meantime, his works started growing and became more popular among Bengali as well as foreign readers. In 1913, he gained recognition, was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature, and became Asia’s first Nobel Laureate. Shantiniketan is now a famous University town in West Bengal.
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Rabindranath Tagore Personal Life
Rabindranath Tagore was born as Robindronath Thakur on May 7, 1861, to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India(present-day Kolkata, West Bengal, India). Tagore’s mother Sarada Devi died when he was a child and his father Debendranath Tagore travelled a lot. Therefore, Tagore was raised by servants. Dwijendranath, Rabindranath Tagore’s oldest brother, was a philosopher and poet. Tagore’s other brother Satyendranath was the first Indian to be appointed in the Indian Civil Service. His brother, Jyotirindranath, was a musician, composer, and playwright while his sister Swarnakumari was a novelist.
Rabindranath’s brother Hemendranath taught him anatomy, geography and history, literature, mathematics, Sanskrit, and English. At the age of 11 after his Janeu, Tagore toured India with his father. Rabindranath Tagore visited his father’s Santiniketan estate and stayed in Amritsar for a month before reaching the Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie where Tagore read biographies, studied history, astronomy, modern science, Sanskrit, and examined the classical poetry of ‘Kalidasa’. Tagore was highly influenced by the Gurbani and Nanak Bani which were sung at Golden Temple, Amritsar. In 1882, Tagore made his debut with a short story in Bengali ‘Bhikarini’.
1883, Tagore married Mrinalini Devi (who was 10 years old at that time) and the couple had 5 children (2 died in early childhood). In 1890, Tagore started managing his ancestral estates in Shelaidaha (present-day in Bangladesh) and his wife joined him in 1898 with their children. In 1890, Tagore released one of his best poems ‘Manasi’. During 1891-1895, Tagore wrote more than half of the stories of ‘Galpaguchchha’. In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore moved to Santiniketan where he found ‘The Mandir’ which was an experimental school having trees, gardens and a library. Tagore’s wife and 2 children died at Santiniketan and Tagore lost his father in 1905. Tagore received monthly payments from Maharaja of Tripura (as part of his inheritance), sales of his family’s jewellery, his seaside bungalow in Puri, and a derisory 2,000 rupees in book royalties. In 1901, Tagore published ‘Naivedya’ and in 1906, he published ‘Kheya
Rabindranath Tagore Net worth
The Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to Rabindranath Tagore in 1913 included a prize money of £8,000. It is commonly assumed that Tagore spent this entire sum on the asrama school in Santiniketan, and later for setting up his dream project – the Visva-Bharati University.
Rabindranath Tagore Death
In late 1937, Rabindranath Tagore began losing consciousness and remained in a coma for a long period. In 1940, Tagore again went into a coma and never recovered. After years of chronic pain and long term illness, Tagore died on August 7, 1941, at the age of 80 years. Rabindranath Tagore took his last breath in the mansion he was brought up.