Each year May 7 is celebrated as Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti. On his 160th birth anniversary, EBNW presents the rare facts from history to showcase how he evolved as a writer over the years and won laurels across the globe:
Rabindranath Tagore, born on May 7, 1861, has been a prolific writer who garnered worldwide fame being the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his selected poetry collection titled, ‘Gitanjali’.
The collection was originally written in Bengali and later was translated into English.
He is called as a great Indian wordsmith that serves as an inspiration to millions even today. Being a writer, composer, philosopher and poet, he has been a living inspiration for millions of lives even today.
Rabindranath Tagore: He started writing at 8
Tagore contributed to poetry, songs, short stories and plays in a big way.
He started writing poetry at the young age of 8 and published his first collection at 16.
His father wanted him to become a barrister but he opted for an independent study of Shakespeare, Religio Medici, Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra.
Rabindranath Tagore’s educational set-up Shanti Niketan
He created an educational setup Shanti Niketan which was based on practical activities. He was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his selected poetry collection titled, ‘Gitanjali’.
Tagore believed that teaching does not explain things but does stroke curiosity.
Rabindranath Tagore marriage, wife and kids
At the age of 42, Tagore tied know with Mrinalini Devi and at 60, he took up drawing and painting and held many successful exhibitions of his works.