Biography of Rabindranath Tagore.
                     BIOGRAPHY OF 
RABINDRANATH TAGORE
INTRODUCTION
• Rabindranath Tagore was a poet, 
musician, polymath, Ayurveda-
researcher and artist who recast music, 
Bengali literature and Indian art in late 
19th and early 20th century. 
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Nobel Prize Winner
• In 1913, Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win Nobel Prize in 
Literature. 
• Rabindranath Tagore was also referred to as 'the Bard of Bengal'.  Today is 
Rabindranath Tagore's 159th Jayanti or Birth Anniversary. 
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Birth
• Rabindranath Tagore was born as 
Robindronath Thakur on May 7, 1861, 
to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada 
Devi in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, 
British India(present-day Kolkata, West 
Bengal, India).
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Family
• Tagore's mother Sarada Devi died 
when he was a child, and his father  
Debendranath Tagore travelled a lot. 
Therefore, Tagore was raised by 
servants. 
• Dwijendranath, Rabindranath Tagore's 
oldest brother, was a philosopher and 
poet. 
• His brother,  Jyotirindranath, was a 
musician, composer, and playwright 
while sister Swarnakumari was a 
novelist. 
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Early Life
• At the age of 11 after his Janeu, Tagore 
toured India with his father. 
• Rabindranath Tagore visited his father's 
Santiniketan estate and stayed in Amritsar 
for a month before reaching the Himalayan 
hill station of Dalhousie where Tagore read 
biographies, studied history, astronomy, 
modern science, Sanskrit, and examined the 
classical poetry of 'Kalidasa'. 
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Debut with a short story
• Tagore was highly influenced with the 
Gurbani and Nanak Bani which were 
sung at Golden Temple, Amritsar. In 
1882, Tagore made his debut with a 
short story in Bengali 'Bhikarini'
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Education
• Tagore read law at University College, 
London, but opted out again to study 
independently. 
• He read  Shakespeare's plays 
Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra 
and the Religio Medici of Thomas 
Browne which highly impressed him. 
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Recognition at national level
• In 1880, Tagore returned to Bengal 
without any degree and started 
publishing poems, stories and novels. 
Although he didn't receive any 
recognition at the national level but 
became famous in Bengal. 
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Personal Life
• In 1883, Tagore married Mrinalini Devi 
(who was 10 years old at that time) and 
the couple had 5 children. 
• In 1890, Tagore started managing his 
ancestral estates in Shelaidaha and his 
wife joined him in 1898 with their 
children. 
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Rabindranath Tagore: Death 
• In late 1937, Rabindranath Tagore began 
losing consciousness and remained in a 
coma for a long period. In 1940, Tagore 
again went in a coma and never 
recovered. 
• After years of chronic pain and long-term 
illness, Tagore died on August 7, 1941, 
at the age of 80 years. 
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Notable Works
• In 1913, Tagore won  Nobel Prize in Literature.
• In 1921, Tagore along with Leonard Elmhirst (agricultural economist), set up the 'Institute for 
Rural Reconstruction' which was later renamed 'Shriniketan' in Surul.
• Tagore published three novels' Dui Bon in 1933, Malancha and Char Adhyay in 1934. 
• Rabindranath Tagore after inclining towards science wrote stories Se in 1937, Tin Sangi in 1940 
and Galpasalpa in 1941
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