Rabindranath Tagore wrote about everything - the seasons, the monsoon rains, a river at sunset, the kindness of friends, the homesickness of someone far away. His songs come in tunes you can sing on your own, or with an instrument like a harmonium or a tabla drum.
Tagore wrote in Bengali, the language of Bangladesh and the eastern part of India. His songs are so important that two countries have picked one of them as their national anthem: 'Amar Shonar Bangla' ('My Golden Bengal') is the national anthem of Bangladesh, and 'Jana Gana Mana' is the national anthem of India.
Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. That was in 1913, when he was 52, and the prize was for his book of poems Gitanjali. He also painted, ran a school in his home town, and travelled around the world giving talks.
Today, Rabindra Sangeet is everywhere in Bangladesh: at weddings, at school assemblies, on the radio, in films. Many Bengali children learn at least a few songs by heart. The melodies often feel like they belong to a slow afternoon on a verandah, with the monsoon rain drumming on the roof.