Rabindranath Tagore Death Anniversary: August 7, 2022, commemorates the 81st death anniversary of the renowned poet and noble laureate Rabindranath Tagore. He passed away in the year 1941. He was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter making unparalleled contributions in these fields. Tagore is one of the most prominent revolutionaries India has created and is known as the “Bard of Bengal”.
Early Life Of Rabindranath Tagore:
Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7, 1861, in the Jorasanko Thakurbari in Kolkata to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi. He was the youngest of thirteen children and had lost his mother at the age of fourteen.
He belonged to a family that hosted the publication of literary magazines, and theatre and recitals of Bengali and Western classical music also featured there regularly.
Tagore wrote poetry at the young age of eight, and at the age of sixteen, he released his first substantial poems under the pseudonym Bhānusiṃha (“Sun Lion”), which were seized upon by literary authorities as long-lost classics.
Rabindranath Tagore’s Notable Works :
Tagore revitalised Bengali art by rejecting rigid classical forms and defying linguistic constraints. His works tackled political and personal issues.
Tagore not only wrote and translated poetry throughout his career, but he also published novels, short stories, plays, letters, essays, memoirs, and criticism. His musical compositions were also well-known.
His poems sing songs of love, beauty, nature and truth. However, he always anticipated the ultimate truth of life—death. In “Bhogno Hridoy” (The Broken Heart), he writes, “Death my dearest, my life, my lord. When shall we be united? When shall we take leave of the deathbed of life?”
Tagore’s most notable work of poetry is Gitanjali: Song Offerings for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. He was the first non-European, as well as the first lyricist, to win the prize.
Other notable poetry publications, written and published in Bengali, include Sonar Tari [The Golden Boat]Mana [The Ideal One]Gora [Fair-faced]and Ghare-Baire [The home and the world].
He is also credited with pioneering the short story form in Bengali literature, with some of his best work collected in The Hungry Stones and Other Stories and The Glimpses of Bengal Life.
He also wrote the National Anthem of India [ Jana Gana Mana] and Bangladesh [Amar Shonar Bangla]. According to some historians, however, the Sri Lankan national anthem too was based on a Bengali song originally written by Tagore in 1938. It was translated into Sinhalese and adopted as the national anthem in 1951.
He believed there might be a more natural way for young people to learn, utilizing a method which would foster their imagination and instincts. This led to the foundation of a school at Shantiniketan which later became the international Viswa-Bharati University.
Death Of Rabindranath Tagore:
Rabindranath Tagore died on August 7, 1941, at the age of 80. According to numerous credible reports, he died of prostate cancer. His death brought an end to a long period of agony. He died in the Jorasanko mansion, where he had grown up.
While he might not be there with us, he continues to remain in our hearts and will always be remembered through his incredible works.