Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore, also known as Gurudev was a Bengali polymath who made huge contributions to literature, art and music. Born in May 1871, Tagore found himself interested in Poetry at a young age of 8. Over time he started writing short stories and dramas as well. A large number of his writings Tagore advocated the freedom from British Raj. However, his writings also played an influential role in the shaping of Bengal renaissance, with their ideas of modernism and liberalism. Tagore's works combined the elements of personal with political in unique ways. In 1921 Tagore founded the Vishwa Bharati university at Shantiniketan that was a break away from the regular rote-learning mode of education to a kind that connected the students to humanities studies world over. In 1913, Tagore became the first non-European to win a Nobel prize in literature. He is also the composer of India's national anthem. Tagore's contributions to Indian culture and literature are celebrated widely not just in India but also internationally.