Short Biography of Rabindranath Tagore - Talha Hasan

Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, was born on May 7th, 1861. He was born into the aristocratic family of Tagore in Kolkata, the capital of British Raj in India.

He was a Bengali Brahmin with ancestry rooted in Burdwan district and Jashore. His father was Debendranath Tagore and his grandfather was prince Darkanath Tagore. His mother's name was Sarada Devi. He was the 14th child and also the youngest. He never received institutional education but that didn't stop him from growing his potential talents. He published a book of poetry when he was only 15.

He was a poet, singer, composer, painter, philosopher, educationist, dramatist, story writer, essayist, linguist, grammarian, actor, producer, and social reformer. He took Bengali literature and society to a new and modern level.

He won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913 for Gitanjali. He wrote the national anthem of India and Bangladesh and deeply influenced the words and music of the national anthem of Sri Lanka. He advocated freedom from the British Raj.

He also was an internationalist and humanist. He was an exponent of the Bengal Renaissance. The great man passed away on August 7th, 1941. However, his works will last forever - or as long as Bengal lasts.