Question

What developed in Rabindranath an attraction for nature?
A) His father, Maharshi Devendranath's efforts.
B) The void created in his life by his mother’s death
C) The aversion for the city life
D) The preaching of Brahmo Samaj

Answer 1

Hint: Bengali author, short story writer, song composer, playwright, and painter Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet, short story writer, song composer, playwright, and painter. He helped introduce Indian culture to the West and vice versa, as well as modern prose and verse styles and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, and is widely regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early twentieth-century India.

Complete answer:
Debendranath Tagore, the youngest son of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), was a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, a new religious sect in nineteenth-century Bengal that attempted to revive the ultimate monistic foundation of Hinduism as laid down in the Upanishads. He was educated at home and, despite being sent to England for formal schooling at the age of seventeen, he did not complete his studies there.

He oversaw the family estates in his later years, in addition to his many-faceted literary interests, a project that took him closer to popular humanity and piqued his interest in social reforms. At Shantiniketan, he also started an experimental school where he tried out his Upanishadic educational ideals. He was a devoted friend of Gandhi, the political father of modern India, and he engaged in the Indian nationalist movement on occasion, albeit in his own non-sentimental and imaginative way. Tagore was knighted by the British government in 1915, but he resigned the honour a few years later in protest of British policies in India.

Option A. His father, Maharshi Devendranath efforts : Debendranath Tagore, a Hindu philosopher and religious reformer who was involved in the Brahmo Samaj, was a Hindu philosopher and religious reformer. In 1848, he established the Brahmo faith, which is now associated with Brahmoism. So, his father’s efforts didn’t develop in Rabindranath, an attraction for nature. Hence, this option is incorrect.

Option B. The void created in his life by his mother’s death : 'Rabindranath Tagore's mother died when he was a child, and his father, Maharishi Devendranath Tagore, was a pillar of the Brahmo Samaj. This void in his life sparked an interest in nature that would become his life's overriding passion.' So, this answer is correct.

Option C. The aversion for city life : The aversion for city life didn’t develop in Rabindranath an attraction for nature, so this option is incorrect.

Option D. The preaching of Brahmo Samaj : Debendranath Tagore, Dwarkanath's son, was a key figure in the Brahmo Samaj Movement. Debebendranath established a meditation centre and guest house on a piece of land about 100 miles from Calcutta called ‘Shantiniketan,' or the Abode of Peace, in 1863. So, this option is incorrect.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note:
Tagore was first and foremost a poet, despite his popularity in a variety of literary genres. His fifty or so volumes of poetry include Manasi (1890) [The Perfect One], Sonar Tari (1894) [The Golden Boat], Gitanjali (1910) [Song Offerings], Gitimalya (1914) [Wreath of Songs], and Balaka (1916) [The Flight of Cranes].

He also wrote musical and dance dramas, numerous reviews, travel diaries, and two autobiographies, one in his later years and the other shortly before his death in 1941. Tagore has left a large number of drawings and paintings, as well as songs for which he composed the music.