Centre for Tagore studies in Edinburgh

BEYOND WORDS: In this rare photograph from The Hindu’s archives, Helen Keller, the blind American author and labour rights activist, greets Rabindranath Tagore at a meeting in New York in 1930. Tuesday, May 8, 2012, marked the culmination of the year-long 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Gurudev.

A major university Centre dedicated to the life and works of Rabindranath Tagore has opened in Edinburgh, Scotland, to mark the Nobel Laureate’s 150th birth anniversary.

Professor Indra Nath Choudhuri, Academic Director of the Indira Gandhi Institute, will be Scotland’s first Chair in Tagore Studies.

The Scottish Centre for Tagore Studies (ScoTs) at Edinburgh Napier University’s Institute of Creative Industries, which has the second largest Indian student population of any Scottish university, will “promote Indian culture, education, philosophy, art and literature by highlighting Tagore’s legacy’’.

The University said Tagore had “strong links’’ with Scotland, mainly through his friendship with Sir Patrick Geddes, who designed Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan.

“ScoTs will celebrate the life, teaching and vision of Rabrindranath Tagore, whose spirit continues to inspire,’’ said Dr. Bashabi Fraser, Lecturer in Literature and Creative Writing at the University.

She said the Centre was ideally placed to promote cultural connections between Scotland and India.

“By working alongside other European organisations and cultural bodies we’ll be able to spread Tagore’s influence and attract research interest from far and wide,” Dr. Fraser said.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in the Scottish Government, described Tagore as India’s “greatest artist, musician and poet’’.

“He had many close ties to Scotland. ScoTs will celebrate these connections and Tagore’s legacy, deepening the relationship between our two countries. I am delighted that the centre is being launched in this, our Year of Creative Scotland,” she said.

The Centre has been set up under an agreement with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which is funding two PhD fellowships in Tagore studies.

will bring Professor Indra Nath Choudhuri, Academic Director of the Indira Gandhi Institute, to the University as Scotland’s first Chair in Tagore Studies.

The ICCR is also funding two PhD fellowships dedicated to researching the works of the influential author. (ends)