India’s first Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a poet, a writer, a playwright, a composer, a philosopher, a social reformer, and a painter. The 7th of May is marked as the birth anniversary of the Legend. He is known as the Bard of Bengal, a Gurudev. According to the Bengali calendar, it is observed on the 25th day of Boishakh month.
He was a literary icon, his birth anniversary is widely celebrated as Rabindra Jayanti, also popularly known as Ponchishe Boishakh since it falls on the 25th day of the Bengali month Boishakh. He is addressed by various names such as Kabiguru, Biswakabi, or Gurudev.
He was born to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi in the year 1861 in Jorasanko Thakurbari, Kolkata. According to the Bengali calendar, Tagore was born in 1268. He was the youngest of the 14 children. This year marks the Bard of Bengal’s 160th birth anniversary. Hailing from the illustrious ‘Thakur’ family, Tagore was heavily exposed to the world of theatre, recitals (Bengali and Western), classical music, and literary discussions. He was a proponent of humanism and universalism.
In 1913, Tagore became the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature and the second non-European to receive a Nobel Prize after Theodore Roosevelt for Gitanjali, his best-known collection of poetry. Tagore was the one who had penned our national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’, as well as ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’, which is the national anthem sung in Bangladesh.
He had his first publication at the age of 16 years under the pseudonym Bhanusimha and started writing since he was of 8 years. He never went through formal schooling as a child as he detested it. The incredibly gifted ‘world poet’ emerged as a phenomenal litterateur and left an indelible mark in the literary canon. His works such as Ghare Baire, Chokher Bali, Jogajog, Gora, and Manihara are still relevant in modern times. Many renowned filmmakers continue to make films by adapting his novels and short stories. He was a deeply spiritual man.
