Early Life
Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 in Calcutta. His father, Devendranath Tagore, separated from the Brahmo Samaj due to differences with Keshavchandra Sen and founded the Adi-Brahma Samaj. Rabindranath's mother's name was Sharda Devi. Rabindranath Tagore's early education took place in St. Xavier's School, Kolkata.
Devendra Nath wanted to make his son Rabindra Nath a barrister, but Rabindra Nath's interest was more in reading and writing literature. Rabindra Nath's father got him admitted to the University of London in AD 1878, but in AD 1880 he returned without taking a degree. In AD 1883, Rabindranath Tagore was married to Mrinalini Devi.
Public Life
Rabindranath Tagore was known as a famous litterateur, painter, musician and social worker in early twentieth century India. He got more fame as a writer of Bengali and English language. His main work Gitanjali received the Nobel Prize in AD 1913. In AD 1901, Rabindranath Tagore founded Shantiniketan, due to which he became famous as Gurudev.
He wanted every student to study close to nature, so a large number of trees were planted in Shantiniketan. He also established a library at Shantiniketan. Shantiniketan was recognized as a university. He met Albert Einstein thrice in his life who called Rabindranath Tagore 'Rabbi Tagore' Used to say Rabindra Nath Tagore died on 7 August 1941.
Major Works of Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore wrote his first poem at the age of eight. In AD 1877, at the age of sixteen, he wrote the first short story. Rabindranath Tagore wrote a large number of poems, songs, novels, stories, essays and plays. He composed 2,230 songs and poems. 'Jana Mana Gana' from the songs written by Rabindranath Tagore to India and 'Amar Sonar Bangla' was recognized as the national anthem of Bangladesh.
Tagore introduced new prose and verse and the use of vernacular language in Bengali literature, thus liberating it from the traditional forms based on classical Sanskrit. In India Rabindra Nath Tagore published several books of poems in the 1880s and in AD 1890 'Mansi' composed of. This collection is a testament to the maturity of his talent.
It contains some of his best poems, many in new verse styles unfamiliar to the Bengali language. There are also some social and political satires on contemporary Bengalis. He was in favour of global equality and exclusiveness. Most of his works are written in Bengali language. He was a folk poet whose central element was to refine the feelings of the last man.
He was a poet of the vibrations of man. A writer whose works have a deep feeling of eternal love, a playwright on whose stage not only tragedy is alive, but also a deep vitality to live life. A storyteller who chooses a story from his surroundings, weaves it, not only because of the frequency of intense suffering or to expose it, but also in that story, he seeks the final destination of man.
Best Stories
Rabindranath Tagore lived in East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) for 10 years managing the ancestral zamindari located at Sealdah and Shajadpur, where he lived in close contact with villagers in a house boat on the Padma River (Ganges River) and those villagers Sensations towards poverty and backwardness became the core of Tagore's works.
His best stories, which deal with the lives of the poor and their minor miseries, date back to AD 1890 and their poignancy has a slight irony tinge that is a personal characteristic of Tagore and was later published by film-director Satyajit. Rai featured in his films.
All his eighty-four stories 'Galpaguchch' stored in three volumes. The period of five years between AD 1891 to 1895 was the great period of Rabindranath's spiritual practice. He used to get his stories printed in sabuj patra (green leaves). Even today readers can find green leaves and green cows in his stories. In his stories there are sun, rain, rivers and river banks, reeds of rainy season, shady villages, happy fields of grain filled with rain.
The ordinary characters of his stories turn into extraordinary human beings by the end of the story and touch the heights of greatness. The compassion of his silent suffering overwhelms the reader's heart. His story The Postmaster is a living example of what a true artist can create with simple tools. There are only two simple living characters in the story.
Even with very few incidents, they build the palace of their story. How a little girl binds big people in her love-loop. Kabuliwala is also a living example of this. Rabindranath first described the glory of the ordinary in his stories.
The illiterate confessor and the cultured Bengali ghost in the stories of Rabindranath are similar in sentiments. His stories like Kabuliwala, Master Sahib, Postmaster etc. are still popular and best. Rabindranath's wonderful sympathetic monotony with the characters and the sheer beauty of his portrayal make his story the best one can't help but read.
His stories have the ability to make a hard and dry heart person soft like wax. The guest star is one of the unforgettable compositions of Rabindranath. Its hero could not have been bound anywhere. He remains a guest for life. There is a touch of divine element in the stories of Crushed Stone, Midnight Mein (Nishithe) and Master Sahib. The imagination of the creator is expressed in its most beautiful form in the eroded stone.
Here the past interacts with the present - the monotonous present with the colorful dazzling past. The place of women in society and the characteristics of women's life was a matter of serious concern to her and she has given a deep insight into this subject too.
The English translation of Gitanjali was published within a week of its publication in the famous weekly Times Literary Supplement published from London and subsequently in three newspapers within the next three months. There was a mixed reaction in the British newspapers regarding Rabindranath Tagore receiving the Nobel Prize.
The Times wrote- 'Some newspapers have expressed surprise at this unexpected decision of the Swedish Academy. But the Stockholm-based correspondent of the same letter wrote in his dispatch - 'The leading poets and writers of Sweden, as members of the Swedish Committee, have expressed full satisfaction with this decision of the Nobel Committee.
Britain's prestigious newspaper Manchester Guardian wrote- 'Some people were surprised but not dissatisfied at the information of Rabindranath Tagore getting the Nobel Prize. Tagore is a talented poet.'
Later a newspaper called The Kerascent Moon wrote- 'This Bengali (ie Rabindranath Tagore) has the same authority over the English language as the British have.
The manuscript of Tagore's poems was first read by William Rothenstein and he was so fascinated that he contacted the English poet Yeats and introduced Tagore to Western writers, poets, painters and thinkers. He himself arranged for its publication from the India Society. Initially 750 copies were printed, of which only 250 were for sale.
It was later published by Macmillan and Company London in March 1913, and ten editions were published before the Nobel Prize was announced on 13 November 1913. Yeats selected Tagore's English translations and made some corrections in them and sent them to Tagore for final approval and wrote- 'We were not as impressed by the strangeness inherent in these poems as we were by seeing that Our own image is visible in these.'
Yeats later wrote the role of the English translation. He wrote that for many days I have traveled in trains, buses and restaurants for translation of these poems and I have to stop reading these poems again and again for fear that someone might see me sobbing. In his role, Yeats wrote that we write long books in which perhaps not a single page gives such pleasure to write.
Later Gitanjali was translated into all the major languages of the world like German, French, Japanese, Russian etc. and Tagore's fame spread all over the world. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali.
Humanity above nationalism
Rabindranath Tagore kept humanity above nationalism. Tagore believed that patriotism restricts us from the freedom to engage with ideas outside the boundaries, as well as limit our freedom to understand the sufferings and pains of the people of other countries. He was critical of nationalism in his writings. Responding to the criticism of Abla Bose, wife of famous scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose, in AD 1908, Tagore said- 'Patriotism cannot be our last spiritual support, my refuge is humanity.
In AD 1916-17, Tagore made several statements on nationalism during his visit to Japan and America, in which he said- 'The political and economic organizational basis of nationalism is to achieve greater prosperity by increasing production and saving human labour. is trying to do. The concept of nationalism has basically been used to increase the prosperity and political power of the nation.
This concept of increasing power has made human life unstable and unsafe by creating an atmosphere of mutual hatred, hatred and fear in the countries. This is simply playing with life, because this power of nationalism is used in controlling the external relations as well as the internal situation of the nation. In such a situation, it is natural to increase control over the society.
In such a situation the nation dominates the society and the private life of the individual and acquires a frighteningly controlling character. The attempt to take over the weak and unorganized neighboring states is a natural byproduct of nationalism. The imperialism created out of this ultimately becomes the destroyer of humanity.'
In the context of India, Tagore has written- 'India's problem is social, not political, nationalism is negligible here. The reality is that nationalism like western countries cannot flourish here, because when people citing their conservatism in social work, when they talk about nationalism, how will it be broadcast? India should leave the narrow recognition of the nation and adopt an international approach.'
Tagore has written- 'India may be backward, there should not be backwardness in human values. Poor India can also guide the world and achieve the ideal in human unity. India's past can prove that India has successfully propagated spiritual consciousness without worrying about material prosperity.'