Rabindranath Tagore's Birthday
Next: May 7, 2027
The poet who wrote two nations' anthems.
The story
Where it comes from
Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta on 7 May 1861, and this Story marks his birthday. Poet, songwriter, playwright, novelist and painter, he wrote in Bengali and became known in the West through his own English translations. In 1901 he founded a school at Santiniketan in rural West Bengal, which grew into Visva-Bharati, a 'world university', in 1921. In 1913 he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and Gitanjali, his 'song offerings', became the most acclaimed of his books in English.
How it's celebrated
In West Bengal and Bangladesh his birthday is kept as Pochishe Boishakh, the 25th day of the Bengali month of Boishakh, which falls in early May; elsewhere many mark 7 May. Schools and cultural groups begin with dawn processions, and the day fills with his songs, Rabindra Sangeet, with poetry, dance and drama, above all at Santiniketan. Anyone can join in by reading one of his poems aloud.
Did you know
- He is the only poet credited with writing the national anthems of two countries: India's 'Jana Gana Mana' and Bangladesh's 'Amar Sonar Bangla'.
- On 20 July 1927 he arrived in Singapore by ship, at the start of a tour of Malaya, Java, Bali and Siam.
- Santiniketan, the campus he founded, was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2023.
Coming up next
- Parents' Day (Korea) · May 8, 2027
- World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day · May 8, 2027
- World Migratory Bird Day · May 8, 2027
- Mother's Day · May 9, 2027
- J. M. Barrie's Birthday · May 9, 2027
- The First Transcontinental Railroad Is Completed · May 10, 2027