Rabindranath Tagore

The Bard of Bengal · Poet & Polymath · 1861–1941

The Bengali poet and polymath who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, composed the national anthems of two nations, and preached a humanism that rose above narrow nationalism.

Who was Tagore?

Rabindranath Tagore was born into a leading Bengali family in Calcutta and was a poet from boyhood. He reshaped Bengali literature and music, writing thousands of songs — the Rabindrasangeet — including what became the national anthems of India and of Bangladesh. His collection 'Gitanjali', in his own English rendering, won the Nobel Prize in 1913, the first for an Asian writer. He founded a school and then the university Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan, teaching in harmony with nature and across cultures. Knighted by the British, he renounced the honour in protest at the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. A humanist who loved Bengal but distrusted the hardening of nationalism into hatred, he debated even his friend Gandhi over its dangers.

Major achievements

• Won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature for 'Gitanjali'
• Composed the national anthems of India ('Jana Gana Mana') and Bangladesh ('Amar Shonar Bangla')
• Reshaped Bengali poetry, song, fiction and drama
• Founded Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan
• Renounced his knighthood in protest at the Amritsar massacre

Life in brief

• 1861 — Born in Calcutta: Into a leading Bengali family.
• 1901 — Founds a school: At Santiniketan, in harmony with nature.
• 1913 — Nobel Prize: For 'Gitanjali', the first Asian laureate in Literature.
• 1915 — Knighted: Honoured by the British crown.
• 1919 — Renounces knighthood: In protest at the Amritsar massacre.
• 1921 — Visva-Bharati: Opens his international university.
• 1941 — Dies: In Calcutta, before independence.

Explore the life of Tagore — five chapters

1. The House at Jorasanko — A boy who ran away from every school
2. Gitanjali — A Nobel Prize for a book he translated himself
3. Returning the Knighthood — Amritsar, and a letter to the Viceroy
4. The Argument with Gandhi — Two men who disagreed about almost everything except each other
5. Santiniketan — A school under the trees, and two national anthems

Read the five-chapter life of Rabindranath Tagore →

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