A talented writer and poet, a skilled artist and composer, an authoritative public figure - all these epithets fully refer to Rabindranath Tagore. His personality became a symbol of high spirituality and influenced not only India, but also the development of the entire world culture.
Rabindranath Tagore: childhood and adolescence
Tagore was born on May 7, 1861 in Indian Calcutta. His family belonged to a very ancient family. One of the ancestors of Rabindranath Tagore is Adi Dharma, who founded the revered religion. The father of the future public figure was a brahmana and often made pilgrimages to religious shrines. Tagore's older brother was distinguished by talents in mathematics, music and poetry. Other brothers have achieved great success in drama.
The Tagore family held a special position in society. His parents owned land, so very influential people who had considerable weight in Indian society often gathered in their house. Tagore early met with writers, artists, politicians.
It was in this atmosphere that Rabindranath's talents were formed. At an early age, he showed creativity and thinking outside the box. At the age of five he was sent to seminary, later he graduated from high school. At the age of eight, Tagore wrote his first poem. Three years later, Rabindranath traveled with his father through the family domain. For several months he managed to fall in love with the beauty of his native land.
Tagore managed to get a comprehensive education. He studied many disciplines of a very different orientation, was interested in both the humanities and the exact sciences. With great persistence, the young man studied languages, he was fluent in Sanskrit and English. The result of this development was a personality imbued with spirituality, filled with patriotism and love for the world.
Creative flourishing
Tagore married in December 1883. His chosen one was Mrinalini Devi, who also belonged to the brahmana caste. Over time, the Tagore family had five children: three daughters and two sons. In 1890, Tagore moved to an estate in Bangladesh. A few years later, his wife and children join him. Rabindranath regularly plays the role of the manager of a large estate.
Communication with nature and rural workers influenced Tagore's work. During these years of his life he published the most famous collections of his works: "Moment" and "Golden Boat". It is no coincidence that the period from 1894 to 1900 is considered "golden" in the life and literary work of Tagore.
Rabindranath Tagore always dreamed of opening a school where the children of ordinary people could study without paying. Having become a famous writer, Tagore, with the support of several teachers, implements this plan. To open a school, the writer's wife had to part with some of her jewelry. Giving a lot of time to educational activities, Tagore actively writes poetry, publishes works and articles on pedagogy and the history of his country.
Bitter loss in Tagore's life
But the fruitful and creative period in Tagore's life gives way to a time of heavy loss. In 1902, his wife passed away. This knocked down the writer, his spirit lost its strength. Suffering from grief, Tagore seeks to express his heartache on sheets of paper. His collection of poems "Memory" was published, which became an attempt to smooth over the feeling of bitterness and loss.
However, the tests did not stop there: a year later, tuberculosis caused the death of his daughter. Three years later, Tagore's father dies, and a little later a cholera epidemic deprived his youngest son.
Under the heavy blows of fate, Tagore decided to leave the country with his other son. The writer went to the USA, where his son was to study. On the way to America, Tagore stopped in England, where he gained fame for the collection of Sacrificial Chants. In 1913, Rabindranath Tagore became the first laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature among those who were not born in Europe. Tagore spent the funds received on the development of his school.
At the end of life
In the last years of his life, Tagore suffered from a serious illness. Chronic pain intensified. Illness undermined the strength of the writer. From under his pen, works began to appear in which the concern about death was clearly visible. In 1937 he lost consciousness and was in a coma for a long time. Tagore's condition worsened, he could not recover. The writer, poet, artist and public figure died on August 7, 1941. His passing away was a major loss not only for Bengal and India, but for the whole world.
