Rabindranath’s 158th birth anniversary Wednesday

The nation is set to celebrate the 158th birth anniversary of Biswakabi Rabindranath Tagore, who reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as arts of Indian subcontinent with contextual modernism, in a befitting manner across the country tomorrow.

On the 25th of Baishakh in 1268 Bengali year, Rabindranath, the fountainhead of Bengali wisdom, was born at Jorasanko in Kolkata, reports BSS.

Nobody had influenced the minds of so many Bengali-speaking people before or after him. His influence has been compared, by many, to Shakespeare in the English-speaking world.

The youngest of thirteen surviving children, Tagore, nicknamed ‘Rabi’, was born on 25th of Bengali month of Baishakh in 1268 (May 7, 1861) in Jorasanko Mansion in Kolkata to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi.

His novels, short stories, songs, dance-dramas and essays always speak about political and personal life of people.

Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced) and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are his best-known works and his verse, short stories and novels were acclaimed-or panned-for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism and unnatural contemplation.

Author of Gitanjali, profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, Rabindranath became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

Sometimes referred to as “the Bard of Bengal”, Tagore’s poetic songs were viewed as spiritual and mercurial.

His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: Bangladesh’s Amar Sonar Bangla and India’s Jana Gana Mana. The Sri Lankan national anthem was inspired by his work.

The legendary poet breathed his last at his paternal residence in Kolkata on Sraban 22 of Bangla year 1348 (August 7, 1941).