Rabindranath Tagore birth anniversary: Here are 7 lesser known facts about him

Rabindranath Tagore is a well-known poet and prolific writer whose works include poetry, short tales, and plays. He was also the first Indian to get a Nobel Prize in literature, as well as a novelist who penned and composed a whole genre of songs. His contributions to literature, music, art, and politics are outstanding.

Here are lesser known facts of Rabindranath Tagore:

1. People frequently refer to him as Gurudev. Rabindranath Tagore's aliases include Kabiguru and Biswakabi.

2. He got the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913 and is the only Indian to have received the award in this area. He earned this coveted prize for his collection of poems titled Gitanjali.

3. Tagore used to create songs, novels, and dramas depicting average people's life, literary criticism, philosophy, and social concerns.

4. He was knighthood in 1915, but resigned it on May 31, 1919, in protest over the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre in Amritsar, Punjab.

5. On the 150th anniversary of Tagore's birth, a bronze monument of him was unveiled in Gordon Square, London, in 2011. The inscriptions on this statue, according to Prince Charles, will "flash out as a light of tolerance."

6. Rabindranath Tagore, who also wrote the National Anthem, was a multifaceted individual in every way. He was one of those brilliant persons who was ahead of his time, which is why his meeting with Albert Einstein is seen as a conflict of science and spirituality.

7. Tagore built Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, West Bengal, solely to challenge traditional classroom teaching techniques. Many university sessions are still being held under trees in open areas. In 1951, Visva Bharati University was designated as a central university.