CELEBRATING THE 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE
	ICCR’s mandate is to promote cultural interaction between India and the world. It is in keeping with the spirit of this mandate that ICCR is celebrating the 150th Birth Anniversary Year of Rabindranath Tagore, whose message of universality and world harmony is even more relevant today. The year-long celebrations, which began in May 2011, will cover a range of events showcasing Tagore’s life, his work and his genius. These events will be spread across more than 70 countries and include performances of Rabindra Sangeet recitals and dramatic performances of his literary works such as ‘The Child’, ‘Chandalika’, ‘Chitrangada’, ‘Nayika’, ‘Kabuliwala’ etc. These have been especially choreographed by various renowned artists of the likes of Tanusree Shankar, Pramita Mallick, Kiran Segal, Lushin Dubey and Saswati Sen using a variety of genres from dance to puppetry. Works especially commissioned by ICCR for this Birth Anniversary celebration include ‘Nayika’, presented by Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Thakur Barir Shaaz Poshak, a dance-drama presented by Sharmila Biswas which highlights the fashions of the Tagore era, and exhibitions such as ‘Tagore and Romance of Travel’, ’ Tagore and Kantha’, ‘Tagore in Advertisement’, ‘Philatelic Exhibition’, ‘Pilgrimages to the East’, ‘Tagore and Cinema’ and ‘Tagore in Japan’ which have been curated by Supriya Roy, Shamlu Dudeja, Arun Roy and Sekhar Chakrabarty & Souvik Roy for ICCR. ICCR has also created an exhibition of rare photographs of Shanti Niketan, restored especially for the occasion, and has created digital collections of Tagore prints from Rabindra Bharati University that are being sent around the world. ICCR’s approach in planning its activities to commemorate Tagore is to project Tagore as the truly international humanist that he was, and take him out of the narrow boundaries of national confines. ICCR has also attempted to give exposure to Tagore not just as a poet but as the unparalleled talent of his time as an educator, reformer, painter, fashion designer, brand ambassador, playwright and film personality. In addition, ICCR is also organizing Tagore seminar and lecture tours with themes such as ‘Tagore’s Vision for Asia: Human Solidarity Beyond Nationalism’, ‘Tagore: At Home in the World’, ‘Rabindranath Tagore’s writings and Art beyond Bengal’, ‘Tagore’s Vision of the Contemporary World’ etc., involving eminent scholars such as Prof. Abhijit Sen, Prof. Sabaree Mitra, Prof. Bharti Ray, Prof. Kunal Chakravarti, Dr. Reba Som, Shri Samik Bandyopadhyay, Shri Indranil Chakravarty and Shri Rituparna Ghosh. Busts of Tagore have been installed in ten countries (Singapore, The Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, Suriname, Dublin, Slovenia and Vietnam) by ICCR. Tagore Chairs are being established in the universities of eight countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Philippines, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Vietnam).