Rabindranath Tagore's 82nd death anniversary today

The 82nd death anniversary of Biswakabi Rabindranath Tagore is being observed in the country today.

Different government, non-government and socio-cultural organisations have drawn up programmes to observe the day.

According to the Gregorian calendar, Rabindranath died at the age of 80 on August 7 in 1941. But his death anniversary is observed in Bangladesh on Sraban 22 of Bengali calendar.

The youngest of 13 surviving children of Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi, Rabindranath was born on 25th of Bengali month of Baishakh 1268 (May 7, 1861) at the Jorasanko mansion in Calcutta.

The "Bard of Bengal" composed over 2,000 songs which created a separate genre, known as "Tagore songs".

He also wrote eight novels, 84 short stories and numerous poems in his prolific literary career spanned over almost seven decades. Gitanjali, Gora and Ghare-Baire are his best-known works.

Rabindranath became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: Bangladesh's "Amar Shonar Bangla" and India's "Jana Gana Mana".

State-run Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar and private television and radio stations will air special programmes on the occasion of the day.