The 84th anniversary of the death of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali polymath who worked, among others, as a poet, writer, playwright and composer, will be observed today.
Although Rabindranath died on August 7, 1941, as per the Gregorian calendar, but his death anniversary is observed in Bangladesh on Shraban 22 following the Bangla calendar.
Born on the 25th of the Bangla month of Baishakh in 1268 (May 7, 1861) at Jorasanko in Kolkata of West Bengal, now an Indian state, to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi, Rabindranath became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in literature for his sensitive verses in Geetanjali in 1913.
Rabindranath鈥檚 literary works, including poems, novels, short stories, songs, dance-dramas and essays, always provide insights into social reality and seek to add value to individual鈥檚 life.
His compositions, dedicated to the people of the region, were chosen by two nations as their national anthem 鈥� Bangladesh鈥檚 鈥楢mar Sonar Bangla鈥� and India鈥檚 鈥楯ana Gana Mana鈥�. The Sri Lankan national anthem was also inspired by his work.
He spent a good portion of his time in the then East Bengal, now Bangladesh. He composed many poems and songs while staying at Shilaidah in Kushtia, Shahzadpur in Sirajganj and Patishar in Naogaon.
Many of his compositions reflect this period, where the poet depicted nature seen through a cycle of seasons.
In 1915, Rabindranath was conferred knighthood which he renounced later in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that took place in 1919 under the British-ruled India.
Rabindranath founded Visva Bharati University at Santiniketan in West Bengal in 1921, which played an important role in melding local knowledge with modern European learning, attracting scholars from all over the world.
Rabindranath鈥檚 literary works include Geetanjali, Manasi, Sonar Tari, Gitimalya, Balaka, Gora, Ghare-Baire, Raja, Dakghar, Achalayatan, Muktadhara, Raktakarabi and Jogajog.
His English renderings of poetry include The Gardener, Fruit-Gathering and The Fugitive.
He also left numerous drawings and paintings and songs for which he composed music himself.
