Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali, a collection of poems, the most popular work by Rabindranath Tagore, was published in India in 1910. Later, he translated it into prose poetry in English as Gitanjali, Song Offerings, and it was published in 1912 with an introduction by William Butler Yeats. Medieval Indian lyrics of affection gave Tagore's model to the poems of Gitanjali, as well as he composed music for these lyrics. Love is the essential subject, even though some poems are about the internal journey between spiritual longings and earthly desires. More of his imagination is drawn from nature, and the commanding mood is minor-key and muted. This collection helped him win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. However, a few later critics disagreed that it addressed Tagore's best work.
Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7, 1861 in a Kolkata, India. He was the son of Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905) and Sarada Devi (1830-1875). Because of his mother's early death and his father's frequent travel, he spent most of his childhood with servants. He didn't like classroom schooling and roamed around Bolpur and Panihati where his family frequently visited. He was married to Mrinalini Devi (1873-1902) when she was 10 years of age. His father also had a keen interest in music and invited several professional Dhrupad musicians to teach music to children. Rabindranath's original surname was Kushari which was changed to Tagore. He belonged to Pirali Brahmin from the village of Kush in Burdwan district of West Bengal. He is known for reshaping Bengali literature, music and art with modernization. He became the first Non-European and first lyricist to win Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a polymath and wrote poems, short stories, songs, play writer, philosopher and painter. Tagore started writing poems from the age of eight and at the age of sixteen his first poem released under pseudonym Bh?nusi?ha. In 1877, his short stories and dramas released under his real name. From 1878 to 1912 he traveled to more than 30 countries on five continents.
