Indian Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, Seoul, organises 160th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Nobel Laurette, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore
SEOUL: On May 7, the Indian Cultural Centre and Embassy of India, Seoul organised the 160th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Nobel Laurette Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore – the greatest figure in the modern India Renaissance whose ideas and ideals will continue to inspire and encourage the whole of humanity in the days to come. Perhaps, he remains one of the first Indian – the first Asian, to have filled the gap between the west and east through his effective writings. This celebration was also a part of our Special series under India@75 celebrations.
The Online Celebration was jointly organised by Embassy of Bangladesh in Republic of Korea, Indian Art Museum and Tagore Society of Korea along with Visva Bharati – a University established by Gurudev himself.
Rabindra Jayanti is a cultural celebration to mark the birth anniversary of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore on his birth anniversary which is celebrated annually and globally on ‘Pochishe Boishak’ which falls on the 25th day of the Bengali month of Boishakh.
On this occasion, Sripriya Ranganathan, Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea in her remarks and focused on the exemplary contribution of Rabindranath Tagore as a poet, pioneer in the field of education, who also made notable contributions to literature and music. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
“Tagore believed Korea is a land of immense potential and his expression towards Korea finds its essence in the poem ‘Lamp of the East’ composed in 1929 which galvanized Korean nationalism during the colonial period”, said Ambassador Ranganathan.
According to her, Rabindranath Tagore is also a cultural unifier between the two countries of India and Bangladesh by the unique fact that the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh were written by Tagore.
E. Abida Islam, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Republic of Korea in her congratulatory remarks highlighted the love for Tagore among the people of Bangladesh and the ray of hope he gave to them amidst despair. She also focused on the 50th Anniversary of the diplomatic relations of India and Bangladesh and Tagore as the shared treasure between the two countries. As Tagore had mentioned about Korea being one of the torch-bearers of the East and the lamp is being awaited to be re-light, according to Ambassador Abida Islam, this lamp has already been re-ignited today in terms of economic progress and cultural might. Korea has won its rightful place in the community of nations.
Prof Bidyut Chakravarty, Vice-Chancellor, Visva Bharati, India gave the Keynote address and outlined social-political and ideological views of Tagore elaborating upon the socio-cultural practices of his times. “He was a great supporter of women’s empowerment and gender equality as some of the protagonists of his famous Novels have always been strong women characters,” said Prof Chakravarty. He also shared about the Centenary Celebrations of Visva Bharati – the University established by Gurudev Tagore himself in 1921.
The digital ceremony also had a poetry recital by Padma Dr. Kim Yang-shik, Director of the Indian Art Museum, Seoul along with other members of the Tagore Society in Korea. Dance and musical rendition set to the tune of Rabindra Sangeet was also presented during this occasion by Indian, Bangladeshi, and local Korean community members. The session was moderated by
Dr. Sonu Trivedi, Director of Indian Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, Seoul.
Earlier in the day Sripriya Ranganathan, Ambassador of India, and Abida Islam, Ambassador of Bangladesh paid floral tribute at the Tagore bust situated at Daehangno in Seoul. The bust gifted by the Government of India to the people of Korea was installed in 2011 on the occasion of the 150th Birth anniversary of Tagore stands as evidence of our shared experiences and values between the two countries.
