Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was a Bengali poet who lived from 1861 to 1941.
Poet and Nobel Laureate in Literature, for his Gitanjali ("Garland of Songs"), which was awarded in 1912.
Tagore was born into a powerful and rich landed family, allowing him to devote all of his energies to his writing.
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| Bust of Tagore At Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London, United Kingdom. |
Tagore hales from the land owning or land lord community and caste of Tagore(Bengali variation) also known as Thakur across Northern India.
Aside from his illustrious literary output, he taught extensively both in India and abroad; in the latter, he highlighted the need of preserving spiritual ideals, whilst in India, he emphasized the importance of meeting people's material necessities.
He created the Vishva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, in 1921.
The institution was committed to delivering an education that met both of these objectives, allowing students to grow into well-rounded individuals.
For further detail, read Krishna Kripalani's Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, published in 1980.
And Donald R. Tuck's "Rabindranath Tagore: Religion as a Constant Struggle for Balance," published in Robert D. Baird's Religion in Modern India, published in 1998.
Tagore Jayanti is a commemoration of Rabindranath Tagore's birthday.
On May 8, the day he was born in 1861, a holiday honoring
the Bengali poet, philosopher, and thinker Rabindranath Tagore is observed.
Tagore's birthday is observed according to the solar
calendar of the common period, rather than the lunar calendar that controls
most religious observances, as is the case with most twentieth-century
individuals.
Tagore's birthday has special significance because, although
he is most recognized for his literary accomplishments, he was also a religious
preceptor (guru).