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Life of Rabindranath Tagore (1932–1941)
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The latter life of Rabindranath Tagore
was marked by chronic pain and extended ill health, while Tagore's works took to more heavily emphasizing an exploration of the nature of death.
Tagore's international travels also sharpened his opinion that human divisions were shallow. During a May 1932 visit to a Bedouin
encampment in the Iraq
i desert, the tribal chief told him that "Our prophet has said that a true Muslim is he by whose words and deeds not the least of his brother-men may ever come to any harm ..." Tagore noted in his diary: "I was startled into recognizing in his words the voice of essential humanity."
In his last decade, Tagore compiled fifteen volumes of writings, including works of prose-poems such as Punashcha (1932), Shes Saptak (1935), and Patraput (1936). He also continued his experimentations by developing prose-songs and dance-dramas, including Chitrangada (1936), Shyama (1939), and Chandalika (1938). He also wrote the novels Dui Bon (1933), Malancha (1934), and Char Adhyay (1934). Tagore also took an interest in science in his last years, writing Visva-Parichay (a collection of essays) in 1937. He wrote on topics ranging from biology to physics, and astronomy; meanwhile, his poetry — containing extensive naturalism — underscored his respect for scientific laws. He also wove the process of science (including narratives of scientists) into many stories contained in such volumes as Se (1937), Tin Sangi (1940), and Galpasalpa (1941).
The last person to see Tagore alive was Amiya Kumar Sen (brother of Sukumar Sen, the first chief election commissioner). Tagore dictated his last poem to Sen, who later donated the resulting draft to a museum in Kolkata.
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
was marked by chronic pain and extended ill health, while Tagore's works took to more heavily emphasizing an exploration of the nature of death.
Last works of 1932-1937
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
encampment in the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i desert, the tribal chief told him that "Our prophet has said that a true Muslim is he by whose words and deeds not the least of his brother-men may ever come to any harm ..." Tagore noted in his diary: "I was startled into recognizing in his words the voice of essential humanity."
In his last decade, Tagore compiled fifteen volumes of writings, including works of prose-poems such as Punashcha (1932), Shes Saptak (1935), and Patraput (1936). He also continued his experimentations by developing prose-songs and dance-dramas, including Chitrangada (1936), Shyama (1939), and Chandalika (1938). He also wrote the novels Dui Bon (1933), Malancha (1934), and Char Adhyay (1934). Tagore also took an interest in science in his last years, writing Visva-Parichay (a collection of essays) in 1937. He wrote on topics ranging from biology to physics, and astronomy; meanwhile, his poetry — containing extensive naturalism — underscored his respect for scientific laws. He also wove the process of science (including narratives of scientists) into many stories contained in such volumes as Se (1937), Tin Sangi (1940), and Galpasalpa (1941).
Illness of 1937-1941
Tagore's last four years (1937–1941) were marked by chronic pain and two long periods of illness. These began when Tagore lost consciousness in late 1937; he remained comatose and near death for an extended period. This was followed three years later in late 1940 by a similar spell, from which he never recovered. The poetry Tagore wrote in these twilight years are distinctive for their preoccupation with death; these more profound and mystical experimentations allowed Tagore to be branded a "modern poet". After extended suffering, Tagore died on August 7, 1941 (22 Shravan 1348) in an upstairs room of the Jorasanko mansion in which he was raised. This date is still mourned in public functions held across the Bangla-speaking world.The last person to see Tagore alive was Amiya Kumar Sen (brother of Sukumar Sen, the first chief election commissioner). Tagore dictated his last poem to Sen, who later donated the resulting draft to a museum in Kolkata.