Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 and died on 7 August 1941 at the age of 80 years 3 months . Even a week before his death , he created poetry and dictated his last poem on 30 July 1941 .
Much has been written about the genius of this great man and the prolific nature of his works . Other than poetry , his short stories, novels, plays , music , drawings , paintings , travels and above all the institution Shantiniketan bears testimony to the vastness and depth of his works . He has been a colossus in the field of literature , art and culture , without any parallel.
There is often a tendency by many to downplay his contribution to literature, art, music and society in general by labelling him into many slots and comparing him with others. But it is impossible for us to really fathom his genius for the simple reason that one lifetime of ours is not enough to appreciate the works that he created in his lifetime . He is the composer of the national anthem of India and Bangladesh and have also influenced and inspired the composition of the national anthem of Sri Lanka . He received the Nobel prize as the first Asian and was also the first person to return the Knighthood conferred by the British Emperor.
For those who have experienced him through his works , each will have their separate reasons to respect him and in totality he remains just like the big elephant being experienced by blind men like us who just touch a part of the body of his works and take it to be the whole .
And for those who still do not believe in his greatness , I request them to consider this . In his life of eighty years , he saw innumerable deaths of his loved ones and near ones including his parents , relatives , wife and even three children . Yet his flow of creativity never ceased . Neither did he detach himself from the world and its realities. He went on with his creations irrespective of the minor tragedies of life till his death. How much strong he must have been mentally and what a talent he must have had to express himself . It is just unbelievable .
Much has been written about the genius of this great man and the prolific nature of his works . Other than poetry , his short stories, novels, plays , music , drawings , paintings , travels and above all the institution Shantiniketan bears testimony to the vastness and depth of his works . He has been a colossus in the field of literature , art and culture , without any parallel.
There is often a tendency by many to downplay his contribution to literature, art, music and society in general by labelling him into many slots and comparing him with others. But it is impossible for us to really fathom his genius for the simple reason that one lifetime of ours is not enough to appreciate the works that he created in his lifetime . He is the composer of the national anthem of India and Bangladesh and have also influenced and inspired the composition of the national anthem of Sri Lanka . He received the Nobel prize as the first Asian and was also the first person to return the Knighthood conferred by the British Emperor.
For those who have experienced him through his works , each will have their separate reasons to respect him and in totality he remains just like the big elephant being experienced by blind men like us who just touch a part of the body of his works and take it to be the whole .
And for those who still do not believe in his greatness , I request them to consider this . In his life of eighty years , he saw innumerable deaths of his loved ones and near ones including his parents , relatives , wife and even three children . Yet his flow of creativity never ceased . Neither did he detach himself from the world and its realities. He went on with his creations irrespective of the minor tragedies of life till his death. How much strong he must have been mentally and what a talent he must have had to express himself . It is just unbelievable .
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