Rabindranath Tagore| Paragraph On Rabindranath Tagore|Rabindra Jayanti| Jorasanko| Shantiniketan|

Rabindranath Tagore(7^th May,1861- 7^th August,1941)

Rabindranath Tagore Poem

Rabindranath Tagore is one of the greatest poets of all times. He was born in Calcutta on 7th May 1861. He belonged to the well-known Tagore family of Jorasanko. He was the youngest son of  Maharshi Debendranath Tagore and Sarada  Devi. He attended several schools as a boy, such as ‘The Oriental Society’, ‘The  Normal School' and 'The Bengal Academy'. At sixteen, he went to England with his elder brother Satyendranath and was admitted to London University. After coming back to India, he married Mrinalini Devi in 1883. He had three daughters, Madhuritala, Renuka asnd Mira and two sons, Rathindranath and Shamindranath.

Rabindranath Tagore

He went through a series of tragic experiences with the deaths of his wife (1902), his second daughter (1903), his father (1905) and his dearest and youngest son (1907). In spite of all these personal tragedies, he took active interest in the national movement and was deeply involved in the protest against the partition of Bengal in 1905. In 1913 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contribution in literature for his collection of poems, Gitanjali. The British Government honoured him with knighthood. But he gave up the title in protest against the Jalianwallahbagh massacre in 1919. In 1901 he established his famous open-air school named Shantiniketan at Bolpur, which later flourished as the university, Visva Bharati. He also founded a school named Sriniketan for teaching agriculture and crafts. Much of his later life was spent in lecture tours in Europe, America, China, Japan, Malaya and Indonesia. He died in Calcutta on 7th August 1941.

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath was not only a great poet, but also a novelist, a short story writer, dramatist, an essayist, a critic, a music composer and a painter. Among his collection of poems, mention may be made of Kalpana, Balaka, Sonar Tari, Chitra, Durahi Mahua. Katha-o-Kahini and Gitanjali. Chokher Bali Gora Charo Baire. Kabita. Jogajog, Char Adhyay are some of his well-known novels and Galbaguchchha is his famous collection of short stories. Many of his poems and novels were translated into English either by the poet himself or by others. Rabindranath addressed numerous problems of our lives and times. Some of them are relevant to our present socio-political situation but most of them have a universal appeal. During his extensive tour of various countries Rabindranath delivered some thoughtful lectures which were composed by himself in English. His lectures, content in the book Sadhana : The Realization of Life (1913), were delivered at Harvard University. Another series of six lectures entitled personality was delivered in America during his second visit there from September 1916 to January 1917. The next series of  essays contained Creative Unity was published in 1922 after his third trip of America in 1920. Rabindranath visited Japan on 29^th May 1916 and stayed there for Four months.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

The three lectures he delivered in different places in Japan and the U.S.A. were collected in the volume Nationalism (1917). Talks in China contains reports of lectures delivered in April and May 1924 when he went to China at the invitation of the Beijing Lecture Association. Rabindranath read the article, ‘Civilization and Progress' probably at Birmingham on 22^nd May 1930. The article East and West (1935) was read at the International Institute of Intellectual Co ooration, Paris. The lecture entitled, The Centre of Indian Culture was delivered in Madras on 9^th February 1919. This was the first lecture by Rabindranath delivered in English in India. This lecture was repeated on 27^th March of the same year at the Empire Theatre, in Calcutta. Rabindranath was, thus, not only a great writer but also a great thinker of modern times.

Estimate as a Writer of Prose

Rabindranath contributed much to the promotion of understanding between different races. He contributed greatly towards removing prejudices and misconceptions about European and American culture. More than any other Indian, Rabindranath helped to harmonise the ideals of the East and the West and broadened the base of Indian nationalism. He believed in and worked for international cooperation. He took India's message to other countries and brought their message to his own people. His mind was full of the wisdom of the Upanishads. Rabindranath was against narrow patriotism that bred contempt for others. He was one of the greatest humanists of the world. When Rabindranath talked of an unfragmented world, he was ignored and ridiculed both at home and abroad. He went from country to country in America, Europe and Asia preaching the concept of global harmony. He did this at a time when nationalism was a burning issue in his own country, but there was nobody to listen to him. His rejection of narrow-minded nationalism in his lectures delivered in Japan and the U.S.A in 1916 provoked violent attacks in the American Press and severe criticism from the Japanese intellectuals. He also became unpopular in India. But future generations were to realize the worth of his views. His essays convey his thoughts logically and convincingly. There is great ease and clarity in his use of English in his essays.