Page 2 - Rabindranath Tagore

Many plaques installed earlier did not bear Tagore's name: Visva Bharati

Visva-Bharati said many plaques installed on the campus in the past did not bear the name of Rabindranath Tagore, the university's founder, like the recent ones erected after Santiniketan was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The statement came amid controversy over three recent plaques that did not bear the name of the Nobel laureate, who had founded the institute over a century ago. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier urged the Centre to remove the plaques as they bear the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ex-officio Chancellor, and the VC but not that of Tagore. As no action was taken in this regard, workers of her party, the Trinamool Congress, staged a sit-in near the campus. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP had also called upon Visva-Bharati authorities to set right the omission of Tagore's name in the plaque as it involved the sentiments of millions of Bengalis. In a statement on Monday, Visva Bharati spokesperson Mahua ...

Tagore is an emotion, his memory cannot be obliterated: WB Governor

Maintaining that Rabindranath Tagore was an emotion, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Wednesday said that the Nobel laureate's memory cannot be obliterated or ignored. Bose made the comment when asked by reporters about the row over the plaques installed at the Visva-Bharati, founded by Tagore, to mark the UNESCO world heritage tag. The plaques installed at the central varsity's campus in Birbhum district's Santiniketan do not have Tagore's name, but those of PM Narendra Modi, who is the chancellor, and vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty. "Tagore is a feeling, an emotion felt in the blood and heart of Indians. There cannot be any instance where Gurudev's memory is obliterated or ignored. Gurudev enjoys the highest respect in the minds of all Indians," said Bose, who is also the rector of the varsity, on the sidelines of a programme. Santiniketan, where Tagore built Visva-Bharati over a century ago, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in September. The Trinamool ..

Visva-Bharati V-C accuses protesting TMC leaders of threatening to kill him

Visva-Bharati Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty has lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that he received life threats from Trinamool Congress leaders who have been protesting outside the central varsity's campus in Santiniketan over the plaque row, a senior officer said on Tuesday. The VC emailed his complaint to the Santiniketan Police Station in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Monday, he said. Since October 27, workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress have been protesting outside the university campus, demanding the removal of the plaques on UNESCO World Heritage site status to Santiniketan for not bearing the name of Visva-Bharati founder Rabindranath Tagore. "The VC has sent a letter to us alleging that he has received life threats from some people who are staging a protest outside the university campus. We are looking into his complaint," the officer told PTI. Chakrabarty, in his complaint, has accused TMC leaders of threatening to kill him and he is scared about h

After plaque row, Visva Bharati says it was a temporary structure

Visva Bharati University on Wednesday said the plaque, which triggered a row to mark the UNESCO heritage status to Santiniketan, was just a temporary structure to demarcate the heritage site. The plaque set up at several places in the sprawling campus of the central university bore the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is ex-officio Chancellor of the university, and Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty, but does not have any mention of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore who set up the varsity. Reacting to this, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar had earlier said, "UNESCO specifically said they are honouring Rabindranath Tagore and his unique legacy by declaring Santiniketan as a World Heritage Site. A megalomaniac V-C and his boss seem to think UNESCO is honouring them!!," A section of ashramites and left-leaning student activists had also objected to the move. When contacted, Visva Bharati spokesperson Mahua Bandyopadhyay told PTI, "It was a purely temporary structure raised to ...

EAM Jaishankar unveils Rabindranath Tagore's bust in Bac Ninh, Vietnam

India and Vietnam share profound historical connections dating back almost 2,000 years which are rooted in Buddhism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday as he inaugurated a bust of Nobel Laureate writer-poet Rabindranath Tagore in Bac Ninh city. Jaishankar extended his gratitude to the leadership of Bac Ninh province, which lies to the east of Hanoi, for their support for installing Tagore's bust. "India and Vietnam have profound historical connections dating back almost 2000 years, which are rooted in the legacy of Buddhism. Bac Ninh province is also a part of this ancient tradition. Historical records validate Indian monks played a significant role in introducing Buddhism to Vietnam," he said. "Today marks the addition of a remarkable memorial honouring an exceptional Indian personality Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, himself a renowned painter, educator, humanist, music composer and a very profound thinker," he said at the inaugural ceremony. Jaishankar said he fe

Santiniketan chronicles: Unesco heritage status adorns the idyllic haven

A functioning educational institute, it will have to navigate the challenges the heritage label presents

Understanding UNESCO World Heritage List, selection and global impact

With the addition of Santiniketan, India now has 41 official world heritage sites. Italy has the highest number of heritage sites at 58

Rabindranath Tagore's 82nd death anniversary: Facts you didn't know

Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, also popular as "Gurudev" and the "Bard of Bengal," died at the age of 80 on August 7 in 1941 and today is his 82nd death anniversary

Anupam Kher plays Tagore in his next project, movie sparks controversy

Anupam Kher plays Robi Thakur (Rabindranath Tagore) in his upcoming movie. The actor shared his look for the movie that sparked controversy, netizens expressed concern and anger

No bar to performance of havans at Kolkata's Rabindra Sarobar, says NGT

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said that its earlier order prohibiting puja in and around Rabindra Sarobar in Kolkata did not bar the performance of havans at the lake. The NGT was hearing an application seeking clarification on whether the tribunal's earlier directions in the order dated November 15, 2017, prohibited the performance of havans at Rabindra Sarobar. Noting the NGT's earlier order, a bench of chairperson Justice A K Goel said that the tribunal had dealt with the issue of environmental protection of Rabindra Sarobar lake against the dumping of waste and it did not prohibit a havan, which cannot, in any manner, affect the lake or its water quality. While any activity, including performing of puja, in and around the lake which may adversely affect the environment or water quality stands strictly prohibited in terms of order of the tribunal, there is no bar to performance of a havan which does not cause any damage to the water quality of the lake, the bench, also ..

Santiniketan recommended for inclusion in UNESCO world heritage list

Santiniketan -- the abode of Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore -- has been recommended for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List by an international advisory body, Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy said. India has been striving for long to get a UNESCO tag for this cultural site in West Bengal's Birbhum district. "Great news for India on the Jayanti of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Santiniketan in West Bengal has been recommended for inscription to the World Heritage List by ICOMOS, the advisory body to UNESCO World Heritage Centre," Reddy said in a late-night tweet on Tuesday. The France-based International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is an international non-governmental organisation that comprises professionals, experts, representatives from local authorities, companies and heritage organisations and is dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of the architectural and landscape heritage around the world. "This furthers the vision of PM Narendra Mod

CBI failure to trace Tagore's stolen Nobel medal insult to Bengal: Mamata

Paying homage to Rabindranath Tagore on his 161st birth anniversary, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday lamented that the bard's Nobel Prize, which was stolen 18 years ago, is yet to be found.

PM pays tributes to Tagore, Gokhale, Maharana Pratap on birth anniversaries

A poet, playwright, composer, philosopher and short story writer, Tagore was the awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1913

'A legacy of public reasoning'

Historians are always befuddled by chronological coincidences

Charaiveti: An Academic's Journey-1

My young days in Santiniketan were immersed in Tagore's music, poetry and drama

Pogonotrophy and the joy of being 'beardiful'

Sandeep Goyal examines the culture of the beard and its significance in these WFH times

PM Narendra Modi asks Visva Bharati to help farmers access global market

Modi on Friday praised the world view of poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore

Tagore's Bengal would not let hate politics overpower secularism: Mamata

Banerjee, during a rally in Bolpur, claimed that conspiracies were being hatched to destroy the state's inclusive culture and cautioned people against divisive politics

Timeless stories in Bangla literature

As a school student, this writer experienced Rabindranath Tagore's masterly art of story-telling while reading The Holiday or The Homecoming as part of the curriculum

Intellectuals dislike to say 'Hindu' because of colonial mindsets: Naidu

Calling for protecting and promoting age-old Indian civilizational values, traditions and ethos, he stressed the need for a cultural renaiisance.