Question

20 points about rabindranath tagore in english

Answer 1

He was born in the city of Kolkata (formerly called Calcutta), at 6 Dwarkanath Tagore Lane, Jorasanko Thakur Bari. He was the youngest of his parents' 14 children. His father was Debendranath Tagore; his mother was Sarada Devi.

Tagore was a Bengali Brahman by birth. His nickname was "Rab" or "Rabi."

Tagore wrote his first poem when he was only eight years old. In 1877, when he was 16, Tagore publishedhis first large poetry collection. Also when he was 16, he wrote his first short story and dramas.

In February 1873, at age 11, Tagore went with his father on a tour of India. The tour lastedfor many months. They visited many places in India, including Amritsar in Punjab (British India), and Dalhousie in the Himalayas. Tagore also visited his father’s estate at Shanthiniketan. There he read biographies, and studied history, astronomy, modern science, and Sanskrit. He also read works by Kalidas...

During this time, Tagore also composed many literary works. One of them was a long poem in a language called Maithili (the language spoken by the people of Mithila, India). Tagore wrote this poem in the style of Vidyapati, a famous poet who wrote in Maithili.

In 1878, Tagore went to London. He enrolled at a public school in Brighton, England. He wanted to become a barrister. Later he studied at University College London. But in 1880, after Tagore did not do well in school, his father called him back from London. His father arranged a marriage for him with Mrinalini Devi, a girl who was ten years old (child marriage prevailed at time of british rule). They got married on 9 December 1883. Together they had five children, but two died during childhood.

In 1890, Tagore began managing his family’s estates in Sheildah, now in Bangladesh. In 1898, Tagore’s wife and children joined him there. Tagore traveled across the vast estate. While traveling, he saw many poor people. Between 1891–1895, he wrote many short stories about life in Bengal, especially rural life.

Shantiniketan (1901–1932)Edit

In 1901, Tagore left Sheildah. He went to Shantiniketan(West Bengal) to build an ashram (which is like a monastery in Indian religions). In English, "Shantiniketan" means "an abode [place] of peace." He built a prayer hall, a school, and a library. He planted many trees and built a beautiful garden.

Tagore's wife and two of his children died in Shantiniketan. On 19 January 1905, Tagore's father also died.

By this time, Tagore had started receiving monthly income as part of his inheritance. He also started receiving some royalties for his literary works. He was very popular among readers of the Bengali language, as well as other people who knew his works through translations and reviews.

On 14 November 1913, Tagore won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy had selected him based on a small amount of his translated works, and his 1912 work of poems named Gitanjali: Song Offerings.

The British Crown gave Tagore a knighthood in 1915. However, he gave back the title in 1919 to protest the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar. During this massacre, troops of the British Raj killed people who had no weapons.

In 1921, Tagore and an agricultural economist named Leonard K. Elmhirst set up the Institute for Rural Reconstruction in a village named Surul, near Tagore's ashram at Shantiniketan. Tagore recruited many scholars and officials from many countries to help the Institute. Its goal was to use schooling to "free village[s] from ... helplessness and ignorance."

In the early 1930s, Tagore also grew more concerned about India's "abnormal caste consciousness" and differences based on castes. He lectured on the evils of such practices, and also wrote many poems and dramas on these themes. He also became an activist. He worked to get Dalits allowed into Kerala's Guruvayoor Temple. Dalits were the lowest social classin India. They were not allowed to do many things – for example, they could not go into Hindu places of worship.