India's greatest man of letters

Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore who pursued a career as a writer, playwright, song writer, poet, philosopher and educator and who founded the Shanthinikethan in India, was born on May 7, 1861 in the Jorassanko mansion, Calcutta to influential parents, Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi, as the youngest of 14 children.

He became a poet at the age of eight and presented his first poetry in 1877 under the pseudonym Bhanushingho (‘Sun Lion’). He wrote his last poem, eight years prior to his demise.On August 7, 2010 falls his 69th death anniversary. His died on August 7 1941.

He received his early education from tutors and then at a variety of schools. Among them were Bengal Academy where he studied history and culture, at University College, London, where he studied law but left after an year.

Tagore – a Bengali poet, Brahmo Samaj (Syncretic Hindu Monotheist), Philosopher, visual artist, playwright, composer, novelist whose works redefined Bengali literature, became Asia’s first Nobel Laureate when he won the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature for his Magnum Opus Gitanjali (Song Offerings). He married Minalini Devi and they bore five children.

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