>Citation bot at 04:13, 21 April 2021

2021-04-21T04:13:22Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ganendranath Tagore
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date = 1841
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = 16 May 1869
| death_place = Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
| occupation = Musician, theatre personality, nationalist
| spouse = Swarnakumari Devi
}}

'''Ganendranath Tagore''' was an Indian musician and theatre personality, and contributed substantially to nationalist discourse. One of the first students to pass the entrance examinations of [[University of Calcutta|Calcutta University]], he was the founder-secretary of [[Hindu Mela]].<ref name = "Bose127">Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, {{in lang|bn}}, p. 127, {{ISBN|81-85626-65-0}}</ref><ref name = "Banglapedia">{{cite book |last=Alam |first=Aksadul |year=2012 |chapter=Tagore, Gaganendranath |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tagore,_Gaganendranath |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>

==Family==
[[Dwarkanath Tagore]], the founder of [[Jorasanko]] branch of the [[Tagore family]] had left behind three sons at the time of his death – [[Debendranath Tagore|Debendranath]], Girindranath and Nagendranath. Both Girindranath and Nagendranath died quite young. Nagendranath did not leave behind any children.<ref>Bannerjee, Hiranmay, ''Thakurbarir Katha'', {{in lang|bn}}, p.52 , Sishu Sahitya Sansad.</ref> Ganendranath was the eldest son of Girindranth and Jogmaya Devi. His younger brother was Gunendranath. Ganendranath did not leave behind any children. Gunendranath's children were – [[Gaganendranath Tagore|Gaganendranath]], Samarendranath, [[Abanindranath Tagore|Abanindranath]], Binayini Devi and Sunayani Devi.<ref>Bannerjee, Hiranmay, family chart on p. 225.</ref>

They used to live in what was known as the "Baithakkhana Bari" of [[Jorasanko Thakur Bari]]. That portion has since been demolished.<ref>Bannerjee, Hiranmay, p. 6.</ref>
He used to be called ‘Mejadada’ (second elder brother) in the joint family, as he was younger to [[Dwijendranath Tagore|Dwijendranath]] but older to [[Satyendranath Tagore|Satyendranath]].<ref name = "Banerjee103">Bannerjee, Hiranmay, pp. 103-104.</ref>

==Formative years==
He was a student of [[Hindu School, Kolkata|Hindu School]] and when Calcutta University introduced the Entrance examination in 1857, he and Satyendranath Tagore passed out in first division.<ref name = "Bose127"/>

Ganendranath was an ardent writer and translated [[Kālidāsa|Kalidas's]] ''Vikramorvashiya'' into Bengali in 1869.<ref name = "Banglapedia"/> He composed devotional songs known as Brahma Sangeet and songs with patriotic fervour.<ref name = "Bose127"/> A Brahma Sangeet CD containing songs sung by Subinoy Roy and brought out in 2007 has a composition of his entitled "Gaao Hey Taahaari Naam" (Oh! sing His name) as the title song.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.inrhind.in/inreco/albumInfo.asp?lId=10&AId=288
| title =Gaao Hey Taahaari Naam
| accessdate = 24 April 2007
| last =
| first =
| work = Subinoy Roy
| publisher =Inreco
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071009203625/http://www.inrhind.in/inreco/albumInfo.asp?lId=10&AId=288 |archive-date = 9 October 2007}}</ref> The same Brahma Sangeet was also sung by [[Debabrata Biswas]] and appears in CD published in 2018.

[[Chitra Deb]] writes, "More than from any other single source, it was from this group [Debendranath Tagore's children] (and their cousins Ganendranath and Gunendranath) that the rising new currents of Bengali literature and culture drew their strength".<ref name="Deb">{{cite book |last=Deb |first=Chitra |author-link=Chitra Deb |chapter=Jorasanko and the Thakur Family |year=1990 |editor-last=Chaudhuri |editor-first=Sukanta |editor-link=Sukanta Chaudhuri |title=Calcutta: The Living City |volume=Volume I: The Past |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=65–66 |isbn=978-0-19-563696-3}}</ref>

==Jorasanko Natyashala==
Ganendranath had great attraction for the theatre. He established the Jorasanko Natyasala, a private theatre in the household, in [[Calcutta]] (now Kolkata) in 1865 and staged ''Krishnakumari'' written by [[Michael Madhusudan Dutta]] that year itself. Young [[Jyotirindranath Tagore|Jyotirindranath]] had the first opportunity to act in it in the role of Ahalyadevi.<ref name = "Banerjee103"/> At first men played the female roles, but later women of the family also acted in front of an audience of friends and relatives.<ref name="Deb" />

As there were few good plays in Bengali, which could be taken up for staging, Ganendranath announced a prize for writing plays on social themes. ''Nabanatak'' written by Ramnarayan Tarkaratna won the first prize. He awarded the playwright [[Indian Rupee|Rs.]] 200 (a princely sum in those days) and promised to bear the cost of printing a thousand copies of the play.<ref name = "Bose127"/><ref>Bannerjee, Hiranmay, p. 219.</ref> Sarada Prasad Ganguly, Akshay Mazumder, Jyotirindranath Tagore and others were actors.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mukhopadhyay |first=Ganesh |year=2012 |chapter=Theatre Stage |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Theatre_Stage |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>

==Hindu Mela==
Ganendranath founded the [[Hindu Mela]], along with Dwijendranath Tagore, [[Rajnarayan Basu]], and [[Nabagopal Mitra]] in 1867. He was founder-secretary of the organisation. It sought to promote patriotism as well as indigenous industry. Speaking at the inaugural session, he said, "This gathering is not for ordinary religious activity, not for attaining happiness in any matter, not for entertainment, it is for the country, the mother land."<ref name = "Bose127"/><ref name = "Banerjee103"/><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://museum.rabindrabharatiuniversity.net/tagore_family/tagore_society.htm
| title = The Tagores and society
| access-date = 24 April 2007
| last =
| first =
| publisher = Rabindra Bharati University
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080102090255/http://museum.rabindrabharatiuniversity.net/tagore_family/tagore_society.htm
| archive-date = 2 January 2008
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> On another occasion he said, "One of the major drawbacks of India is that we are always looking towards the nobility for whatever assistance we require. It is a matter of great shame. Are we not human beings? One of the aims of the mela is to infuse the spirit of self-dependence in the country."<ref>Sastri, Sivanath, ''Ramtanu Lahiri O Tatkalin Banga Samaj'' {Bn icon}, 1903/2001, p. 151, New Age Publishers Pvt. Ltd.</ref>

Ganendranath earned a great reputation for a song which was sung in the Hindu Mela several times: "Lajjay Bharat-jas gaibo ki kore" (How shall I sing in glory of India, because I am buried in shame).<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.amrakojon.org/kg.html
| title = Music
| access-date = 24 April 2007
| last = Goswami
| first = Karunamaya
| publisher = amrakajon.org
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070321042702/http://www.amrakojon.org/kg.html
| archive-date = 21 March 2007
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Bengal Renaissance}}
{{Tagore family}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagore, Gagendranath}}
[[Category:Musicians from Kolkata]]
[[Category:1841 births]]
[[Category:1869 deaths]]
[[Category:Tagore family|Gagendranath]]
[[Category:Indian theatre directors]]
[[Category:Bengali theatre personalities]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian composers]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian translators]]

Ganendranath Tagore - Revision history

>Citation bot at 04:13, 21 April 2021