Emran Emon

Rabindra Jayanti, observed on the 25th of Boishakh in the Bengali calendar, stands as one of the most significant cultural celebrations in Bengali history. Every year, on this day, we commemorate the birth anniversary of the polymath poet Rabindranath Tagore. This year, we are celebrating the 164rd Rabindra Jayanti.

The festival is celebrated with immense enthusiasm across West Bengal, other Indian states, Bangladesh, and Bengali-speaking communities around the world. Even the diaspora participates in these festivities. In West Bengal, the day is marked as a public holiday.

The essence of the celebration includes Rabindra Sangeet performances, dance, dramatizations of his plays, recitations of his writings, seminars, and various cultural events. Locations associated with Tagore, such as Jorasanko Thakur Bari, Rabindra Sadan in Kolkata and Santiniketan, draw large crowds during this time.

In Bangladesh, Rabindra Jayanti is celebrated extensively in both cities and rural areas. A major event is also organized at Shilaidaha Rabindra Kuthibari. Educational institutions across the country host special programs.

Even during Tagore’s lifetime, Rabindra Jayanti was observed. Through this ceremonious celebration, Bengalis acknowledge Tagore’s unparalleled contribution to the language, literature, education, and culture of Bengal. But the origins of Rabindra Jayanti hold a fascinating history, largely unknown to many. Let us explore that history and how Tagore viewed his own birthday.

In a letter dated 25th Boishakh 1293 (1886) to Shirish Chandra Majumdar, Rabindranath Tagore wrote: “Today is my birthday. Twenty-five years ago, on this very day, I descended upon this earth to bless it. May many more such days come in my life. Life is full of joy.”

Reading this might lead one to think Tagore was quite conscious of his birthday. However, that assumption is quickly challenged by another letter he wrote to Jadunath Sarkar: “The extent of discomfort I feel in all these elaborate outward celebrations is known only to the omniscient.”

Tagore was, in fact, never enthusiastic about the celebration of his own birthday. His first birthday celebration took place when he was 26 years old. Yet, for the next 22 years, his birthday remained largely a private affair, limited to the inner circles of the Thakur family. Eventually, he couldn’t deny the heartfelt appeals of his admirers across the world and gave in to their wishes.

The very first celebration of Rabindra Jayanti occurred in 1887 when Tagore was 26. In her autobiography “Jiboner Jharapata”, his niece Sarala Devi Chaudhurani recalled: “I was the one who organized Rabimama’s first birthday celebration. At the time, he lived with Mejomama and Notunmama at 89 Park Street. Early in the morning, I quietly entered his room with garlands I made from Bokul flowers from our house in Ulto Dinga’s Kashiabagan and added Bel flowers bought from the market. I laid the garlands and a pair of dhoti and chadar at his feet and gently woke him. Soon, everyone in the house stirred—it was Rabi’s birthday, and excitement spread. From that year, his birthday began to be celebrated among family.”

The first public celebration of Rabindra Jayanti occurred in 1910 at Santiniketan, as he transitioned from 49 to 50 years of age. It was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Ashramites and was termed the “Festival of the Intimate.”

The first grand public celebration was in 1912, marking his 51st birthday. Along with the Ashram community, several prominent personalities from Kolkata, including Satyen Dutta, Sukumar Ray and Ramananda Chattopadhyay, joined the effort under the leadership of Prasanta Mahalanobis.

Tagore was welcomed with Vedic chants, flower garlands, and rituals. Though the poet remained silent that day, his sentiments were echoed in Nepal Chandra Ray’s speech, who said: “You all revere Gurudev, but never place him in the seat of God.”

Indeed, Tagore never wished to be deified. He wrote:

“Where the lowest of the low reside,

Even more destitute than the destitute—

There lies Your sacred path.

Behind all, beneath all, among the forsaken—

There I seek Your feet.”

Tagore sought divinity among the downtrodden, the forgotten, and the broken. But people, in their admiration, would not let him remain just human. For he belonged to all. He was the Vishwakavi—the Poet of the World.

In 1931, Tagore’s 70th birthday was celebrated with grand grandeur, which celebration still remembered in Bengali history. The primary organizer was Amal Home. The celebration committee included an array of luminaries. Presided over by Jagadish Chandra Bose, its members included Haraprasad Shastri, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Subhas Chandra Bose, Prasanta Mahalanobis, C.V. Raman, Rajshekhar Bose, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Indira Devi, Kalidas Nag, and Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, among others.

On the occasion of the poet’s felicitation, two commemorative books were published—one in Bengali and the other in English. The English volume was titled “The Golden Book of Tagore”, a name given by Romain Rolland. This book featured tributes to Rabindranath from some of the most illustrious admirers of his time, including Albert Einstein, Knut Hamsun and Harold Laski.

The celebration extended beyond Boishakh. From December 25 to 31, 1931, Kolkata observed “Tagore Week.” Several events were held at the University of Calcutta and the Town Hall. An exhibition of Tagore’s paintings and manuscript works was arranged at the Town Hall. At Eden Gardens, traditional performances such as jatra, kirtan, jari, kathakata, raybenshe, and indigenous games were organized.

The last Rabindra Jayanti during the poet’s lifetime was on 25th Boishakh 1348 (May 8, 1941). It was observed quietly at Santiniketan. Sitting in “Udayan,” Tagore penned a few reflective lines—his final birthday message—a philosophical distillation of his life:

“On this day of my birth,

I dissolve into the moment—

I seek the touch of friends,

The mortal essence of love—

So I may carry with me

Life’s final gift,

Mankind’s last blessing.”

Even during his lifetime, the Rabindranath Tagore endured humiliation over the celebration of Rabindra Jayanti. In 1911, when the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad organized an event in his honor, a powerful faction in Kolkata rose in opposition. They went so far as to print and distribute leaflets denouncing the celebration—and even sent one directly to the poet himself.

Grief-stricken, the poet wrote a letter to Ramendra Sundar Tribedi on May 4, 1911. In it, Rabindranath wrote: “As I stand on the threshold of completing fifty years of my life, I have received yet another insult as a birthday gift—the accusation that I am greedy for self-glory. I accept this slander with bowed head and begin the fifty-first year of my life. May you bless me so that every humiliation I endure may be made meaningful.”

One could fill volumes writing about Rabindranath Tagore, and still, it would be insufficient. The scope of his thought, work and influence is vast—full of turns and transformations.

Ever since I began reading literature, Rabindranath has become inseparably intertwined with my being. From that very moment, he has become a part of my thoughts. I think, this is not unique to me—any Bengali is bound to feel the same. I believe that among all the realms of a Bengali’s consciousness, Rabindranath Tagore occupies a significant portion. I say this not only considering his literary works but also his way of life. That is why, to imagine Bengali identity without Rabindranath is utterly inconceivable.

Rabindranath Tagore holds many identities—poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, lyricist, and social reformer. But what is his foremost identity? At times, he appears to be the great poet; at others, a master prose writer or lyricist. Yet one cannot deny that through his poems, stories, and essays, he has portrayed the entirety of human life. Therefore, rather than confining his greatness to a particular genre, it seems more appropriate to say that the essence of his writing itself is what sets him apart.

In 1913, Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first Bengali to receive this prestigious honor for his outstanding contribution to the literary world. This landmark achievement brought global attention to the richness of the Bengali language and its literary tradition.

Rabindranath Tagore is a towering figure in Bengali literature—an immortal spirit whose presence can never be erased. Just as Shakespeare remains ever-present in English literature, so too does Tagore shine as a luminous star in Bengali literature—a star whose light will continue to radiate across the universe. Rabindranath was, is, and will forever remain enshrined in the deepest chambers of our hearts.

The writer is a researcher, journalist and columnist. He can be reached at emoncolumnist@gmail.com