Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta on May 7th, 1861 as the youngest of 14 children of Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi.

An Indian literary icon and defender of humanism, Tagore published his first work at age 16 under the pseudonym Bhanusimha, after beginning to write at age eight.

Tagore had a long friendship with the leader of the Indian independence movement Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whom he called ‘Mahatma’, which in Sanskrit and Hindi means ‘Great Soul’.

The so-called Bengal Bard is revered throughout the world for his contribution to literature, music, and art.

He was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for his collection of Gitanjali poetry, which revolutionized Bengali literary art alongside other works such as Home and the World.

Tagore composed more than 2,230 songs and wrote Sahaj Path, a Bengali language learning book, as well as the national anthems of India, Jana Gana Mana, and Bangladesh, Amar Sonar Bangla. The Rabindra Nritya dance form is named after him.

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