Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

150th birth anniversary of a Bengali polymath

Rabindranath Tagore was India’s ultimate Renaissance man and his influence is still felt in all branches of the arts, particularly in Bengal. He was born in 1861 into the rich and cultivated Tagore family. He was a versatile genius, - a poet, lyricist, novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, choreographer, actor and singer. He is the composer of "Jana Gana Mana" the national anthem of India as well as "Amar Shonar Bangla" the national anthem of Bangladesh. Following the translation of his poem "Gitanjali" into English by William Butler Yeats, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913 and became Asia’s first Nobel laureate. He was also knighted by the British government, but he returned the honour in protest against the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh. Mahatma Gandhi called him Gurudev (“Great Teacher”). Tagore died in August 1941, but his memory is still deeply revered by Bengalis and his portraits, if not his books, occupy pride of place in nearly all middleclass Bengali homes.