Guru Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti or the Rabindra Jayanti is a cultural celebration for the Bengali community around the world. It is celebrated in remembrance and respect of the pioneer Rabindranath Tagore on his birthday. It is celebrated all across the world in the month of May, specifically on the 25th day of the Bengali month of Baishakh. Tagore was born on the day in the year 1268 as per the Bengali calendar or in 1861 AD, as per the Gregorian calendar. He was born to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi and was nicknamed ‘Rabi. The polymath was also known by the names of ‘Gurudev, ‘Kabiguru, and ‘Biswakabi.
Cultural programmes and events are held on this day, including celebrating the life and works of Rabindranath Tagore. They sing Rabindra sangeet or songs written and composed by him. Many dances, drama, writing, poetry recitation, etc are held all across the country. Schools, colleges and universities in West Bengal and around the world also pay their respects to the Nobel prize awardee, Tagore. The day is elaborately celebrated at Santiniketan in Birbhum in West Bengal, mainly in the Visva-Bharati University which was established by Tagore himself.
Rabindranath Tagore was a prolific writer with works ranging from poetry and songs to short stories and plays. He started writing poetry at the age of 8 and published his first collection at the age of 16. His father wanted him to become a barrister but he opted for an independent study of Shakespeare, Religio Medici, Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra.
He created an educational setup called Shanti Niketan based on practical activities. He was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his selected poetry collection titled, Gitanjali which is originally written in Bengali and later translated into English. At the age of 42, he married Mrinalini Devi and at the age of 60, Rabindranath Tagore took up drawing and painting and held many successful exhibitions of his works.