Nobel Prize Recipient. Rabindranath Tagore received world-wide notoriety after being awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, according the Nobel Prize committee, "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West." He received the coveted award with one single nomination, which was done by Thomas Sturge Moore. Often called "The Shakespeare of India," he was the first Asian to receive the Nobel Prize. He wrote prolifically in every literary genre, and created a number of "dance dramas" for which he composed the music as well as the text; but he is best regarded for his poems and songs about nature, love, and youth. He wrote in Bengali and translated many of his works into English himself. Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot greatly admired Tagore. Irish poet William Butler Yeats penned the introduction for the 1912 "Gitanjali" or "Song Offerings," which was the most famous of his 50-plus collections of verse. His father was Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj religious sect, and his work reflects Brahman philosophy. In 1915 Tagore was knighted by the ruling British government, but he resigned the honor four years later in a political protest against British policies in India. He lectured throughout the world and founded the Santiniketan, or "World University," outside Calcutta. An adaption of Tagore's 1911 song "Jana Gana Mana" became India's National Anthem in 1950.
Nobel Prize Recipient. Rabindranath Tagore received world-wide notoriety after being awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, according the Nobel Prize committee, "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West." He received the coveted award with one single nomination, which was done by Thomas Sturge Moore. Often called "The Shakespeare of India," he was the first Asian to receive the Nobel Prize. He wrote prolifically in every literary genre, and created a number of "dance dramas" for which he composed the music as well as the text; but he is best regarded for his poems and songs about nature, love, and youth. He wrote in Bengali and translated many of his works into English himself. Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot greatly admired Tagore. Irish poet William Butler Yeats penned the introduction for the 1912 "Gitanjali" or "Song Offerings," which was the most famous of his 50-plus collections of verse. His father was Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj religious sect, and his work reflects Brahman philosophy. In 1915 Tagore was knighted by the ruling British government, but he resigned the honor four years later in a political protest against British policies in India. He lectured throughout the world and founded the Santiniketan, or "World University," outside Calcutta. An adaption of Tagore's 1911 song "Jana Gana Mana" became India's National Anthem in 1950.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Advertisement
See more Tagore memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
