I decided to do my cultural project on Rabindranath Thakur (westernized version is Tagore) because one of my interests in Bengali is exploring the literature the language has. Sabrina had suggested that I explore Rabindranath because he is one of her favorites. I kept him in mind and then one day I decided to do a little research on him; I was blown away and decided that he'd be perfect to do my project on. One of the reasons why he was so interesting to me was because of his dual relationship with India and Bangladesh and how that impacted the countries' cultural association with him. Rabindranath was born in Calcutta, but had close ties to Bangladesh- living there for a while at one point in his life.
His literature influenced the writings in both India and Bangladesh as he's considered a classic today. His poetry was mystic and his novels, dramas, and essays displayed his political/social views (anti-nationalistic and modernistic).He wrote and composed the songs that are now the national anthems of Bangladesh and India. His influence still lingers and all of South Asia still celebrate his birth anniversary every year.
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