The Chinese government has decided to donate Rs. 53.6 lakh for the establishment of a gallery on “Rabindranath and China” at Tagore's ancestral house in the city.
An agreement towards this was entered into between the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Rabindra Bharati University and was signed on Friday at Tagore House by Mao Siwei, Consul-General of China and Karuna Sindhu Das, the Vice-Chancellor of the university.
A press release said that according to the agreement, the gallery would cover an area of 180 square meters and display motifs including Chinese Civilization, Lord Buddha – the Great Liaison between India and China, Rabindranath's interest and respect for China since his boyhood. It would also cover Rabindranath's visit to China in 1924.
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Mr. Mao said the gallery will be inaugurated in May 2011, coinciding with Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary celebrations.
Pointing out that Rabindranath Tagore is very popular in China, he said that a decade ago, ‘The Complete Works of Tagore' was published in 24 volumes in China.
“As far as I know, Chinese is the language which has done the most for Tagore's publications, after Indian languages and English,” he added.
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In his speech, Mr. Mao highlighted Rabindranath's China visit in 1924. He said in the ancient times China learned Buddhism from India; in the modern-age the country has been inspired by Rabindranath Tagore, the great son of Bengal.