Tagore, Rabindranath

(1861–1941), Indian poet. One of the foremost literary figures of modern India, Tagore was born 7 May 1861 into an affluent and cultured family in north Calcutta, in Bengal, and died there on 7 August 1941. He had an aversion to formal education and never attended university. Nevertheless, his precocious talent was evident at eight, and in sheer volume and diversity his creative career is unparalleled, consisting of numerous works of poetry, plays, short stories, novels, paintings, and sketches. He set his songs (of which more than 2,500 were published) to music, and Rabindrasangeet (Rabindra's Music) achieved immense popularity.

He was greatly influenced by Western liberal and humanist traditions, as well as indigenous traditions and folk culture, and acknowledged Hindu, Muslim, and British influences on his creativity. Though widely traveled, he achieved international fame only after a collection of his poems, Gitanjali (Song Offerings), was translated into English. On the basis of this work alone he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913, the first Indian to be so honored. However, in 1919 he renounced both the prize and a knighthood bestowed by the British (King George V) in protest overthe massacre of Indian civilians in Amritsar, Punjab. His pride in Indian nationalism was tempered initially by his favorable response to aspects of the British connection. His perceptions of imperial rule changed, however, and during the interwar years he condemned it as inhuman and uncreative. One of his poems was adopted as the national anthem of independent India, and Mohandas K. Gandhi bestowed on him the title gurudev (great teacher).

Rabindranath Tagore in 1929. (BETTMANN/CORBIS)

Tagore's diverse works reveal the mainsprings of his thought: he divided his songs into five categories— puja (devotional), prem (love lyrics), prakriti (on nature), swadeshi (patriotic), and bibhidha (miscellaneous). He was a worshipper of truth and beauty (as in Chitra, Urbasi, Gitanjali, Gitali, Naibedya), a spiritualist with a mystical frame of reference (as in Jiban Devata, or Lord of Life, Raktakarabi, or Red Oleanders). He was a humanist and thought in terms of world peace and internationalism, giving these ideals practical form by setting up a university in Calcutta at Shantineketan (Abode of Peace) called Vishva Bharathi (World University). Yet he was aware of the social and economic problems of the common person—poverty, oppression, ignorance—and wrote against social ills such as untouchability (as in Chandalika). He was also concerned with social uplift (as in Desher Unnati, or Prosperity of the Country, and in Katha O Kahani, or Tales and Stories).

Dutta, Krishna, and Andrew Robinson. (1995) Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man. London: Bloomsbury.

Kripalani, Krishna. (1961) Tagore: A Life, 1861–1941. New Delhi: Malancha.

Lago, Mary M., and Ronald Warwick, eds. (1989) Rabindranath Tagore: Perspectives in Time. Basingstoke, U.K.: Macmillan.

Tagore, Rabindranath. (1983) Reminiscences. New Delhi: Macmillan.

Thompson, Edward J. ([1948] 1991) Rabindranath Tagore: Poet and Dramatist. Reprint. Oxford: Oxford University Press.