150th Anniversary Celebration of Rabindranath Tagore

“To enjoy something, it’s essential to guard it with the fence of leisure”

Reliving Rabindranath Tagore in New Delhi

- Rabindranath Tagore (1862-1941)

Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the Nobel prize for literature in 1913, achieved more in life than most people. The array of skills in his repertoire were: poet, novelist, short-story writer, essayist, playwright, thespian, educationist, spiritualist, philosopher, cultural relativist, orator, composer,song-writer, singer, and artist. The man is revered in India.

Rabindranath Tagore was the ambassador of Indian culture to the rest of the world. He is the most prominent figure in the cultural world. Even though he is mainly known as a poet, he was also a social reformer, patriot and above all, a great humanitarian and philosopher. The national anthems of India and Bangladesh are taken from his compositions.

Rabindranath Tagore is one of the few people who have repudiated knighthood in protest of the massacre at Jalianwalabag, Punjab.  He also established the Viswabharati University in 1921, using the money from the Nobel prize to buy books for the university. In 1940, Oxford University arranged a ceremony to honor the poet with an honorary Doctorate of Literature. The man’s achievements are just too many to mention.

The program celebrating his 150^th anniversary is mentioned below. Go ahead indulge in the great works of a great man. Entry tickets can be gained from the Rabindra Bhavan, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi. The schedule is as follows:

Friday 7 May 2010

• Tagore’s Treasures – a book exhibition at 5:30 p.m. Sahitya Akademi, First Floor
• Rendering of Gitanjali by eminent poets at 6:30 p.m. Meghdoot Theatre-III
• Rabindra Sangeet (Songs) at 7:45 p.m. Meghdoot Theatre-I (Open Air)

Saturday 8 May, 2010

• Panel Discussion: Re-exploring Tagore’s Art at 5:00 p.m. Meghdoot Theatre-III
• Vacikanjali – Rendering from Tagore’s literary works at 7:00 p.m. Meghdoot Theatre-I

Sunday 9 May 7, 2010

• Kavyanjali – Poets’ Meet at 10:00 a.m. Sahitya Akademi Auditorium
• Puppet Play: Raja O’Rajdrohi (Bengali) at 5:00 p.m. Meghdoot Theatre-III
• Nrityanjali – Dance Excerpts at 7:00 p.m. Meghdoot Theatre-I

Image Credit: Wikipedia