Essay on Rabindranath Tagore

 

Introduction:

Rabindranath Tagore is the composer of Indian National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana) who had also won the Nobel Award for Literature. Besides being a composer, he was also a Brahmo Samaj philosopher, Bengali poet, playwright, visual artist, painter as well as a novelist.

Rabindranath Tagore was also a social activist who changed Bengali literature by discouraging the limits that constrained it inside the scope of traditional Indian systems. Although Rabindranath Tagore was a sage still his fictional works made him a true and famous Indian personality. In fact today also people remember him for his mercurial and spiritual songs. People of different countries admired his work and awarded him the Nobel Prize which made him the first Non-European to receive that award.

Childhood and Early Life of Rabindranath Tagore:

Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7.05.1861 in Calcutta. His father’s name was Debendranath Tagore and his mother’s name was Sarada Devi. They both had 13 kids and Rabindranath Tagore was the youngest among them.

Rabindranath Tagore lost his mother at a very young age and during this time he joined the Bengal renaissance. He was also a wonderful boy that began to write poetries at the young age of 8 years. By the time he reached the age of 16, his poems had already started being published in the “Bhanusimha”.

In 1877, Rabindranath Tagore wrote ‘Bhikharini’ (a short story) and in 1882 he wrote ‘Sandhya Sangit’ (a collection of poems). His elder brother named Dwijendranath was also a philosopher and poet. His elder sister named Swarna Kumari was a renowned author.

Education of Rabindranath Tagore:

The education of Rabindranath Tagore began in the public school of England as his father wanted him to become a lawyer. Later on, his niece, nephew, and sister-in-law also joined him in England for supporting him.

Rabindranath Tagore hated the concept of formal education. Afterward, he joined London’s University for learning about the law. Soon he dropped out from the university and started reading the Shakespeare writings that helped him in knowing the core of Irish, Music, English, and Scottish literature. After coming back to India and Rabindranath Tagore wedded Mrinalini Devi who was only 10 years old at that time.

Establishment of Santiniketan by Rabindranath Tagore:

The father of Rabindranath Tagore had purchased a massive area in Santiniketan. Rabindranath Tagore desired to construct an experimental school at this place. In the year 1901, he founded an ashram in Santiniketan.

Santiniketan was named as ‘The Mandir’ in which there was a big prayer hall along with the flooring of marble. Rabindranath Tagore conducted the classes under the trees so that the old-style of teaching i.e., Guru-Shishya did not get vanished.

Unluckily, during his stay in Santiniketan, his 2 kids and wife passed away which left Rabindranath Tagore disturbed. In the intervening time, the works of Rabindranath Tagore started getting recognition among the foreign and Bengali readers. Ultimately he was appreciated in the entire world.

Literary Works by Rabindranath Tagore:

Rabindranath Tagore composed numerous books, poems and short stories in the period of his lifetime. It is true that he began to write at an earlier age but after the demise of his kids and wife his literary works increased.

The following are the literary works by Rabindranath Tagore:

1. Short Stories:

Rabindranath Tagore started writing short stories in his teenage. His first story was ‘Bhikharini’. His stories imitated the environments in which he was raised.

Rabindranath Tagore also tried to include social problems of the deprived people in his short stories. Moreover, he wrote regarding the shortcoming of Hindu weddings and numerous other traditions of the nation. The popular short stories written by Rabindranath Tagore comprise ‘Kshudita Pashan’, ‘Kabuliwala’, ‘Haimanti, ‘Atottju’, ‘Musalmanir Golpo’ and many more.

2. Novels:

It is believed that the novels written by Rabindranath Tagore were under-valued among all his incredible works. The main cause behind this could be the exceptional style of Rabindranath Tagore in describing a story that is still tough to understand by readers of his time as well as by readers of today.

The works of Rabindranath Tagore state about the future threats of nationalism in the middle of other pertinent social ills. His famous novel called ‘Shesher Kobita’ described the story of the main central character with the help of rhythmic passages and poems. Few renowned novels of Rabindranath Tagore consist of ‘Gora’, ‘Noukadubi’, ‘Ghare Baire’, ‘Chaturanga’, and ‘Jogajog’.

3. Poems:

Rabindranath Tagore got motivation from historical poets such as Ramprasad Sen and Kabir and that is why his poems are frequently related to works of traditional poets belonging to the 15th and 16th century.

With the infusion of his personal writing style, Rabindranath Tagore easily made the people take notice of his works. In the year 1893, he wrote down a poem and talked about the future writer with his work. Rabindranath Tagore advised the future poets to remember him and his works while reciting the poem. The best poems written by Rabindranath Tagore consists of ‘Purobi’, ‘Balaka’, ‘Gitanjali’ and ‘Sonar Tori’.

Last Days and Death of Rabindranath Tagore:

The last 4 years of Rabindranath Tagore’s life was spent in endless pain. He was infested by 2 elongated attacks of sickness. He was affected by an exhausted disorder in the year 1937 that got worsened after a period of 3 years. Afterward, a lengthy period of distress, on 7th August 1941 Rabindranath Tagore passed away in the similar Jorasanko hall in which he had spent his early years of life.

Conclusion:

Rabindranath Tagore transformed the approach through which Bengali literature was observed. He left a never-ending impression on numerous people. Despite his statues and sculptures in numerous nations, there are several annual events that are organized to pay honor to the fabulous poet.

Lots of Rabindranath Tagore’s works were made global with the help of translations by various renowned global writers. There are 5 museums that are devoted to Rabindranath Tagore in which 2 are located in Bangladesh and 3 are situated in India. Today Millions of people visit these museums to know more about the works of the Rabindranath Tagore.