RABINDRANATH TAGORE - NOBEL WINNER [ PART- 1]

INTRODUCTION

Great poet Rabindranath Tagore  was born on 7 May 1861 in Calcutta. He was the ninth son of Debendranath and Sarada Devi. His father was a social reformer and a scholare. He was married to Mrinali Devi in1883

At the age of 22.They had two sons and three Daughters. Tagore started to compose poems at the age of eight. His first published poem was Abhilaash. At seventeen, Tagore’s first book ,  Kabi  Kahani , a collection of poems, was published by his friend. His songs , popularly known as  ' Rabindra Sangeet ' are quite a favourite among the Bengalis.

Early Life

His early life was greatly influenced by religion and arts, mainly literature , music and painting. He grew up on three languages Sanskrit, Bengali, and English. Most of his education was at home, but in 1878, was sent to Britain for formal education. He did not stay there for long.

He returned to India  and pursued a career as a writer, song writer, poet, playwright, philosopher and educator. Thing changed for him in 1912 when he returned  to Britain. During the long sea voyage from India to Britain, he translated his latest selections of Bengali poems, Gitanjali, into English. Almost all his work prior to this written in his mother tongue, Bengali. When Tagore’s friend in Britain, Rothenstein, saw the translation, he showed the poems to W.B.Yeats, a leading British poet of the time. Yeats was all praise for the work. Gitanjali was published in September 1912.Both poetry and Tagore became an instant hit, first in London and then in the entire world. Less than a year later, in 1913,  Rabindranath received the Nobel prize for literature. He was the first asian to be given this Award. He began world tours giving lectures on inter-cultural harmony and understanding. In 1915, he was knighted by the British king George 5 and came to be known as sir Rabindranath Tagore.

 

Being Legend

Tagore was well educated and quite knowledgeable of the Western culture, especially western poetry and science. With his translation of some of his poems into English, he became a known figure in the west.

He wanted the east and the west to be united, and to merge the ancient and modern knowledge. He became the voice of India’s spiritual and cultural heritage to the world.

STORY OF POEMS

Rabindranath Tagore wrote over one thousand poems, eight volumes of short stories , almost two dozens plays, eight novels and many books and essay on philosophy, religion,  education and social topics.In his collection of poetry, some of the popular ones ‘Mansi’, Sonar Tari, Gitanjali, Gitimala, and Balaka. The English translations o his poetry, include ‘ The Gardner’. ‘Fruit-Gathering’. The Fugitive’, Song of sings’. Tagor’s major plays are Raja, Dakghar, Achalaytan, Muktadhara and Raktaravi. He has also written several volumes of short  stories and number of novels. Gora, Ghare-Baire,  and Yogayog are well known amongst them.As a novelist , Tagore gave  a good insight into the upper middle class life in Bengal and the impact of Western ideas on Indian life. Besides here , he wrote musical dramas , dance dramas, essay of all types, travel diaries, and two autobiographies. He wrote two important poems, ‘ The sick bed ’ and ‘ The Recovery ’ towards the end of his life. ‘ The ocean of peace’ , a song, which he had requested while he was ill, was sung for him at his funeral.

 to be continue...