Rabindranath Tagore was born in 1861 in Calcutta, India to a influential family. He began writing poetry and plays from a young age. Tagore founded an ashram and school called Shantiniketan in 1901 which was based on traditional Indian education models. He gained international fame after his collection of poems Gitanjali was published in English in 1912, for which he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Tagore was a prolific writer, composer, and artist who made huge contributions to Bengali literature and music. He passed away in 1941 after years of illness.

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Rabindranath Tagore
The Gurudev

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Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath was born on 7 May 1861 in
Jorasanko Mansion, Calcutta.
His family was one of the most influential name.
His father Debendranath Tagore was a leading
light in the Brahmo Samaj.
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Rabindranath Tagore
He was youngest of thirteen surviving
children, Tagore (nicknamed "Rabi").
His brother Hemandranath tutored and
physically conditioned him—by having him swim
the Ganges or trek through hills, by
gymnastics, and by practicing judo and
wrestling
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Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath began writing from an early age and
impressed with his free-flowing style and spontaneous
compositions.
His first collection "Bhanusimha" was released when he
was sixteen. Tagore wrote mostly in Bengali and later
translated in english himself.
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Rabindranath Tagore
In 1878 he travelled to England and sought to study law at
University College, London, but he left before finishing the
degree.
In 1884, Tagore wrote a collection of poems Kori-o-
Kamal (Sharp and Flats). He wrote dramas - Raja-o-
Rani ( King and Queen) and Visarjan (Sacrifice)
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Rabindranath Tagore
In 1890, Rabindranath Tagore migrated to Shilaidaha to look
after the family estate. Between 1893 and 1900 Tagore wrote
seven volumes of poetry, which included Sonar Tari (The
Golden Boat) and Khanika. In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore
became the editor of the magazine Bangadarshan.
He gained Bengali and foreign readers alike; he published
Naivedya(1901) and Kheya (1906) and translated poems into
free verse.
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Rabindranath Tagore
In 1901, Tagore moved to Shantiniketan to
found an ashram which became his focal point
for writing and his view on schooling.
He chose the name for the ashram –
Shantiniketan meaning ‘Abode of Peace’ a
school based on the pattern of old Indian
Ashrama.
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Rabindranath Tagore
In 1909, Rabindranath Tagore started writing
Gitanjali. In 1912, Tagore went to Europe for the
second time. On the journey to London he translated
some of his poems/songs from Gitanjali to English. He
met William Rothenstein, a noted British painter, in
London. Rothenstien was impressed by the poems,
made copies and gave to Yeats and other English poets.
Yeats was enthralled. He later wrote the introduction
to Gitanjali when it was published in September 1912 in
a limited edition by the India Society in London.
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Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore was awarded
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for
Gitanjali. Tagore was the first Asian
to win
The Nobel Prize.
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Rabindranath Tagore
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He was invited to numerous North American and
European cities, thereby embarking on a lengthy tour to
give readings and lectures on various topics. He met many
other illustrious figures of the day including Albert
Einstein, Robert Forst , Thomas Mann, H G Wells,
and Mahatma Gandhi.
He was popularly called as Gurudev. This name was
given by none other than Mahatma Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi adopted many of it ways of teaching.

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Rabindranath Tagore
In 1915 he was bestowed a knighthood by the British
Crown, though he renounced it in 1919 due to the
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in which hundreds of
innocent men, women, and children were killed by soldiers
of the British Indian Army.
It was one of many political statements Tagore made
during his lifetime.
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Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindra Sangeet, songs written and
composed by Tagore, draw on the pure
Indian classical as well as traditional folk-
music sources, including the baul (songs of
the fishermen) singing. They exert a
powerful influence in Bengali cultural life.
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Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore was a prolific composer with around
2,230 songs to his credit. The songs have
distinctive characteristics in the music of
Bengal. The music is mostly based on
Hindustani Classical music , Karnatic Music,
Global tunes and the inherent music of Bengal
and inherently possess within them, a near
perfect balance, an endearing economy of poetry
and musicality. Lyrics and music both hold
almost equal importance
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Rabindranath Tagore
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A multi-faceted personality, Rabindranath took to
painting seriously in 1928 when he was in his late
sixties.
It was shortly before this that he was seized with an
urge to experiment in what was for him a new medium
of creative expression. He had always been drawn to
this art and had occasionally cast furtive and longing
glances at it, ever since as a young boy he had seen his
elder and versatile brother Jyotirindranath draw.

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Rabindranath Tagore
In 1937 he was stricken by a lengthy illness,
becoming comatose at times, and never fully
recovered. However he did manage to keep
writing during these last five years of his life,
during which he suffered much; many have said
he produced his finest work then. Rabindranath
Tagore died on 7 August 1941 at the family
estate Jorasanko, where he had been born.
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Rabindranath Tagore
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