UK flag
Bust in Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London, England. Photo from Wikipedia.
Bust of Rabindranath Tagore, in St Stephen Green Park, Dublin, Ireland. Photo from Wikipedia.
Over in Europe, I was surprised to see another bust honouring him in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.
Indian Flag
You can see much more about him in Kolkata (previously known as Calcutta) in India, where he was born and cremated, and in Bangladesh.
If you are not Indian, and don't already know a lot about him, you might be interested to learn the basics about his life. He was born in Calcutta in British India and lived from 1861 to 1941 and died aged 80.
He met several other well-known figures and famous people, such as Einstein and Gandhi and Nehru.
Here are the facts which impressed me:
1 He was the 13th child - and his mother died when he was a teenager.
2 He was awarded the Nobel prize in 1913.
3 His wife was 11 years old when they married - but that was common in those days, says Wikipedia, by way of explanation and in his defense.
Hm, Mohammed, did the same - several years earlier, so critics might remember this and on these ground he should be excused and reinstated.
(Perhaps the same applies to writer Edgar Allen Poe who also married his young cousin who was dying.)
We have the benefit of modern science to tell us what is best nowadays for our health and the longevity of child-bearing women. After this aside, let's move on.
You can take your family or visitors to see monuments and check up on his life story in advance in order to have more meaningful conversations.
Checklist of countries with Monuments
1 Bust in London, England.
2 Bust in Dublin, Ireland
3 Bust in Prague, Czech Republic.
4 Tagore House (museum), Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
5 Shilaidatha Kudibari, Home museum in Bangladesh.
...
There are eight Tagore museums. Three in India and five in Bangladesh:
- Rabindra Bharati Museum, at Jorasanko Thakur Bari, Kolkata, India
- Tagore Memorial Museum, at Shilaidaha Kuthibadi, Shilaidaha, Bangladesh
- Rabindra Memorial Museum at Shahzadpur Kachharibari, Shahzadpur, Bangladesh
- Rabindra Bhavan Museum, in Santiniketan, India
- Rabindra Museum, in Mungpoo, near Kalimpong, India
- Patisar Rabindra Kacharibari, Patisar, Atrai, Naogaon, Bangladesh
- Pithavoge Rabindra Memorial Complex, Pithavoge, Rupsha, Khulna, Bangladesh
- Rabindra Complex, Dakkhindihi village, Phultala Upazila, Khulna, Bangladesh
Tagore house in Calcutta, India is where he lived and died in a spacious house with red double pillars and verandas. Also see a couple of statues.
Memorial to Tagore in crematorium in Calcutta, India. Wikipedia.
Flag of Bangladesh. Wikipedia.
House in Bangladesh. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore,
National anthem of Bengal 'My Golden Bengal' - read the English translation of the words written by Tagore and hear the tune:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amar_Sonar_Bangla
Airline
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Tourist Information
UK
visitengland.com
visitbritain.com
visitbritainshop.com
IRELAND
https://www.visitdublin.com/
EUROPE
CZECH REPUBLIC
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Czech_Republic
GENERAL
tripadvisor.com
wikitravel.com
wikivoyage.com
INDIA
https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g304558-d375376-Reviews-Tagore_House-Kolkata_Calcutta_Kolkata_District_West_Bengal.html
BANGLADESH
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g3198095-d3187607-Reviews-Shilaidaha_Kuthibari_Rabindranath_Tagore_s_Residence-Kushtia_Khulna_Division.html
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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