10 Lesser known facts you should know about Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
Revolutionary and visionary of modern India's education and literature Rabindranath Tagore who is also known as 'Vishwa Kavi' was born on 7 May 1861. Even though much time has passed since and still, Rabindranath Tagore's poems, stories, and paintings have an elite place in the literature of India and in the hearts of people. On this 159th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, we are going to discuss their life, creations, and contribution by their work to our culture and modern education.
Here are 10 interesting and lesser-known Facts you should Know about Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's life.
1. A legacy Rabindranath Tagore carried out.
Rabindranath Tagore was the son of spiritual reformer & forefront of Bengali Rennaisance (revival of culture), Debendranath Tagore. At the age of eight, he started to write rhymes and poems. Debendranath has played a great role in Gurudev's life and influenced him. This was the legacy of the father which was carried out by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore later and it really heavily impacted on the culture and society of India.
2. Not every lesson comes from textbooks and the classroom.
In Gurudev's family, he was the one who avoided most of the time classroom education and preferred to roam around the village. For this reason, Rabindranath Tagore was tutored by his brother Hemendranath. Hemendranath also used to take young 'Rabi' for swimming in the river and tracking to the mountains. He taught him wrestling and judo. English was the least favorite subject of Gurudev. Tagore never loved formal education. Later he stated that:
"Proper teaching does not explain things; proper teaching stokes curiosity."
At the age of eleven, Rabindranath Tagore and his father left Calcutta for tour India, where Tagore came across the classic Sanskrit poetry of Kalidas.
3. Rabindranath Tagore- the man who followed his heart.
In 1878 Rabindranath Tagore went to England for studies of law because his father wanted him to be a barrister. He studied law briefly for several months. But again left college for the independent studies of Shakespeare's plays Coriolanus, Antony and Cleopatra, and Religio Medici by Thomas Browne.
Later in 1880, Rabindranath Tagore returned home without a degree. In England, he was influenced by Irish, English, and Scottish folk Melodies and tradition. After returning home he never looked back and continued his journey to pursue his passion for Literature. He reconciled and used European culture novelties and Brahmo tradition in his poems and soon he started to get Attention on the national level. His best-known work of that time was Manasi poems (1890).
4. Shantiniketan- Land of lost and found.
Rabindranath Tagore was 12 years old when he first visited Shantiniketan with his father. In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore moved to Shantiniketan with his wife and kids. He founded an Ashram named The Mandir. This was an experimental school with a huge marble-floored prayer hall, library with garden and trees. From the experience of his own education, he created this place for others.
After moving to Shantiniketan, the upcoming years of Rabindranath Tagore's were rough on him. Gurudev's two children died in their childhood and later his wife Mrinalini in 1902. After these devastating events in 1905, he lost his father. The notable works from the time were Naivedya (1901) and Kheya (1906).
These rough times came and passed and it slowed him down but it never stopped Rabindranath Tagore to achieve his dream for Shantiniketan. In 1921, by the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Shantiniketan became "Vidya-Bharti University". A unique bridge between the world and India.
5. The era of Rewards for "Vishwa Kavi".
The name of Rabindranath Tagore became the sensation for the world when he won the Nobel Prize of literature in 1913 for his work "Gitanjali" (1910) (*which was later translated in English in 1912). He became the first Asian and Indian person to receive the honor of the Nobel Prize. Swedish Academy has appreciated Tagore's work in the west.
In 1915 birthday honors, King George V awarded Rabindranath Tagore by knighthood. But After the Massacre of Jallianwala Bagh, In 1919, as the gesture of Protest, Tagore wrote a letter to renounced the Knighthood.
In 2003, the Nobel prize of 1913 and remains of Rabindranath Tagore were stolen from the vault of Vishwa Bharti University. Inspired by the events of the stolen medal, a fictional film was made named "Nobel chor". Later the Swedish Academy made the 2 replicas of Tagore's medal and 1 returned to Vishwa Bharti University.
6. People's who were influenced by Rabindranath Tagore:
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was a great poet, storyteller, lyricist, creator, story writer, painter, but the most important thing is that he was a great teacher and a good influence on others.
Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore hosts Gandhi and wife Kasturba at Santiniketan (1940)
Rabindranath Tagore gave the title of "Mahatma" to Gandhi Ji.
Rabindranath Tagore with Albert Einstein (1930).
Dancing woman (1940) by Rabindranath Tagore.
Rabindranath Tagore published poetries, fiction, genre, essays, and songs in his life. He encouraged institutions for reforms at schooling techniques, philosophies, and faith. But in his late 60s, he started utilizing his time with pen, pencil, and brush. He started evolving his interest in working on the visual arts and painting and he produced and completed more than 2,500 paintings, cartoons, and drawings in his lifetime.
He was the only Indian in that Era whose paintings exhibited throughout the European continent and America.
Tagore's experiments with different colours and off-beat aesthetics made thinkers understand that he was red-green color blind.
In 2014, A Play by Kalki Koechlin and Manav Kaul named Colour blind was produced, based on Rabindranath Tagore's work and life.
8. Songs of The poet.
"Jana Gana Mana" (1911) was adapted in 1950 for the modern National Anthem of India.
The National Anthem of Sri Lanka "Sri Lanka Matha" was written by Ananda Samarakoon was heavily inspired by Rabindranath Tagore.
"Amar Sonar Bangla" written in 1905 by Rabindranath Tagore was later adapted in 1972 for the National Anthem of Bangladesh.
9. Various names of Rabindranath Tagore.
The original family name He was born with was Rabindranath Thakur, which was later anglicized and Thakur became Tagore
His Pen name was Bhanu Singha Thakur.
It was Gandhi Ji who used to call Rabindranath Tagore "Gurudev" because he was a great teacher and guided everyone who came across them. Later the title of 'Gurudev' became catchy in Shantiniketan and carried out further.
After winning the Nobel prize in 1913, from the reference of Gandhiji's and other peoples who used to call Tagore 'The poet' became 'Vishwa Kavi' or 'Bishwa Kabi'. For some people's they were 'Kabi guru'.
Rabindranath Tagore challenged traditionally driven things in his cultures, he always thought out of the box. He rejected rigid classical forms of his culture and never bond to the limits. That's the reason he was known as 'Bard of Bengal'.
10. The last poem dictated by Rabindranath Tagore on 30 July 1941 was as below:
I'm lost in the middle of my birthday. I want my friends, their touch, with the earth's last love. I will take life's final offering, I will take the human's last blessing. Today my sack is empty. I have given completely whatever I had to give. In return, if I receive anything—some love, some forgiveness—then I will take it with me when I step on the boat that crosses to the festival of the wordless end.
Even in the last moments of his life, Rabindranath Tagore was thinking about his last poem and still left some words unsaid.
In the memory of
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
Comments
Post a Comment