As a Bengali, I don’t just know Rabindranath Tagore — I feel him.
He isn’t just a historical figure to me. He’s the soul that still sings in our songs, the thought that still breathes in our poetry, and the light that still guides our culture. Rabindra Jayanti, celebrated every year on 25th Boishakh, is not just his birthday — it is a day when Bengal remembers who it truly is.
This year, we celebrate Rabindranath Tagore’s 164th birth anniversary on Friday, May 9, 2025.
Born on 7th May 1861 in Jorasanko, Kolkata, Tagore gave us more than just literature. He gave us an identity — one that values art, depth, beauty, truth, and fearless thinking.
From the moment I first heard Rabindra Sangeet as a child, his words made sense of my emotions.
His poems taught me that pain is not weakness, that love can be both divine and human, and that freedom begins in the mind.
He was born into greatness — the son of Debendranath Tagore, a spiritual thinker — but he didn’t chase power. He chased meaning. He taught himself, questioned everything, and created a universe of ideas from his own soul.
His journey was never loud, but always deep.
He wasn’t a freedom fighter with a sword, but with a pen. After Jallianwala Bagh, he gave up his British knighthood — not for attention, but out of conscience. That one silent gesture still speaks volumes today.
He built Visva-Bharati University — a dream in the open air, where learning wasn’t punishment, but play. In that space, under trees and beside ponds, he taught students to think freely, feel deeply, and live creatively.
When he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, the world looked at India and saw brilliance, not just struggle. He didn’t just win for Bengal — he won for humanity.
Jaya hay Jaya hay Jaya hay – Jai Hind #Tagore#nationalanthem#gurudev#RabindraJayanti pic.twitter.com/TKgfCy6jQf
— Panchami Manoo Ukil (@PakhiPanchami) May 7, 2025
And the gifts he left us?
- Over 2,000 songs, sung at homes, schools, and street corners even today.
- The Indian national anthem — Jana Gana Mana, words that still unite us.
- The Bangladeshi national anthem — Amar Shonar Bangla, a song of love for the land.
- Paintings that he started in his sixties — bold, abstract, and way ahead of his time.
- A voice that travelled across the world, preaching peace, dignity, and global harmony.
But perhaps his greatest legacy is this: He made us feel proud to think deeply, speak gently, and create beautifully.
Every Rabindra Jayanti, I see his spirit in the young child reciting poetry, in the student singing in the school courtyard, in the quiet reader with Gitanjali in their lap. His presence is everywhere — not loud, not forced — just there, like a heartbeat.
Tagore is not just a poet. He is a way of being.
In a world chasing noise, he taught us the value of silence.
In a time of hate, he gave us the courage to love.
In an age of machines, he reminded us we are human.
And as long as we sing his songs, read his words, and carry his ideas — Tagore lives on.
For me, he is not just part of Bengal’s past. He is the best of our soul.
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