How did Rabindranath Tagore influence Bengali music and literature?

Rabindranath Tagore is considered the most influential figure in shaping Bengali culture and intellectual thought. His contributions revolutionized both literature and music:1

Literature
Tagore transformed Bengali literature by pioneering new prose and verse forms and introducing the use of colloquial language. By doing so, he freed the language from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. His vast body of work includes celebrated novels, short stories that poignantly capture the lives of common people, and poetry collections such as Gitanjali, which helped him become the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.231

Music
As a composer and lyricist, Tagore created a distinct genre known as Rabindra Sangeet, which remains a powerful force in Bengali cultural life. These songs draw from both pure Indian classical traditions and folk music. His musical legacy is further cemented by his composition of the national anthems for both India and Bangladesh.13