Tagore’s birthday celebrations

Join us at Shakespeare’s Birthplace on Sunday 5 May to celebrate the 163rd birthday of the Indian Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore with a day of engaging activities exploring the continued importance to his work, and Tagore’s links with Shakespeare.

About Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861. He is perhaps best known for winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for his poetry and two of his songs are the national anthems for India and Bangladesh.

Shakespeare was a great influence on Tagore. The poem, 'In Honour of William Shakespeare', praises the playwright as both an English and world poet. The poem is now engraved and on permanent display with the bust of Tagore situated in the Birthplace Garden. Like Shakespeare, Tagore’s works have a broad, timeless appeal.

Celebrating Tagore’s Influence

To mark Tagore’s birthday, we have invited two organisations from the South Asian community to highlight the continued importance of his work, and the interconnected relationship with Shakespeare.

Tagore’s seasonal songs - Prantik

12 pm |Shakespeare’s Birthplace Garden

Inside the Gardens of Shakespeare’s Birthplace enjoy open-air performances and English translations of Tagore’s seasonal songs, accompanied by esraj and tabla, from the group Prantik. 

This intimate event will conclude with a ceremonial laying of the wreath on the bust of Tagore located in the garden of Shakespeare’s Birthplace.”

Learn more about the history of our bust of Tagore.

DESIblitz

11am – 4pm | Henley Street, Outside the Front of Shakespeare’s Birthplace

New for this year we are bringing the celebrations of Tagore’s birthday to Henley Street as British Asian Lifestyle brand DESIblitz bring their brightly decorated, Punjabi ‘Truck Art'’ to Shakespeare’s Birthplace for the celebrations.

DESIblitz will be showcasing the exceptional talents of Bangladeshi-born British singer, Rowshanara Moni as she performs pieces inspired by Tagore’s work.

Live performances take place at:

• 13.30 pm
• 14.30 pm
• 15.30 pm

So, pull up one of the colourful deckchairs and enjoy.

Event Information:

Performances in the garden and the and wreath ceremony are included in the admission ticket to Shakespeare's Birthplace and the Shakespeare's Story Ticket.

Performances on Henley Street are free to access, with no booking required.

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