Tagore's legacy will always endure: Mukherjee

President Pranab Mukherjee Thursday paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on the eve of his birthday, saying Gurudev's legacy will always endure.

"On the occasion of the birthday of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, I join fellow citizens in paying tribute to this great nationalist and thinker who was far ahead of his times. One of the most outstanding creative geniuses of modern India, Tagore's legacy will always endure," Mukherjee said in a statement.

"Tagore was a renaissance personality. Such souls not only illuminate the times they live in, but also remain an inspiration for humanity," he said, noting Tagore was a revered poet, writer, painter, author of the country's national anthem, and Asia's first Nobel laureate in the field of literature.

"Tagore was a global citizen who believed that one could promote one's own culture while appreciating the culture of others. He did not see any contradiction between respect for universal values, while maintaining one's own," he said.

Mukherjee pointed out that the significance of Tagore's philosophy of harmony, peace, love and goodwill and his vision of one world remain relevant today, despite the passage of time.