Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary: Lesser facts about the Nobel Laureate

Rabindranath Tagore (Pic/AFP)

On the 162nd birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, here are some lesser facts on the life of this finest poet.

Rabindranath Tagore, fondly called as Gurudev, was born in the Jorasanko mansion in Kolkata. He was educated at home and at seventeen was sent to England for formal schooling.

Here are a few lesser-known facts about Rabindranath Tagore:

• In the year 1913, he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He received the prestigious award for his collection of poems titled Gitanjali.
• Not just India, but his compositions were chosen by one more nation as their national anthems. Besides India's Jana Gana Mana, Bangladesh's national anthem Amar Shonar Bangla is Tagore's composition.
• Besides being a poet, he authored several short stories and novels. His writing includes Gora (1910), Ghare-Baire (1916), and Yogayog (1929). He also wrote musical dramas, essays, travel diaries, and two autobiographies.

Also read: Ten Rabindranath Tagore quotes to chew on

• He founded Visva Bharati University at Santiniketan in 1921 drawing scholars from all over the world.
• Tagore was awarded a knighthood in 1915, but he renounced it on May 31, 1919, as a protest against the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre in Amritsar
• Besides literature, he was also fond of painting. He started as a painter in the last 17 years of his life.
• Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein shared a friendly bond due to a common interest in music and curiosity for general things
• Rabindranath Tagore wrote more than 2,000 songs. His songs are now known as ‘Rabindra Sangeet'