Life of Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1901)

The life of Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) covers the first four decades of his life; these were formative of both his artistic and much of his political thinking. Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet, Brahmo philosopher, and scholar.

Family background

Tagore was born at No. 6 Dwarkanath Tagore Lane, Jorasanko — the address of his family mansion. In turn, Jorasanko was located in the Bengali section of north Kolkata (Calcutta; Bangla: কলকাতা) , located near Chitpur Road.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=34] The area immediately around the Jorasanko Tagore mansion was rife with poverty and prostitution.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=35] Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=48] He was the son of Debendranath Tagore(1817-1905) and Sarada Devi (1830-1875). Debendranath Tagore had formulated the Brahmo faith propagated by his friend, the reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Debendranath became the central figure in Brahmo society after Ray's death, who was addressed out of respect by followers as "maharishi".Harv|Roy|1977|pp=28-30.] He continued to lead the "Adi Brahmo Shomaj" until he died.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|pp=8-9.] Women who married into Tagore's clan were generally from the villages of East Bengal (now Bangladesh).Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=48]

Childhood (1861–1878)

Tagore was born the youngest of fourteen children. As a child, Tagore lived amidst an atmosphere where literary magazines were published, musical recitals were held, and theatre performed. The Jorasanko Tagores were indeed at the center of a large and art-loving social group. Tagore's oldest brother, Dwijendranath, was a respected philosopher and poet. Another brother, Satyendranath, was the first ethnically Indian member appointed to the elite and formerly all-white Indian Civil Service. Yet another brother, Jyotirindranath Tagore, was a talented musician, composer, and playwright.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|p=10.] Among his sisters, Swarnakumari Devi earned fame as a novelist in her own right. Jyotirindranath's wife, Kadambari — who was slightly older than Tagore — was a dear friend and a powerful influence on Tagore. Her abrupt suicide in 1884 left him distraught for years, and left a profound mark on the emotional timbre of Tagore's literary life.

Tagore — nicknamed "Rabi" — was born the youngest of fourteen children. As part of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, Tagore grew up exposed to the publication of literary magazines, in-home musical recitals, and theatrical performances. Tagore was also influenced by older brothers Dwijendranath (a philosopher), Satyendranath (the first Indian appointed to the elite Indian Civil Service), and Jyotirindranath (a musician, composer, and playwright).Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|p=10.] His female relatives included sister Swarna Kumari Devi (a novelist) and Kadambari (Jyotirindranath's wife, whose 1884 suicide burdened Tagore for years).

For the first decade or so of his life, Tagore remained distant from his father, who was frequently away touring northern India, England, and other places.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|p=46.] Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|p=67.] Meanwhile, Tagore was mostly confined to the family compound — he was forbidden to leave it for any purpose other than traveling to school. He thereby grew increasingly restless for the outside world, open spaces, and nature. On the other hand, Tagore was intimidated by the mansion's perceived ghostly and enigmatic aura. Further, Tagore was ordered about the house by servants in a period he would later designate as a "servocracy".Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|pp=46-47.] Incidents included servants dunking the heads of Tagore and his siblings into drinking water held by giant clay cisterns — used as a means to quiet the children.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|p=47.] In addition, Tagore often refused food to satisfy servants, was confined to a chalk circle by the second-in-command servant named Shyam in parody of an analogous forest trial that Sita underwent in the "Ramayana", and was told horrific stories telling the bloody exploits of outlaw dacoits.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|pp=47-48.]

Tagore was also was tutored at home by Hemendranath, his brother. While being physically conditioned — for example, swimming in the Ganges River, taking long treks through hilly areas, and practicing judo and wrestling — he was also given Bengali-language lessons in anatomy, drawing, English language (Tagore's least favorite subject), geography, gymnastics, history, literature, mathematics, and Sanskrit imparted before and after school.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|pp=48-49.] Meanwhile, Tagore was developed an aversion towards formal learning and schooling, stating later that the role of teaching was not to explain things, but rather toHarv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|pp=50.]

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Tagore started writing poems around age eight, and he was urged by an older brother to recite these to people in the mansion — including to an impressed Brahmo nationalist, newspaper editor, and Hindu Mela organizer. At age eleven, Tagore underwent the "upanayan" coming-of-age rite: he and two relatives were shaved bald and sent into retreat, where they were to chant and meditate. Tagore instead rollicked, beating drums and pulling his brothers' ears, after which he received a sacred thread of investiture.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=52.] Afterward, on February 14, 1873, Tagore experienced the first close contact with his father when they set out together from Calcutta on a months-long tour of India. They first made for Shantiniketan ("Abode of Peace"), a family estate acquired in 1863 by Debendranath composed of two rooms set amidst a mango grove, trees, and plants.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=53.] Tagore later recalled his stay among the rice paddies:Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|pp=53-54.]

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After several weeks, they traveled to Amritsar, staying near the Harmandir Sahib and worshipping at a Sikh gurudwara. They also read English- and Sanskrit-language books, exposing Tagore to astronomy, biographies of such figures as Benjamin Franklin, and Edward Gibbon's "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire".Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|pp=54-55.] Later, in mid-April, Tagore and his father set off for the remote and frigid Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie, India, near what is now Himachal Pradesh's border with Kashmir. There, at an elevation of some 2,300 meters (7,500 feet), they lived in a house high atop Bakrota hill. Tagore was taken aback by the region's deep gorges, alpine forests, and mossy streams and waterfalls.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=55.] Yet Tagore was also made to study lessons — including such things as Sanskrit declensions — starting in the icy pre-dawn twilight. Tagore took a break from his readings for a noontime meal; thereafter, Tagore was to continue his studies, although Tagore was often allowed to fall asleep.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|pp=55-56.] Some two months later, Tagore left his father in Dalhousie and journeyed back to Calcutta.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|pp=57.]

Schooling in England (1878–1880)

In early October 1878, Tagore traveled to England with the intent of becoming a barrister.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=67.] Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=69.] He first stayed for some months at a house that the Tagore family owned near Brighton and Hove, in Medina Villas; there, he attended a Brighton school (not, as has been claimed, Brighton College — his name does not appear in its admissions register). In 1877, his nephew and niece — Suren and Indira, the children of Tagore's brother Satyendranath — were sent together with their mother (Tagore's sister-in-law) to live with him.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=68.] Later, after spending Christmas of 1878 with his family, Tagore was escorted by his elder brother's friend to London; there, Tagore's relatives hoped that he would focus more on his studies.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=69.] He enrolled at University College London. However, he never did complete his degree, leaving England after just over a year's stay. This exposure to English culture and language would later percolate into his earlier acquaintance with Bengali musical tradition, allowing him to create new modes of music, poetry, and drama. Nevertheless, Tagore neither fully embraced English strictures nor his family's traditionally strict Hindu religious observances in either his life or in his art, choosing instead to pick the best from both realms of experience.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|pp=11-12.]

Shelaidaha

In 1890, Tagore began managing his family's estates in Shelaidaha, a region now in Bangladesh; he was joined by his wife and children in 1898. Tagore, known then as “Zamindar Babu”, Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=111.] often traveled dozens of miles across the vast estate while living out of the "Padma", the family's converted flat-bottomed keel-less barge (known as a "budgerow" or a "Daccai bajras").Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|pp=109-110.] His dealings with his tenants included the annual collection of (mostly token) rents and the blessing of villagers; in exchange for his generosity, villagers regularly held feasts in Tagore's honour — these featured such fare as dried rice and sour milk.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|pp=110-111.] In this decade, Tagore authored many works and founded a new genre of Bengali writing: the short story.Harv|Chakravarty|1961|p=45.] Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1997|p=265.] Tagore wrote some fifty-nine of them in 1891–1901; many had ironic elements or had emotional appeal while they dealt with a wide range of Bengali lifestyles.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=109.] Examples include "Sonar Tari" (1894), "Chitra" (1896), and "Katha O Kahini" (1900); his essays, poems, and plays of the time also touched on village life.

ee also

*Rabindranath Tagore
*"Rabindranath Tagore" (film)—a biographical documentary by Satyajit Ray.
*Life of Rabindranath Tagore (1901–1932)
*Life of Rabindranath Tagore (1932–1941)
*Works of Rabindranath Tagore
*Political views of Rabindranath Tagore
*Rabindra Sangeet
*Ekla Chalo Re

Notes

δ. Note_label|Upanayan|δ|none A humorous story can be related regarding Tagore's ceremony: he and two relatives were shaved bald and sent into retreat, where they were to chant and meditate. Tagore instead rollicked, beating drums and pulling his brothers' ears, after which he received a sacred thread of investiture. He successfully completed the ceremony nevertheless.Harv|Dutta|Robinson|1995|p=52.]

Citations

References

* Harvard reference
Surname1 = Dutta
Given1 = K
Surname2 = Robinson
Given2 = A
Year = 1995
Title = Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man
Publisher = St. Martin's Press
ID = ISBN 0-31214-030-4.
* Harvard reference
Surname1 = Dutta
Given1 = K (editor)
Surname2 = Robinson
Given2 = A (editor)
Year = 1997
Title = Rabindranath Tagore: An Anthology
Publisher = St. Martin's Press
ID = ISBN 0-31216-973-6.

* Harvard reference
Surname1 = Roy
Given1 = BK
Year = 1977
Title = Rabindranath Tagore: The Man and His Poetry
Publisher = Folcroft Library Editions
ID = ISBN 0-84147-330-7.
* Harvard reference
Surname1 = Sen
Given1 = A
Year = 1997
Title = Tagore and His India
Journal = New York Review of Books
URL = http://nobelprize.org/literature/articles/sen/index.html
Access-date = January 11, 2006.