Rabindranath Tagore: biography, briefly about life and work. The last years of the writer's life
TAGORE, RABINDRANATH(Thakur, Robindronath) (1861–1941) - Indian writer and public figure, poet, musician, artist. Winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote in Bengali.
Born in Calcutta on May 6, 1861 into a famous and wealthy Brahman family, where he was the fourteenth child. His father often made pilgrimages to holy places in India. The mother died when her son was 14 years old. As a child, he led a secluded life, read a lot, and wrote poetry from the age of eight. He was first educated at home, then studied at private schools, including the Eastern Seminary of Calcutta, a teacher training school and the Bengal Academy, where he studied Bengali history and culture. During a trip with his father to northern India in 1873, he was greatly impressed by the beauty of this region and the richness of the centuries-old cultural heritage of the Indian people.
In 1875 he began to publish - he wrote in Bengali. Tagore's epic poem was published in 1878 The poet's story - his first major work .
In 1878–1880 he lived in England, studied law at University College London, and studied music and literature. Without receiving a diploma, he returned to Calcutta. Here he tries himself in music - in musical drama The genius of Valmiki(1881) Indian national melodies are combined with Irish folk tunes.
In 1883 he married Mrinalini Devi, they subsequently had two sons and three daughters.
Tagore's poetry collections are published Evening songs(1882), Morning songs(1883), Pictures and songs(1884),Sharps and flats(1886), drama Nature's Retribution(1884). Early works are permeated with pantheistic motifs and life-affirming moods. In historical novels Bibhi Coast(1883) And Raja Sage(1885) condemns tyranny. In 1884–1911 secretary of the religious reform society Brahmo Samaj, who opposed caste remnants and sacrifices.
Since 1891, Tagore has been the manager of his father's family estate in Shilaidekho in East Bengal. He becomes more familiar with the way of life of the common people, whose representatives are increasingly becoming the heroes of his works. Tagore's best stories and poetic cycles date back to this time. In collections 1893–1900 Manoshi (1890), Golden Rook (1894),Harvesting (1896),grains (1899) rural landscapes and folk customs are glorified. The image of the Golden Rook - symbol human life in the stream of time - found in Tagore’s subsequent works. The upbeat romantic style of early works gradually changes to a calmer one. Against the background of pictures of colonial life, the image of a fighter against injustice appears - Light and shade (1894).
Writes a cycle of philosophical dramas, opening with a play Raja and Rani(1889). Edits a literary and social magazine Shadhoda, where most of his works were published. The evolution of ideological and aesthetic views leads Tagore to the humanistic concept of “jibandebot” - “deity of life”, which goes back to the Upanishads and the ideals of the medieval Vaishnava poets.
In 1901 he moved to the family estate of Shantinekiton near Calcutta, where he opened a school with five teachers. To do this, his wife had to sell some of the jewelry, and he himself had to sell the copyright to publish his works. Combines teaching with literature studies. He writes not only poetry - a collection Moments(1900), but also novels Grain of sand(1902),Crash(1905), story Destroyed Nest(1903), books on Indian history, textbooks and articles on pedagogy. His works contain the theme of the fight against tyranny; he examines the conflicts between feudal family morality and democratic tendencies.
In the early 1900s, in connection with the death of loved ones - his wife, daughter, son, father - he wrote poetry collections riddled with grief Memory(1902),Child (1903), Ferry (1906).
After the partition of Bengal in 1905, the national liberation movement began to rise in the country. Tagore becomes one of its leaders, publishes the socio-political magazine “Bhandar”, writes patriotic songs. When a movement goes beyond nonviolent action, it turns to educational activities. This period is reflected in the novel Mountain(1907–1910) - in it, Tagore calls for the unity of all Indians, regardless of religion or caste. In drama Retribution(1909) anticipates the movement of non-cooperation with the colonial authorities. Satirical play The fortress of conservatism(1911) castigates the conformity of a society steeped in rigid Hindu traditions.
While accompanying his eldest son to study at the Agricultural College of the University of Illinois in the USA, Tagore stopped in London, where he showed his poems in his own translation from Bengali into English to the painter and writer William Rothenstein, whom he had met a year earlier in India. In 1912, with the assistance of Rothenstein, a collection was published in the Indian Society Sacrificial songs(Gitanjali) with a foreword by Yeats, and in 1913 - a collection of short stories in English Suffering Stones. This is how Tagore’s work became known in England and the USA. In 1912–1913 he visited Great Britain and the USA, giving lectures on Indian philosophy and culture.
In 1913, he, a writer who “brings together the world of East and West,” was awarded the Nobel Prize for “deeply felt, original and beautiful poems, in which his poetic thinking was expressed with exceptional skill.” Tagore donated the cash prize to his Visva-Bharati school, which he conceived as a center for the study of Indian culture, which became a free-tuition university after the First World War.
Impressions from a trip to the West and the events of the First World War were reflected in the poetic cycle flight of cranes(1914–1916), which sounds alarm for the fate of humanity. In the novel Home and world(1915–1916) shows the differences between the liberal wing of the leadership of the people's liberation movement and the peasantry, attempts to use the movement to incite chauvinism and religious-communal fanaticism.
Beginning in the 1920s, over the next 30 years he traveled to Europe, the USA, South America, and the Middle East. The results of the First World War and our own impressions of post-war Europe were reflected in journalistic works. In the book Nationalism(translated into Russian in 1922) he warns about the militaristic essence of chauvinism in the West and East. Full of thoughts about social problems lyrical collection Eastern tune(1925), allegorical dramas Released thread (1922), Red oleanders(1924).
In 1930 he visited the USSR, in Letters about Russia(1931) highly appreciated the achievements of the USSR in the field of education and the policy of the Soviet state in the international arena.
From the late 1920s, Tagore's views became more radical. Responding to the rise of the national liberation movement of 1929–1934, the novel Four parts(1934), he raises the question of the legitimacy of violence as a means of social struggle. Prose of these years - psychological stories Two sisters(1933),Flower garden(1934). IN The story of a Muslim woman a red thread runs through the warning about the dangers of religious-communal fanaticism.
Poetry collections Mohua(1929),Voice of the Forest(1931),Completion (1932),Again (1932),Motley (1933),Last octave(1935) are contemplative in nature. Tagore - author of numerous plays - Sacrifice (1890),Mail(1912), etc., popular lyrical songs based on their own texts.
At the age of 68, he began to paint, mainly watercolors and drawings. Exhibited in Munich, New York, Paris, Moscow. Tagore's paintings and graphic works, executed in a free manner and contemplative and philosophical in mood, influenced the development of Indian art of the 20th century.
Latest poetry collections – Leaves(1936),At the edge(1938),Evening lamp (1938),Born Again (1940),During illness (1940),Recovery(1941),On your birthday(1941),Last verses (1941).
He was awarded honorary degrees from four Indian universities and was an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. In 1915 he received a knighthood, but four years later, after the shooting by British troops of a peaceful demonstration in Amritsar, he refused it.
His works were known in Russia even before the revolution. Tagore’s work was then presented from the angle of fashionable symbolic-theosophical views, his love of life and national color were noted. After October revolution interest in his work did not disappear, since the theme of the national liberation struggle was a relevant direction of the Soviet foreign policy, and the fight against age-old prejudices is an internal policy. In the USSR, from 1955 to 1981, 3 collected works of Tagore were published (in 8, 12 and 4 volumes)
Tagore's creative and social activities gave a powerful impetus to the development of not only Bengali, but also Indian culture as a whole. He enriched poetry with new forms and poetic meters, laid the foundations for the genre of short stories, socio-psychological novels, and political lyrics. Indians sing his songs (about 3 thousand of them have been written), without even knowing who their author is. His poem Soul of the people(1911) became the anthem of India.
Publications: Tagore R. Collected works in 4 volumes. M., 1981; Selected works .M., Panorama, 1999.
(1861-1941) Indian writer and philosopher
Rabindranath Tagore belonged to one of the oldest Indian clans, whose roots went back centuries. Even at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries, his ancestors occupied an influential position at the court of the rulers of Bengal. By the time Rabindranath was born, the Tagore clan had settled in Calcutta, in the center of which stood their family mansion.
The future writer was the youngest of fourteen sons, and this circumstance determined his special relationship with his mother and father. Until the age of fourteen, the boy lived at home under the care of his parents, although he rarely saw his father: he was a Brahman and spent most of his life on pilgrimages to holy places. Initially, the young man was taught by home teachers, and then, following the example of his older brothers, he began to study in a closed English school.
Rabindranath Tagore's literary talent manifested itself in early childhood. But English teachers They did not pay attention to the boy’s abilities, since at that time Tagore had not yet mastered the English language and wrote only in Bengali.
In 1875, he experienced one of the most severe shocks in his life - his mother died suddenly. Her death caused him such severe depression that the father had to take his son on a long trip through the foothills of the Himalayas.
Upon his return, Rabindranath continued his education, but not in an English school, but in a pedagogical school, where teaching was conducted in Bengali. After graduating, Rabindranath Tagore spent several years at the Bengal Academy, where he studied the history of culture and history of India. At this time, he was already constantly publishing in various literary magazines, and in 1879, when he turned seventeen, he published his first major work - the poem “The History of a Poet.”
However, Rabindranath Tagore's literary passions do not find proper understanding in the family, and his father sends him to England so that Rabindranath can become a student at the University of London. Tagore lived in England for almost two years. He studied law diligently, but his main interests lay in the field of English literature and history.
While in London, he constantly published in Indian magazines, and upon his return he collected his notes and published them in the form of a book, calling it “Letters from a Traveler to Europe.” Without receiving a law degree, Rabindranath Tagore returned to India. Fearing his father's wrath, he settles in Calcutta in the family of his older brother, who served there as a city judge. Only a few months later, the father changed his anger to mercy, and Rabindranath was able to return to his home. By this time, he was already the author of a major novel, The Shore of Bibhi, which tells the story of a rajah who tried to defeat greed with the help of wisdom and humanity, but suffered a crushing defeat.
In 1883, Rabindranath Tagore's life changed dramatically. Fulfilling the will of his father, he marries a ten-year-old girl, Mrinalina Delhi. Unlike many other families, Tagore not only carefully raises his wife, but also does not interfere with her studies. As a result, she becomes one of the most educated Indian women and, on the advice of her husband, translates the ancient Indian epic “Ramayana” into English. When Tagore's wife grew up, they had two sons and three daughters in their family.
In 1890, Rabindranath Tagore was forced to leave his home because his father entrusted him with the management of the family estates in eastern Bengal. He settled on a houseboat on the water and combined literary pursuits with administrative activities.
It was on the Padma River that Rabindranath Tagore wrote his main collections of poems and throughout his subsequent life he considered this time best period of your creativity. The subjects of his poems were inspired by Indian folklore, as well as images of classical poetry of the East. Thanks to their special melody, many of Tagore’s poems immediately became songs, losing contact with their author.
Simultaneously with writing poetry, he works on prose and publishes a collection of stories, the main issues of which are related to the life around him.
In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore was finally able to unite with his family; after a short stay in Calcutta, they moved to the family estate near the city, where Tagore opened his own school with five teachers. Since the father refused to give money for this enterprise, the writer’s wife sold some of her jewelry, and he himself was forced to pledge the copyright to publish his works.
To establish educational process he had to write textbooks himself and compile anthologies of classical texts. After two years filled with constant work, a streak of misfortunes befell him again: in 1902 his wife died, and just a few months later his youngest daughter died. Tagore does not have time to recover from the loss when his father dies, and he becomes the heir to a huge fortune.
However, Tagore is not at all interested in material problems, and he transfers the right to manage the estates to his brothers, and he himself focuses entirely on teaching and social activities. At this time, Rabindranath Tagore appeared for the first time as a philosopher, developing his own concept based on traditional Indian philosophy. To present it, the writer resorts to a traditional method - he writes the philosophical novel “The Mountain” (1907-1910). This is a work whose external plot was a polemic between a Hindu and a supporter European civilization, becomes a kind of banner of the liberation movement that began in India, directed against the rule of the British.
At the same time, Rabindranath Tagore was working on the most significant collection of poems - Gitanjali (Sacrificial Chants). The text of the collection was translated by him into English, and it was published in many countries around the world. And just two years later, its Russian translation, made by Ivan Bunin, was published in Russia. One of the songs in this collection - “Janaganamana” - gained such popularity that after India achieved independence it became national anthem countries.
In 1912, Rabindranath Tagore went on a long trip to England and the USA, because he decided to send his son not to English educational institutions, but to one of the American universities. During this journey, Tagore gave many lectures, the texts of which were subsequently published in book form.
In England, the writer meets the greatest philosopher of the 20th century, Bertrand Russell, in whose house he spends several days. During a trip to the USA, Tagore learned that he had been awarded Nobel Prize in literature for outstanding achievements in poetry. The high award was presented to the English ambassador in Sweden, and only a few months later the Governor-General of India solemnly handed it over to Tagore. It is noteworthy that the writer donated the monetary part of the prize to his school, where a university with free education was opened with this money.
From this time on, the period of recognition of Tagore’s work began both in India itself and abroad. In 1915 English king raises him to the rank of knighthood. Oxford University awarded him an honorary doctorate.
Rabindranath Tagore travels a lot, visiting various countries of the world, including the Soviet Union. The USSR Ambassador in Berlin invited him to the celebrations dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution. However, Tagore did not immediately respond to this invitation and came to the USSR only in 1930. He spends about two months in Moscow: visiting museums, meeting with various public figures, introducing Soviet people and with his own exhibition of paintings.
Returning to India, Rabindranath Tagore again settled in his estate, where he continued his literary and teaching activities. In recent years, he has become interested in drama and submits his plays to various groups for production.
After the outbreak of World War II, Tagore issues an appeal against fascism. But already at this time the writer was mortally ill. English doctors tried to save his life, but for a long time he refused the operation because he believed that it would desecrate the purity of his body. When the operation was finally done, it no longer brought the expected effect. In 1941, Rabindranath Tagore died at his estate near Calcutta.
Rabindranath Tagore- an outstanding Indian writer, poet, public figure, artist, composer, the first Asian laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature - was born in Calcutta on May 7, 1861. He was the 14th child in a very famous and wealthy family. Being hereditary landowners, the Tagores made their home open to many famous public figures and cultural figures. Rabindranath's mother died when he was 14 years old, and this event left a huge mark on the teenager's heart.
He began writing poetry when he was an 8-year-old boy. Having received a good education at home, he was a student of private schools, in particular the Calcutta Eastern Seminary and the Bengal Academy. For several months in 1873, while traveling in the north of the country, young Tagore was extremely impressed by the beauty of these regions, and, having become acquainted with the cultural heritage, was amazed by its richness.
1878 marked his debut in the literary field: 17-year-old Tagore published the epic poem “The History of a Poet.” In the same year, he went to the capital of England to study law at University College London, however, after studying for exactly a year, he returned to India, to Calcutta, and, following the example of his brothers, began to engage in writing. In 1883 he married and published his first collections of poetry: in 1882 - “Evening Song”, in 1883 - “Morning Songs”.
Following the request of his father, Rabindranath Tagore in 1899 took on the role of manager of one of the family estates in eastern Bengal. Village landscapes, customs rural residents are the main object of poetic descriptions of 1893-1900. This time is considered the heyday of his poetic creativity. The collections “The Golden Boat” (1894) and “The Moment” (1900) were a great success.
In 1901, Tagore moved to Santiniketan near Calcutta. There he and five other teachers opened a school, for the creation of which the poet sold the copyright to his works, and his wife sold some jewelry. At this time, both poetry and works of other genres came from his pen, including articles on the topic of pedagogy and textbooks, works on the history of the country.
The next few years in Tagore's biography were marked by a number of sad events. In 1902, his wife dies, the following year tuberculosis claims the life of one of his daughters, and in 1907 the poet’s youngest son dies of cholera. Together with his eldest son, who was going to study at the University of Illinois (USA), Tagore also left. Stopping along the way in London, he introduced his poems, translated by him into English, to the writer William Rothenstein, with whom they were familiar. In the same year, an English writer helped him publish “Sacrifice Songs” - this makes Tagore a famous person in England and the USA, as well as in other countries. In 1913, Tagore received the Nobel Prize for them, spending it on the needs of his school, which after the end of the First World War turned into a free university.
In 1915, Tagore was awarded a knighthood, but after British troops shot down a demonstration in Amritsar four years later, he refused the regalia. Beginning in 1912, Tagore undertook many trips to the USA, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. For Western countries, Tagore was more famous poet, however, on his account a large number of works and other genres, which totaled 15 volumes: plays, essays, etc.
Over the last four years of his life, the writer suffered from a number of diseases. In 1937, Tagore lost consciousness and was in a coma for some time. Toward the end of 1940, the disease worsened and ultimately claimed his life on August 7, 1941. Rabindranath Tagore enjoyed enormous popularity in his homeland. Four universities in the country awarded him honorary degrees, and he was an honorary doctor from the University of Oxford. The modern anthems of India and Bangladesh are based on Tagore's poems.
Biography from Wikipedia
Rabindranath Tagore(Beng. রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর, Robindronath Thakur; May 7, 1861 - August 7, 1941) - Indian writer, poet, composer, artist, public figure. His work shaped the literature and music of Bengal. He became the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1913). Translations of his poetry were seen as spiritual literature, and together with his charisma, created the image of Tagore as a prophet in the West.
Tagore began writing poetry at the age of eight. At the age of sixteen, he wrote his first short stories and dramas, published his poetic samples under the pseudonym Sunny Lion (Beng: Bhānusiṃha). Having received an upbringing imbued with humanism and love for his homeland, Tagore advocated the independence of India. Founded Visva Bharati University and Institute of Agricultural Reconstruction. Tagore's poems are today the anthems of India and Bangladesh.
Rabindranath Tagore's works include lyrical works, essays and novels on political and social topics. His most famous works - "Gitanjali" (Sacrificial chants), "Mountain" and "Home and World" - are examples of lyricism, conversational style, naturalism and contemplation in literature.
Childhood and youth (1861-1877)
Rabindranath Tagore, the youngest of the children of Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905) and Sharada Devi (1830-1875), was born on the estate of Jorasanko Thakur Bari (north Calcutta). The Tagore family was very ancient and among its ancestors were the founders of the Adi Dharma religion. My father, being a Brahmin, often made pilgrimages to the holy places of India. His mother, Sharoda Devi, died when Tagore was 14 years old.
The Tagore family was very famous. The Tagores were large zamindars (landowners), their house was visited by many prominent writers, musicians and public figures. Rabindranath's elder brother Dwijendranath was a mathematician, poet and musician, while his middle brothers Dwijendranath and Jyotirindranath were famous philosophers, poets and playwrights. Rabindranath's nephew Obonindranath became one of the founders of the school of modern Bengali painting.
At the age of five, Rabindranath was sent to the Eastern Seminary, and subsequently transferred to the so-called Normal School, which was distinguished by official discipline and a shallow level of education. Therefore, Tagore liked walks around the estate and surrounding areas more than schoolwork. After completing the Upanayana ritual at age 11, Tagore left Calcutta in early 1873 and traveled with his father for several months. They visited the family estate at Santiniketan and stayed in Amritsar. Young Rabindranath received a good education at home, studying history, arithmetic, geometry, languages (in particular English and Sanskrit) and other subjects, and became acquainted with the works of Kalidasa. In his Memoirs, Tagore noted:
Our spiritual education was successful because we studied in Bengali as children... Despite the fact that they everywhere insisted on the need for English education, my brother was firm enough to give us “Bengali”.
First publications and acquaintance with England (1877-1901)
Vaishnava poetry inspired sixteen-year-old Rabindranath to create a poem in the Maithili style founded by Vidyapati. It was published in the journal Bharoti under the pseudonym Bhanu Shingho (Bhānusiṃha, Solar Lion) with an explanation that the 15th century manuscript was found in an old archive, and was positively assessed by experts. He wrote "Bikharini" ("The Beggar Woman", published in 1877 in the July issue of the magazine "Bharoti", was the first story in the Bengali language), poetry collections "Evening Songs" (1882), which included the poem "Nirjharer Swapnabhanga", and "Morning Songs". songs" (1883).
A promising young barrister, Tagore attended public school in Brighton, England, in 1878. Initially, he stayed for several months in his family's house not far from there. A year earlier, he was joined by his nephews Suren and Indira, the children of his brother Satyendranath, who came with their mother. Rabindranath studied law at University College London, but soon left it to study literature: Shakespeare's Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra, Thomas Browne's Religio Medici and others. He returned to Bengal in 1880 without completing his degree. However, this familiarity with England later manifested itself in his familiarity with the traditions of Bengali music, allowing him to create new images in music, poetry and drama. But Tagore in his life and work never fully accepted either the criticism of Britain or the strict family traditions, based on the experience of Hinduism, instead incorporating the best of the two cultures.
On December 9, 1883, Rabindranath married Mrinalini Devi (nee Bhabatarini, 1873-1902). Mrinalini, like Rabindranath, came from a family of Pirala brahmins. They had five children: daughters Madhurilata (1886-1918), Renuka (1890-1904), Mira (1892-?), and sons Rathindranath (1888-1961) and Samindranath (1894-1907). In 1890, Tagore was entrusted with huge estates in Shilaidaha (now part of Bangladesh). His wife and children joined him in 1898.
In 1890, Tagore published one of his most famous works, a collection of poems called The Image of the Beloved. As a “zamindar babu,” Tagore toured the family estates on the luxurious barge Padma, collecting fees and interacting with the villagers who held festivals in his honor. The years 1891-1895, the period of Tagore's sadhana, were very fruitful. At this time, he created more than half of the eighty-four stories included in the three-volume Galpaguchcha. With irony and seriousness, they depicted many areas of life in Bengal, focusing mainly on rural images. Late XIX century is marked by the writing of collections of songs and poetry “The Golden Boat” (1894) and “The Moment” (1900).
Santiniketan and Nobel Prize (1901-1932)
In 1901, Tagore returned to Shilaydah and moved to Santiniketan (Abode of Peace), where he founded an ashram. It included an experimental school, a marble-floored prayer room (mandir), gardens, groves and a library. After the death of his wife in 1902, Tagore published a collection of lyrical poems, “Memory” (“Sharan”), permeated with a poignant sense of loss. In 1903, one of the daughters died of tuberculosis, and in 1907, the youngest son died of cholera. In 1905, Rabindranath's father passed away. During these years, Tagore received monthly payments as part of his inheritance, additional income from the Maharaja of Tripura, sale of family jewels and royalties.
Public life did not remain aloof from the writer. After the arrest of the famous Indian revolutionary Tilak by the colonial authorities, Tagore spoke out in his defense and organized a collection Money to assist a prisoner. Curzon's act of partition of Bengal in 1905 caused a wave of protest, which was expressed in the Swadeshi movement, one of whose leaders was Tagore. At this time, he wrote the patriotic songs “Golden Bengal” and “Land of Bengal”. On the day the act came into force, Tagore organized a Rakhi Bondhon, an exchange of armbands symbolizing the unity of Bengal, in which Hindus and Muslims took part. However, when the Swadeshi movement began to take the form revolutionary struggle, Tagore moved away from him. He believed that social change should occur through the education of the people, the creation of voluntary organizations and the expansion of domestic production.
In 1910, one of Tagore's most famous collections of poems, Gitanjali (Sacrificial Chants), was published. Since 1912, Tagore began to travel, visiting Europe, the USA, the USSR, Japan and China. While in London, he showed several verses from Gitanjali, which he himself translated into English, to his friend, the British artist William Rothenstein, who was greatly impressed by them. With the assistance of Rothenstein, Ezra Pound, William Yeats and others, the London Indian Society of London published 103 translated poems of Tagore in 1913, and a year later four Russian-language editions appeared.
for deeply felt, original and beautiful poems, in which his poetic thinking was expressed with exceptional skill, which, in his own words, became part of the literature of the West.
Original text(English)
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.The Nobel Prize in Literature 1913 (English). Nobelprize.org. Retrieved March 28, 2011. Archived August 10, 2011.
Tagore became its first laureate from Asia. The Swedish Academy highly appreciated the idealistic, and accessible to Western readers, small part of the translated material, which included part of the Gitanjali. In his speech, Academy representative Harald Jerne noted that the members of the Nobel Committee were most impressed by “Sacrifice Songs.” Jerne also mentioned English translations of Tagore's other works, both poetic and prose, most of which were published in 1913. The Nobel Committee's prize money was donated by Tagore to his school at Santiniketan, which later became the first free-tuition university. In 1915 he was awarded the title of knight, which he refused in 1919 - after being executed. civilians in Amritsar.
In 1921, Tagore, together with his friend, the English agronomist and economist Leonard Elmhurst, founded the Institute of Agricultural Reconstruction in Surul (near Santiniketan), later renamed Sriniketan (Abode of Welfare). In this way, Rabindranath Tagore bypassed the symbolic swaraj of Mahatma Gandhi, which he did not approve of. Tagore had to seek the help of sponsors, officials and scientists all over the world to “liberate the village from the shackles of helplessness and ignorance” through education.
According to Michele Moramarco, in 1924 the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite awarded Tagore honorary prize. According to him, Tagore had the opportunity to become a Freemason in his youth, presumably having been initiated into one of the lodges while in England.
In the early 1930s. Tagore turned his attention to the caste system and the problems of untouchables. By giving public lectures and describing the “untouchable heroes” in his work, he managed to obtain permission for them to visit the Krishna Temple in Guruvayur.
In his declining years (1932-1941)
Tagore's numerous international travels only strengthened his opinion that any division of people is very superficial. In May 1932, while visiting a Bedouin camp in the desert of Iraq, the leader addressed him with the words: “Our Prophet said that a true Muslim is one whose words or actions do not harm a single person.” Subsequently, in his diary, Tagore noted: “I began to recognize in his words the voice of inner humanity.” He carefully studied orthodox religions and reproached Gandhi for saying that the earthquake of January 15, 1934 in Bihar, which caused thousands of deaths, was a punishment from above for the oppression of the untouchable caste. He bemoaned the epidemic of poverty in Calcutta and the accelerating socio-economic decline in Bengal, which he detailed in an unrhymed poem of thousands of lines whose scathing technique of double vision foreshadowed Satyajit Ray's film Apur Sansar. Tagore wrote many more works, amounting to fifteen volumes. Among them are such prose poems as “Again” (“Punashcha”, 1932), “The Last Octave” (“Shes Saptak”, 1935) and “Leaves” (“Patraput”, 1936). He continued to experiment with style, creating prose songs and dance plays such as Chitrangada (1914), Shyama (1939) and Chandalika (1938). Tagore wrote the novels Dui Bon (1933), Malancha (1934) and Char Adhyay (1934). In the last years of his life he became interested in science. He wrote a collection of essays, Our Universe (Visva-Parichay, 1937). His studies of biology, physics, and astronomy were reflected in poetry, which often contained a broad naturalism that emphasized his respect for the laws of science. Tagore participated in the scientific process, writing stories about scientists included in some chapters of Se (1937), Tin Sangi (1940) and Galpasalpa (1941).
The last four years of Tagore's life were marred by chronic pain and two long periods of illness. They began when Tagore lost consciousness in 1937 and remained in a coma for a long time on the verge of life and death. The same thing happened again at the end of 1940, after which he never recovered. Tagore's poetry written during these years is an example of his mastery and was characterized by a particular preoccupation with death. After a long illness, Tagore died on August 7, 1941 at the Jorasanko estate. The entire Bengali-speaking world mourned the poet's passing. The last person to see Tagore alive was Amiya Kumar Sen, who was taking dictation of his last poem. Later, a draft of it was given to the Calcutta Museum. In the memoirs of the Indian mathematician, Professor P. C. Mahalonbis, it was noted that Tagore was very worried about the war between Nazi Germany and the USSR, often interested in reports from the fronts, and on the last day of his life he expressed a firm belief in victory over Nazism.
Trips
Between 1878 and 1932, Tagore visited more than thirty countries on five continents. Many of these trips were very important in introducing his work and political views to non-Indian audiences. In 1912, he showed some of his own translations of his poems into English to acquaintances in Great Britain. They greatly impressed Gandhi's close comrade Charles Andrews, the Irish poet William Yeats, Ezra Pound, Robert Bridge, Thomas Moore and others. Yeats wrote the preface to the English edition of Gitanjali, and Andrews later visited Tagore at Santiniketan. On November 10, 1912, Tagore visited the United States and Great Britain, staying at Butterton (Staffordshire) with clergy friends of Andrews. From May 3, 1916 to April 1917, Tagore gave lectures in Japan and the United States in which he condemned nationalism. His essay "Nationalism in India" received both scorn and praise from pacifists including Romain Roland.
Soon after returning to India, 63-year-old Tagore accepted the invitation of the Peruvian government. Then he visited Mexico. The governments of both countries provided a loan of $100,000 to Tagore's school in Santiniketan in honor of his visit. A week after arriving in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on November 6, 1924, an ill Tagore settled at Villa Miralrio at the invitation of Victoria Ocampo. He returned to India in January 1925. On May 30 of the following year, Tagore visited Naples (Italy), and on April 1 he spoke with Benito Mussolini in Rome. Them at first warm relations ended with criticism from Tagore on July 20, 1926.
On July 14, 1927, Tagore and two companions began a four-month tour of South Asia, visiting Bali, Java, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Penang, Siam and Singapore. Tagore's stories about these travels were later collected in his work Jatri. In the early 1930s. he returned to Bengal to prepare for a year-long tour of Europe and the United States. His drawings have been exhibited in London and Paris. One day, when he returned to Britain, he stayed at a Quaker settlement in Birmingham. There he wrote his Oxford Lectures and spoke at Quaker meetings. Tagore spoke of the "deep fissure of alienation" when talking about relations between the British and Indians, a topic he spent the next few years working on. He visited the Aga Khan III, who lived at Darlington Hall, and traveled to Denmark, Switzerland and Germany, traveling from June to mid-September 1930, then visiting the Soviet Union. In April 1932, Tagore, having become acquainted with the writings of the Persian mystic Hafiz and the legends about him, stayed with Reza Pahlavi in Iran. Such a busy travel schedule allowed Tagore to communicate with many famous contemporaries such as Henri Bergson, Albert Einstein, Robert Frost, Thomas Mann, Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells and Romain Roland)) Tagore's last trips abroad included visits to Persia and Iraq (in 1932) and Sri Lanka (in 1933), which only strengthened the writer in his positions regarding the division of people and nationalism.
Creation
Best known as a poet, Tagore also painted and composed music, and he was the author of novels, essays, short stories, dramas and numerous songs. Of his prose, his short stories are best known; moreover, he is considered the founder of the Bengali-language version of this genre. Tagore's works are often noted for their rhythmicity, optimism and lyricism. Such works of his are mainly borrowed from deceptively simple stories from the lives of ordinary people. From the pen of Tagore came not only the text of the verse “Janaganamana”, which became the Anthem of India, but also the music to which it is performed. Tagore's watercolor, pen and ink drawings have been exhibited in many European countries.
Poetry
Tagore's poetry, rich in its stylistic diversity from classical formalism to the comic, dreamy and enthusiastic, has roots in the work of Vaishnava poets of the 15th-16th centuries. Tagore was in awe of the mysticism of rishis like Vyasa, who wrote the Upanishads, Kabir and Ramprasad Sen. His poetry became fresher and more mature after his exposure to Bengali folk music, which included the ballads of the mystic Baul singers. Tagore rediscovered and made widely known the hymns of Kartābhajā, which focused on inner divinity and rebellion against religious and social orthodoxy. During the years spent in Shilaidaha, Tagore's poems acquired a lyrical sound. In them, he sought a connection with the divine through an appeal to nature and a touching empathy for the human drama. Tagore used a similar technique in his poems on the relationship between Radha and Krishna, which he published under the pseudonym Bhānusiṃha, Solar Lion. He returned to this topic more than once.
Tagore's involvement in the earliest attempts to develop modernism and realism in Bengal was evident in his literary experiments in the 1930s, exemplified by "Africa" or "Kamalia", some of the best known of his later poems. Sometimes Tagore wrote poetry using dialect shadhu bhasha, formed due to the influence of Sanskrit on the Bengali language, later starting to use the more widespread cholti bhasha. His other significant works include The Image of the Beloved (1890), The Golden Boat (1894), The Cranes (Beng. Balaka, 1916, a metaphor for migrating souls) and Evening Melodies (1925). "The Golden Boat" is one of his most famous poems about the ephemerality of life and achievements.
The collection of poems "Gitanjali" (Bang. গীতাঞ্জলি, English. Gitanjali, "Sacrificial Chants") was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
Tagore's poetry has been set to music by many composers, including Arthur Shepherd's triptych for soprano and string quartet, Alexander Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony, Joseph Förster's cycle of love songs, and Leoš Janáček's Potulný šílenec, inspired by Tagore's performance in Czechoslovakia in 1922 year, “Prana” on the verse “Stream of Life” from “Gitanjali” by Harry Schumann. In 1917, Richard Hagman translated and set his poems to music, creating one of his most famous songs, “Don’t go my love.” Jonathan Harvey composed "One Evening" (1994) and "Song Offerings" (1985) based on Tagore's poems.
Novels
Tagore wrote eight novels, many novellas and short stories, including Chaturanga, Farewell Song (also translated as The last song", "Shesher Kobita"), "Four Parts" ("Char Adhay") and "Noukadubi". Tagore's short stories, mainly depicting the life of the Bengali peasantry, first appeared in English in 1913 in the collection Hungry Stones and Other Stories. One of the most famous novels, Home and World (Ghare Baire), presents Indian society through the vision of an idealistic zamindar Nikhil, exposing Indian nationalism, terrorism and religious fervor in the Swadeshi movement. The novel ends with the confrontation between Hindus and Muslims and Nikhil's deep emotional wounds. The novel Fair Face (Gora) raises controversial issues of Indian identity. As in Ghare Baire, issues of self-identity (jāti), personal and religious freedom are explored in the context of a family story and a love triangle.
The story "Relationships" (also translated as "Connections", "Jogajog") tells of the rivalry between the two families of the Chattirjis (Biprodas) - now impoverished aristocrats - and the Gosals (Madhusudan), representing the new arrogant generation of capitalists. Kumudini, the sister of Biprodas, finds herself caught between two fires by marrying Madhusudan, having been brought up under reliable protection, in respect for religion and rituals. The heroine, bound by the ideals of Shiva-Sati in the example of Dakshayani, is torn between pity for the fate of her progressive, compassionate brother and his opposite - her dissolute exploitative husband. This novel deals with the plight of Bengali women, caught between duty, family honor and pregnancy, and also shows the decline in influence of the landed oligarchy of Bengal.
Tagore also wrote more optimistic works. "The Last Poem" (also translated as "Farewell Song", "Shesher Kobita") is one of his most lyrical novels, with written out poems and rhythmic passages of the main character - the poet. The work also contains elements of satire and postmodernism; it attacks the old, obsolete, disgusting to the poet, who is identified with Rabindranath Tagore himself. Although his novels remain the least appreciated, they have received significant attention from filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray and others, such as Tagore's films Chokher Bali and Ghare Baire. . In the first of these, Tagore describes Bengali society in the early 20th century. The central character is a young widow who wants to live her own life, which comes into conflict with a tradition that does not allow remarriage and condemns her to a secluded, lonely existence. This melancholy, mixed with deception and grief, arises from dissatisfaction and sadness. Tagore said of the novel: “I always regretted its ending.” The film's soundtracks are often characterized as rabindrasangeets, musical forms developed by Tagore based on Bengali music. The second film illustrates Tagore’s struggle with himself: between the ideals of Western culture and the revolution against it. These two ideas are expressed through two main characters - Nikhil, who personifies rationality and opposes violence, and Sandeep, who stops at nothing to achieve his goals. Such contrasts are very important for understanding the history of Bengal and its problems. There are debates whether Tagore tried to express Gandhi in the character of Sandeep and arguments against this version, since Tagore had great respect for the Mahatma, who opposed any violence.
Documentary
Tagore wrote many non-fiction books, covering topics from Indian history to linguistics and spirituality. In addition to autobiographical works, his travel diaries, essays and lectures were collected in several volumes, including Lectures from Europe (Europe Jatrir Patro) and Religion of Man (Manusher Dhormo). A brief correspondence between Tagore and Einstein, Notes on the Nature of Reality, was included as an addition.
Music
Tagore composed about 2,230 songs. His songs, often written in the style of Rabindra Sangeet (Beng. রবীন্দ্র সংগীত - "Tagore's song"), are a significant part of the culture of Bengal. Tagore's music is inseparable from his literary works, many of which - poems or chapters of novels, stories - were taken as the basis for songs. They were significantly influenced by the Thumri style (dev. ठुमरी, one of the styles of Hindustani music). They often play on the tonality of classical ragas in various variations, sometimes completely imitating the melody and rhythm of a given raga, or mixing different ragas to create new works.
art
Tagore is the author of about 2,500 drawings, which participated in exhibitions in India, Europe and Asia. The debut exhibition took place in Paris, at the invitation of artists with whom Tagore communicated in France. At the Arsenal Exhibition, during its exposition in Chicago in 1913, Tagore studied modern art from the Impressionists to Marcel Duchamp. He was impressed by Stella Krammrich's London lectures (1920) and invited her to speak about world art from Gothic to Dada in Santiniketan. Tagore's style was influenced by his visit to Japan in 1912. In some of his landscapes and self-portraits, a passion for impressionism is clearly visible. Tagore imitated numerous styles, including crafts from the north of New Ireland, carvings of the Haida people from Canada's West Coast (British Columbia), and woodcuts by Max Pechstein.
Tagore, who supposedly had color blindness (partial indistinguishability of red and green colors), created works with special compositions and color schemes. He was fascinated by geometric shapes; in portraits he often used angular, upward-pointing lines, narrow, elongated forms, reflecting emotional experiences. Tagore's later works are characterized by grotesqueness and drama, although it remains unclear whether this reflects Tagore's pain for his family or for the fate of all humanity.
In a letter to Rani Mahalanobis, the wife of the famous Indian mathematician and his friend Prasanta Mahalanobis, Tagore wrote:
First of all there is a hint of a line, then the line becomes a form. The more pronounced form becomes a reflection of my concept... The only training I received in my youth was the training of rhythm, in thought, rhythm in sound. I came to understand that rhythm creates a reality in which the haphazard is insignificant.
Original text(English)
First, there is the hint of a line, and then the line becomes a form. The more pronounced the form becomes the clearer becomes the picture of my conception… The only training which I had from my younger days was the training in rhythm, in thought, the rhythm in sound. I had come to know that rhythm gives reality to which is desultory, insignificant in itself.- “Rabindranth Tagore to Rani Mahalanobis”, November 1928, trans. Khitish Roy, inNeogy, pp. 79-80.
For Tagore, this rhythm was a reflection of the play of the Creator. He reinterpreted the experience of modernists, masterfully maintaining a balance between individuality and diversity in creativity.
Drama and prose
Although Tagore is best known in the West as a poet, he was also the author of numerous plays: Sacrifice (Visarjan, 1890), in which the hero, a young man, is engaged in a painful search for truth; “Mail” (“Dakghar”, 1912) is a sad story of a teenager; "Red Oleanders" ("Rakta-Karabi", 1925) - a drama of social and political protest. R. Tagore’s novel “The Mountain” was repeatedly republished in Russian translation in Russia/USSR.
Creativity assessment
Tagore's literary secretary Ami Chakravarti noted that the poet's poems were so popular among ordinary Bengalis that they were often perceived by them as folk. But the popularization of creativity in the West was hampered by relatively a small amount of quality translations, while others did not convey the full original meaning and beauty of the lines. Many early works remained untranslated and thus accessible only to Bengali-speaking readers.
Santiniketan school official and Tagore's assistant Krishna Kripalani wrote:
...Tagore's main significance lies in the impetus that he gave to the entire course of cultural and spiritual development of India... He gave Indians faith in their language and in their cultural and intellectual heritage.
- Kripalani K. Rabindranath Tagore = Rabindranath Tagore. A Biography / Transl. L. N. Asanova. - M.: Young Guard, 1983.
Influence and memory
Numerous festivals and celebrations are organized in memory of Rabindranath Tagore: Kabirpranam on the anniversary of his birth, the annual Tagore Festival in Illinois, processions from Calcutta to Santiniketan, readings of Tagore's poetry at significant events and others.. This tradition is felt in all spheres of the culture of Bengal, from its language and art to history and politics. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen described Tagore as key figure, a keenly sensitive and versatile thinker of our time. His Rabīndra Rachanāvalī has been recognized as the greatest cultural treasure of Bengal, and Tagore himself is recognized as the greatest of the poets of India.
Tagore's fame extended from Europe to East Asia and North America. He was a co-founder of Darlington Hall School, a pioneering co-educational institution. He influenced the Nobel laureate from Japan, writer Yasunari Kawabata. Today, Tagore's work has been translated into English, German, Spanish, Russian and other European languages. Among the translators were the famous Czech Indologist Vincenc Lesny, Nobel laureate from France Andre Gide, poetess Anna Akhmatova, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and others. In the United States, Tagore's lectures of 1916-1917 were widely known and wildly acclaimed. However, some of the debates in which he was involved were responsible for his decline in popularity in Japan and America after the 1920s, to the point of almost complete obscurity outside Bengal. This was mainly a consequence of his relations with Indian nationalists Subhas Bose and Rush Bose, as well as his attitude towards the communist ideology that was victorious in the USSR. His initially friendly relations with Mussolini also caused criticism from his friends.
Familiarity with translations of Tagore's works influenced representatives of Spanish literature such as Pablo Neruda, Jose Ortega y Gasset, Juan Jimenez and his wife Zenobia Camprubi, Gabriela Mistral, and the Mexican writer Octavio Paz. Between 1914 and 1922, the Jiménez-Camprubi couple translated 22 of Tagore's books into Spanish. At the same time, Jimenez developed the style of “naked poetry” (Spanish. poetia desnuda)
Tagore believed that some Western readers overestimated him. Indeed, not very many people in the West read it, and Graham Greene said in 1937
As for Rabindranath Tagore, I cannot believe that anyone other than Mr. Yeats can take his poems seriously.
Original text(English)
As for Rabindranath Tagore, I cannot believe that anyone but Mr. Yeats can still take his poems very seriously.- Amartya Sen. Tagore And His India (English). Counter Currents. Retrieved April 18, 2011. Archived August 10, 2011.
A crater on Mercury is named after Rabindranath Tagore.
- Name assigned to a magnet school foreign languages in St. Petersburg.
- R. Tagore is depicted on a 1982 Bulgarian postage stamp.
The monument to Tagore stands in Moscow in Friendship Park on the way to the northern river port at the station. m. River Station,
In Soviet and Russian filmography there are references to Tagore and songs based on his poems are used:
- In the film “You Never Even Dreamed of...” performed by Irina Otieva, the song “The Last Poem” is heard based on the poems of Rabindranath Tagore (translation by Adelina Adalis, music by Alexey Rybnikov) from his novel of the same name.
- In the film “The Golden Calf” (1968), the inscription on the poster is shown: “!!! The priest has arrived!!! Famous Bombay Brahmin Yogi. Favorite of Rabindranath Tagore."
- In the film “Radio Day”, from the lips of the captain of KCR-12 (actor - Fyodor Dobronravov), the phrase “Here is Rabindranath Tagore for you, grandmother!”
Proceedings
- Rabindranath Tagore. Collected Works / Ed. E. Bykova, A. Gnatyuk-Danilchuk, V. Novikova. - M.: State Publishing House fiction, 1961. - T. 1. - 580 p. - 100,000 copies.
- Rabindranath Tagore. Poems. Stories. Mountain. - M., “ Fiction", 1973. - 784 pp., 303,000 copies. (Library of World Literature. Vol. 184).
- Rabindranath Tagore. Selected works. - M.: Panorama, 1999. - 496 p. - 5000 copies.
Films about Tagore
- 1986 - “Rabindranath Tagore and Soviet Russia” (USSR, director - V. Fedorchenko).
“Every child comes into the world with the news that God has not yet given up on people”
R. Tagore
Dear friends and guests of the “Music of the Soul” blog!
Today I want to dwell on the work of an amazing person. Few people are given the difficult skill of living. IN to the fullest This skill was possessed by the wonderful Indian writer, inspired lyricist, novelist, short story writer, playwright, composer, founder of two universities - Rabindranath Tagore. For the Belgalese, Rabindranath Tagore is not only a great poet, not only an example of a wonderful way of life, but also an integral part of their own lives. They grow up with Tagore's language on their lips, and often give vent to their best feelings in his own words, in his own poetry. His life was unusually rich, rich in events not only external, but also internal, spiritual.
Rabindranath Tagore was born in 1861 into a family known throughout the then Bengal. He was the youngest of 14 children. His grandfather Dvorkonath possessed truly fabulous wealth. He owned indigo factories, coal mines, sugar and tea plantations, and huge estates.
Father Debendronath, nicknamed Maharshi (Great Sage), played an important role in awakening the national consciousness of Indians. Tagore's many brothers and sisters were endowed with diverse talents. In this family there reigned an atmosphere of artistry, humanity, mutual respect, an atmosphere in which all talents flourished.
Rabindranath Tagore in 1873
Rabindranath Tagore began writing poetry at the age of 8. The only merit of these first experiments, he later jokingly wrote, was that they were lost. Tagore's mother died when he was 14 years old. Having lost his mother, the boy began to lead closed life, the echoes of this loss passed through his entire life.
Sarada Devip (Tagore's mother)
Remembrance
I never remember my mother
And only sometimes when I run out
Go outside to play with the boys,
Some kind of melody suddenly
Takes possession of me, I don’t know where I was born,
And it seems to me as if this is my mother
She came to me and merged with my game.
She's rockingcradlemine,
Perhaps she hummed this song,
But everything is gone, and mom is no more,
And my mother’s song disappeared.
I never remember my mother.
But in the month of Ashshin, among the jasmine thickets
As soon as it begins to dawn,
And the wind is moist, smelling of flowers,
And the wave splashes quietly,
Memories rise in my soul,
And she appears to me.
It’s true, mom often brought
Flowers to offer prayers to the gods;
Isn’t that why mom’s fragrance
I hear it every time I enter the temple?
I never remember my mother.
But, looking from the bedroom window
To a world that cannot be grasped with one's gaze,
To the blue of the sky, I feel that again
She looks into my eyes
With an attentive and gentle gaze,
Just like in the golden times
When you put me on your knees,
She looked into my eyes.
And then her gaze was imprinted on me,
And he closed the heavens from me.
Tagore with his wife Mrinalini Devi (1883)
At 22, R. Tagore gets married. And he becomes the father of five children.
There is love that floats freely across the sky. This love warms the soul.
And there is love that dissolves in everyday affairs. This love brings warmth tofamily.
Rabindranath Tagore with his eldest son and daughter
The first collection of poems, “Evening Songs,” that was published, glorified the young poet. Since that time, collections of poems, stories, novels, dramas, articles have come out from his pen in a continuous stream - one can only be amazed at the inexhaustible power of his genius.
In 1901, the poet and his family moved to the family estate near Calcutta and opened a school with five associates, for which he sold the copyright to publish his books.
A year later, his beloved wife dies; he took this death very hard.
When I don’t see you in my dreams,
It seems to me that he is whispering spells
The ground to disappear under your feet.
And cling to the empty sky,
Raising my hands, I want in horror...
(translation by A. Akhmatova)
But the misfortunes did not end there. The next year, one of the daughters died of tuberculosis, and in 1907, the youngest son died of tuberculosis.
You want to change everything, but your efforts are in vain:
Everything remains exactly the same. as before.
If you destroy all sorrows, soon
Recent joys will turn into sorrows
In 1912, Rabindranath Tagore left for the USA with his eldest son, stopping in London. Here he showed his poems to his friend the writer William Rothenstein. Tagore becomes famous in England and America.
The awarding of the Nobel Prize to Tagore in 1913, recognition of his undeniable merits, was greeted with the greatest jubilation throughout Asia.
R. Tagore never in his life, even in the most difficult moments, lost his inescapable optimism, faith in the inevitable final triumph of good over evil.
In a crevice in the wall, in the cool of the night,
The flower blossomed. He did not please anyone's views.
His rootless, squalor is reproached
And the sun says: “How are you, brother?”
His favorite image is flowing river: sometimes the small river Kopai, sometimes the deep Padma, and sometimes the all-enthralling flow of time and space. This is how we see his work: rich, varied, nourishing...
His creativity emanates a light that helps one find oneself. In ancient India, the poet was looked upon as a “rishi” - a prophet who leads among people. At almost 70 years old, Rabindranath Tagore discovered painting. And the following years devoted himself to drawing.
“The morning of my life was full of songs, may the sunset of my days be full of colors,” said Tagore. He left behind not only thousands the most beautiful lines, but also about 2 thousand paintings and drawings.
He did not study painting, but painted as his heart felt. His impulse paintings are written quickly, with inspiration and confidence. This is an outburst of emotions on paper. “I succumbed to the spell of the lines...” he said later. Tagore used ornate patterns to fill in the crossed out spaces on the pages of his manuscripts. As a result, these patterns resulted in paintings that inspired many young artists to create, and a new movement in art appeared in India.
His exhibitions were held in many countries around the world; they captivated people with their sincerity and originality and sold well. Tagore invested money from the sale of paintings into the creation of a university.
Now his paintings can most often be found in private collections. In 2010, a collection of 12 paintings by Rabindranath Tagore was sold for $2.2 million.
The poet is the author of the lyrics of the anthems of Bangladesh and India.
In that sunny world I don't want to die
I would like to live in this foreverbloomingforest,
Where people leave and come back again
Where hearts beat and flowers collect dew.
Throughout his life he maintained that your feet should touch the ground and your head should go to the sky. Only in the interaction of everyday and spiritual life can a person count on the success of his inner search.
At a late hour, the one who wished to renounce the world said:
“Today I will go to God, my house has become a burden to me.
Who kept me at my threshold with witchcraft?”
God told him: “I am.” The man didn't hear him.
In front of him on the bed, breathing serenely in his sleep,
The young wife clutched the baby to her chest.
“Who are they, creatures of Maya?” – the man asked.
God told him: “I am.” The man did not hear anything.
The one who wanted to leave the world stood up and shouted: “Where are you, god?»
God told him: “Here.” The man didn't hear him.
The child fussed, cried in his sleep, and sighed.
God said, “Come back.” But no one heard him.
God sighed and exclaimed: “Alas! Have it your way, so be it.
Just where will you find me if I stay here?
(translation by V. Tushnova)
Tagore considered personality to be the highest value and was himself the embodiment of a complete man. The word for him was not a unit of information or description, but a call and a message. Throughout his long life, with amazing harmony, Rabindranath Tagore united in his work the contradictions between spirit and flesh, man and society, between the search for truth and the enjoyment of beauty. And he felt beauty with a subtlety characteristic of only a few. And with high, noble inspiration he knew how to recreate it in his lyrical poems, which may be the best of all that he has written.
Something from light touches, something from vague words, -
This is how chants arise - a response to a distant call.
Champak in the middle of the spring cup,
pour into the blaze of bloom
Sounds and colors will tell me, -
This is the way of inspiration.
Something will appear in an instant burst,
Visions in the soul - without number, without counting,
But something went away, ringing - you can’t catch the tune.
So minute is replaced by minute - the hammered ringing of bells.
(translationM. Petrovykh)
For modern Bengali literature, Tagore is still a beacon by which to navigate. Tagore's timeless poetry is becoming increasingly popular. Just as Mahatma Gandhi is called the father of the Indian nation, Rabindranath Tagore can rightly be called the father of Indian literature. Tagore experienced old age of the body, but not old age of the soul. And in this unfading youth is the secret of the longevity of his memory.
Poems and quotes by Rabindranath Tagore
Someone built a house for themselves -
So mine was destroyed.
I made a truce -
Someone went to war.
If I touched the strings -
Somewhere their ringing stopped.
The circle closes there,
Where does it begin?
***
Slam before mistakesdoor.
The truth is in confusion: “How will I enter now?”
“O fruit! O fruit! - the flower screams.
Tell me, where do you live, my friend?”
“Well,” the fruit laughs, “look:
I live inside you.”
* * *
“Isn’t it you,” I once asked fate, “
Are you pushing me so mercilessly in the back?”
She croaked with an evil grin:
“Your past is driving you.”
* * *
Respondsechoto everything he hears around:
It does not want to be anyone's debtor.
* * *
The little one woke up -flower. And suddenly appeared
The whole world is in front of him, like a huge beautiful flower garden.
And so he said to the universe, blinking in amazement:
“As long as I live, live too, my dear.”
***
The flower withered and decided: “Trouble,
Springleft the world forever"
***
The cloud that winter winds
Driven across the sky autumn day,
He looks with eyes full of tears,
Like it's about to exploderain.
***
You couldn't even handle it
What came naturally.
How will you cope when you receive
Everything you want?
***
Pessimism is a form of mental alcoholism.
***
A man is worse than an animal when he becomes an animal.
***
I have been accumulating wisdom for many years,
persistently comprehended good and evil,
I have accumulated so much junk in my heart,
that my heart became too heavy.
***
A leaf told a flower in a sleepy grove,
That I fell passionately in love with the lightshadow.
The flower learned about the shy lover
And smiles all day.
The article uses photographs from Wikipedia.
With wise quotes for all occasions - I recommend it to those who appreciate elegant style and depth of thought
Rabindranath Tagore belonged to one of the oldest Indian families. His ancestors occupied an influential position in the court of the rulers of Bengal. His surname came from Thakur - translated as “holy lord”, which foreigners transformed into Tagore.
Rabindranath was born on May 6, 1861, in his ancestral home at Jorashanko in Calcutta. He was already the fourteenth child of Debendranath Tagore (from the age of twenty-eight he was called Maharshi, that is, a man famous for wisdom and righteous life). The head of the family, even if he lived at home and was not, as usual, in the Himalayas, was inaccessible to the family. All household chores fell on the shoulders of the mother, Sharoda Debi, and she did not have much time and energy left to raise her youngest son.
“The longing for maternal love, which never cooled in childhood, turned into mature years into an enduring desire for female affection and affection,” notes K. Kripalani. - The incessant echo of this feeling can be heard in the beautiful poems about childhood, written by him in adulthood. Some of Tagore's stories and stories describe mother's love with such tenderness that one cannot help but wonder: is this not an expression of the author's unsatisfied desires?
Despite the fact that the family lived in abundance, the children were brought up in strictness.
“We didn’t eat delicacies at all,” recalls Tagore. - A list of our clothes would cause a condescending smile from modern boy. Until we were ten, we didn’t wear socks or shoes on any occasion. For cold weather we only had a second cotton jacket. And it never occurred to us to worry about it. Only when old Niyamat, our tailor, forgot to sew pockets on our jackets did we get upset, because never had a boy been born so poor that he had nothing to fill his pockets with... We never got anything easy. Many ordinary things were rare for us, and we lived most often in the hope that when we were old enough, we would receive what the future held for us.”
The boy spent his childhood and early adolescence under the care of household servants. He went to school very early, it was the Eastern Seminary. Some time later, when Robie was not yet seven years old, he was accepted into another school, which was considered exemplary and was created according to British standards.
At the same time, the boy composed his first poems in the “poyar” meter, popular in Bengal. The first experience of versification turned out to be contagious. The boy acquired a blue notebook and began to write down his poems in it: “Like a young deer that strikes everywhere with its freshly grown, still itching antlers, I have become unbearable with my blossoming poetry.”
In 1875, Tagore experienced one of the most severe shocks in his life - his mother died suddenly. Her death caused him such severe depression that the father had to take his son on a long trip through the foothills of the Himalayas.
Upon his return, Rabindranath continued his education, but not in an English school, but in a pedagogical school, where teaching was conducted in Bengali. After graduating, Tagore spent several years at the Bengal Academy, where he studied cultural history and Indian history. At this time, he was already constantly publishing in various literary magazines, and in 1878 his first major work was published - the poem “The History of a Poet.”
However, Tagore's literary passions did not find proper understanding in the family, and his father sent him to England so that Rabindranath could become a student at the University of London. Tagore lived in England for almost two years. He studied law diligently, but his main interests were related to English literature and history. While in London, he constantly published in Indian magazines, and upon his return he collected his notes and published them in the form of a book, calling it “Letters from a Traveler to Europe.”
Without receiving a law degree, Tagore returned to India. Fearing his father's wrath, he settles in Calcutta in the family of his older brother, who served there as a city judge. Only a few months later, the father changed his anger to mercy, and Rabindranath was able to return to his home.
On December 9, 1883, the wedding of Rabindranath and a ten-year-old girl, Mrinalini Debi, the daughter of an employee in one of the Tagore estates, took place. This was the will of the father. Unlike many other families, Tagore not only carefully raised his wife, but also did not interfere with her studies. As a result, Tagore's wife became one of the most educated Indian women and, on the advice of her husband, translated the ancient Indian epic "Ramayana" into English.
Three years later, the first child in the family appeared - daughter Madhurilot. Later they had two more sons and two daughters.
In 1890, Tagore was forced to leave his home, on behalf of his father, he took the position of manager of the family estate Shelaideho in East Bengal. He settled on a houseboat on the Padma River, combining literary pursuits with administrative activities.
Here Rabindranath published his main collections of poems and throughout his subsequent life he considered this time the best period of his work. The subjects of his poems were inspired by Indian folklore and images of classical poetry of the East. Thanks to their special melody, many of Tagore’s poems immediately became folk songs, losing touch with their author.
Simultaneously with writing poetry, Tagore worked on prose and published a collection of stories, the main issues of which were related to the life around him. He also wrote plays - “Sacrifice” (1890), “Chitrangola” (1892).
In 1901, Tagore was finally able to reunite with his family; after a brief stay in Calcutta, they moved to the family estate near the city, where Tagore opened his own school with five teachers. But on November 23, 1902, his wife died, and in September of the following year, his youngest daughter died.
At the same time, Tagore’s novel “A Grain of Sand” was published - the first major realistic work in the Bengali language, as well as collections of poems - “Memory” and “Child”.
In 1907, the writer suffered a new grief - his father died. Tagore became the heir to a huge fortune, but Rabindranath was not at all interested in material problems, and he transferred the right to manage the estates to his brothers.
Soon the writer spoke for the first time as a philosopher, who developed his own life concept based on traditional Indian philosophy. To present it, the writer resorted to a traditional technique - he wrote the philosophical novel “The Mountain” (1907-1910). This work, the external plot of which was a polemic between a Hindu and a supporter of European civilization, became a kind of banner of the liberation movement that began in India, directed against the rule of the British in the country.
At the same time, Tagore was working on the most significant collection of poems - Gitanjali (Sacrificial Chants).
Tagore owes much of his European fame to the English artist Sir William Rothenstein, who visited India in 1910. While in Calcutta he met Tagore. But it was only after returning to London that Rothenstein read in the pages of the Modern Review an English translation of one of Tagore’s stories, which made a great impression on him.
In 1912, Rabindranath arrived in the English capital and first of all visited Rothenstein. Knowing the artist's interest in his poetry, he gave him his notebook with translations. “That same evening I read these poems,” Rothenstein writes. - This was completely unusual poetry, it seemed to me akin to the works of great mystics. Andrew Bradley, to whom I showed them, agreed: “It seems that at last a great poet has again appeared among us.”
Rothenstein proposed to the Indian Society to publish a collection of Tagore's poems, to which the translator Yeats agreed to write a preface.
In November, the first edition of Gitanjali was published in London. In general, the book was favorably received by the English press. The Times Literary Supplement said: “When you read these poems, you realize that they are not just curious specimens of an alien culture. They seem to predict what kind of poetry could be created in English if our poets could achieve the same harmony between feeling and idea. The divergence between religion and philosophy that prevails in our midst shows how weak we are in both fields. When we read these works, they remind us of the psalms of King David, written in our day. It is possible that many will refuse to fall under the spell of the Indian poet, since his philosophy is different from ours. If it seems fantastic and alien to us, then before we despise it, we must ask ourselves the question: what is our own philosophy? Our thought moves non-stop, but it is not such that poets can express it.”
The collection was later published in many countries around the world. One of the songs in this collection, “Janaganamana,” gained such popularity that after India achieved independence, it became the country’s national anthem.
The collection "Gitanjali" played big role in Tagore receiving the Nobel Prize. How the decision was made to award this high award Tagore, said Swedish academician A. Esterling:
"T. Sturge Moore, an English writer and member of the Royal Society, proposed him (Tagore) for consideration as a candidate for the prize. The minutes of the Nobel committee show that this proposal was received with interest and surprise. True, Harald Hjerne, who was then the chairman of the committee, was afraid to compromise him with such a decision. It is not easy to decide, he said, what in Tagore's wonderful poetry is his true personal creativity, and what should be represented as classical tradition Indian literature...
The dispute was resolved in Tagore's favor thanks to a written response from Werner von Heidenstam, who himself received the Nobel Prize three years later. Heidenstam wrote about the book Gitanjali, translated into English by Tagore himself: “I was deeply moved when I read these poems, and I do not remember that I have read anything like it for the last twenty years or more. They gave me hours of intense joy, it was like a sip of water from a fresh, pure spring. The ardent and loving worship that permeates his every thought and feeling, the purity of his heart, the noble and natural sublimity of his style - all combine to create works of rare spiritual beauty in his work. nothing that is controversial or offensive, nothing vain, vulgar and petty, and if any poet can be said to have qualities that make him worthy of the Nobel Prize, it is Tagore... Now that we have found the ideal poet of true stature , we have no right to pass him by. For the first time, and perhaps for the last, we had the opportunity to discover a great name before it appeared in all the newspapers. We must not hesitate and miss the opportunity by waiting until next year."
Tagore was in Shantiniketon when the news arrived that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize on November 13, 1913. Five days later he wrote to Rothenstein: “The moment I received news of the high honor bestowed upon me by the award of the Nobel Prize, my heart turned to you with love and gratitude. I felt that among my friends no one would be as happy about this news as you. Above all honors is the knowledge that those whom we value most will be happy for us. But nevertheless, this is a serious test for me. The hurricane of public passions generated by this event is terrifying. It's almost as bad as tying a tin can to a dog's tail so that it can't run without making a fuss and drawing crowds of onlookers along the way. Over the past few days I have been inundated with telegrams and letters. And those people who have never been friendly to me or have never read a line of my works shout the loudest about their joy. I cannot express to you how tired I am of all this screaming, the amazing deceptiveness of which is unbearable for me. Truly these people glorify the glory in my face, and not me at all.”
As K. Kripalani writes: “The prize was awarded for poetic creativity and artistic merit Tagore's poetry. But the very fact that the prize was awarded to a representative from Asia gave the award special significance. Tagore turned from a personality into a symbol - a symbol of the West's acceptance of Asian culture and its potential revival. Tagore was the first to impress upon the minds of the Western intelligentsia the fact, now generally accepted, that the “wisdom of Asia” is alive and must be treated as a living being and not as a curious museum exhibit.”
Not everyone was happy that a native of Asia received the Nobel Prize. One American newspaper wrote: “The awarding of the Nobel Prize for Literature to an Indian caused a lot of grief and a lot of surprise among the writers of the white race. They can’t understand why this award went to a person with dark skin.” Toronto Globe: "For the first time, the Nobel Prize has gone to someone we cannot call 'white.' It will take some time before we become accustomed to the idea that someone named Rabindranath Tagore can receive a world prize for literary achievement. (Didn’t they tell us that the West and the East would not leave their places?) This name sounds funny. The first time we saw it on the pages of the newspapers, it seemed to us that it was invented as a joke.”
The Nobel Prize was awarded to the British ambassador in Sweden, and only a few months later the Governor-General of India solemnly handed it over to Tagore. It is noteworthy that Tagore donated the monetary part of the prize to his school, where a university with free education was opened with this money.
From this time on, the period of recognition of Tagore’s work began both in India itself and abroad. In 1915, the English king elevated Tagore to a knighthood. Oxford University awarded him an honorary doctorate.
Tagore traveled a lot, visited European countries, Japan, China, the USA, and the Soviet Union (1930). At home, Tagore lived on his estate, where he continued his literary and teaching activities. His new works were published: collections of poems “Cranes” (1916), “Voice of the Forest” (1931), “The Last Octave” (1935), “On the Bed of Sickness” (1940), “Last Poems” (1941), novels - “ Home and Peace" (1916), "Four Parts" (1934), travel diary "Letters about Russia" (1931).
After the outbreak of World War II, Tagore issued an appeal against fascism. However, the writer was already mortally ill. English doctors tried to save his life, but Tagore refused the operation for a long time because he believed that it would desecrate the purity of his body. When the operation was finally done, it no longer brought the expected effect.