Swami Vivekananda's web archive launched

Want to browse paintings and sculptures of Swami Vivekananda by eminent artists? Wish to know how his legacy is being kept intact? Now, a comprehensive guide to his life and works is accessible online - thanks to a new web portal.

Commemorating Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary, the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata launched a website here Friday. It has been done with monetary assistance from the union ministry of culture.

"Its a first in the country... it has lectures and other authentic information on a single site. The Vivekananda archive of the institute has contributed to the contents," an institute spokesperson told IANS.

A virtual treasure trove for Vivekananda's followers, the cyber forum contains his letters, fables and poems among other things.

Most importantly, it highlights the monk's association with music, art, architecture and the western world through articles penned by his contemporaries.

A ticker on the homepage enables one to keep tabs on how other countries like France and the US are celebrating his 150th birth anniversary.