Rabindranath Tagore was born at a time when India was seething with unrest and discontent. Following the Sepoy War, the government had just changed from the hands of the British East India Company to the British Crown. On the one hand there were persecution by the rulers and religion bigotry, superstition and social inequity among people, while on the other hand the followers of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the father of modern India, together with other forward looking men and women were striving for regeneration of the country. One of the foremost among them was Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, the father of the poet.

The Tagore family was a gifted and cultured one. It produced great men and women who made their mark not only in literature, but also in art, music, philosophy and statecraft.

Into this family, Rabindranath Tagore, the poet, philosopher and educator was born in Calcutta on May 6, 1861. Although his mother died while he was still young, the life of his father was a source of great inspiration to the poet.