Banaras forgets Tagore anniversary
The cultural town of Varanasi simply forgot the great poet, who once had had close connections with the city...
Art | Varanasi | India
Updated On: 5/7/2009
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When the nation was celebrating the 148th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore on Thursday, the cultural town of Varanasi simply forgot the great poet, who once had had close connections with the city.

"Tagore was the chairman of Bharat Kala Parishad established in 1920, which in course of time was converted into Bharat Kala Bhavan (Indian Art Museum). Now, it is a part of the Banaras Hindu University," said Tarun Kanti Basu, an elderly citizen whose ancestors were very close to Tagore. According to him, Tagore in 1930s, also took part in a function of Bangiya Sahity Parishad in Jangambari area. "Tagore arrived Varanasi in a boat from Ghazipur and during his boat journey, he conceived the idea of his two creations Nauka Dubi and Chokher Bali," claimed Basu. Later, Rituparno Ghosh made films casting Aishwarya Rai (Chokher Bali) and Raima Sen (Nauka Dubi) at the backdrop of this millennia-old city and its majestic ghats.

"We did not organised any programme, but the students of fine arts came to the museum to watch the artifacts and mark the occasion," said Dr Deo Prakash Sharma, the director of Bharat Kala Bhavan, when contacted on Thursday. According to records, founded with a modest collection, the museum has a record of steady growth and its present holding exceeded one lakh art collections that include archaeological materials, paintings, textiles and costumes, decorative art, Indian philately and literary and archival materials. Though, the museums target visitors are university students, alumni, research scholars and teachers, it also serves as a regional museum and caters to the need of a huge number of visitors.

Sharma said the museum became the property of BHU in 1950 when the collection was transferred to university campus and the then prime minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of Bharat Kala Bhavan on the campus. Later, Nehru opened the the present building of the museum in 1962.

As per university records, the Indian University Act 1904 permitting establishment of universities through private funding was a challenge to the national genius of the country. It was a period when many charismatic personalities like Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Dr Annie Besant, Lokmanya Tilak, Dr Radhrakrishna and many others appeared on the socio-political horizon of the country. The campaign launched by the Mahamana, Dr Annie Besant, Rabindranath Tagore, Sir Syed brought about evolution and development of BHU, Aligarh Muslim University, Viswabharti. Tagore popularly known as Gurudev wrote an essay `Hindu Vishwavidyalaya' and read it at Ripon College, Calcutta in 1911.

It was on this campus itself that not only can the foot prints of Gandhi, Tagore and Malaviyaji could be found, there are also buildings and places where they stayed during the life-time of Malaviyaji and held prayer meetings and gave discourses on cultural and political dimensions of India's freedom struggle to the BHU community and the citizens of Varanasi at large.

However, the BHU has planned to create a memorial- Tagore Bhavan- at the Mahamana Malviya Heritage Complex on the campus. The Tagore Bhavan is intended to be developed as a regional centre to store material relating to the cultural life of Bengal in Gurudev's times and national movement with reference to literature, art movement and folk culture. It will also have collection of publication on Tagore. The complex will be situated in the premises of Malviya Bhavan. It will also house Gandhi Bhavan and Dr Annie Besant Bhavan. The aims and objectives of the Mahamana Malaviya Heritage Complex are to reflect the basic parameters of Mahatma, Mahamana, Gurudev and Dr Mrs Annie Besant's views and philosophies, canvas and perspectives, goals and means for the basic concern for the welfare of the mankind in general and Indian people in particular.

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