The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

The celebration of the 147th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore began across the country yesterday.

The government drew up extensive programmes to celebrate the day at national level that the Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed inaugurated at 10am at Osmani Memorial Auditorium here.

The inaugural programme was followed by a cultural function.

To mark the day, President Prof Dr Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed gave separate messages highlighting the colourful life and his contributions to Bengali language and literature.

In his message, President Iajuddin said "Rabindranath is not only a person but also an institution and his distinctive literature and arts would always inspire Bengali- speaking people to do creative work."

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed said, "The relation of Rabindranath with Bangladesh is close and his songs and poems had inspired our people during the country's War of Independence." Rabindranath was born in 1861 at Jorashanko Mansion in Kolkata in India. He was the youngest of thirteen surviving children of Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi. He was the first Nobel laureate in Asia when he won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his book Geetanjali in 1913.

His two songs are now the national anthems of Bangladesh and India - 'Amar Sonar Bangla, Ami Tomai Valobashi' and 'Jana Gana Mana' respectively.

Bangladesh Betar, Bangladesh Television, private TV channels and radio stations aired the programme live at 10am from Osmani Memorial Auditorium yesterday.

On the occasion, Shilpakala Academy organised a cultural programme based on various creative works of Rabindranath Tagore at Jatiyo Natyashala Auditorium in the city in the evening.

Eminent artistes recited poems, performed dances and rendered Tagore's songs. Besides, various programmes were chalked out to mark the day at Shilaidaha in Kushtia, Patisar in Naogaon and South Dighi in Khulna - the three districts that harbour the memories of Rabindranath Tagore.

The local administrations across the country also organised various programmes to celebrate the day. Bangladesh missions abroad also took such programmes to mark the day.

As part of the national celebrations, Bangla Academy will organize a programme on the poet on May 11 in the Seminar Room.

The government and socio-cultural organizations have taken up extensive programmes to celebrate the great poet's birthday.

Tagore was a poet, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Tagore wrote novels, short stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays on political and personal topics. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are among his best- known works.

His verses, short stories, and novels, which often exhibited rhythmic lyricism, colloquial language, meditative naturalism, and philosophical contemplation, received global acclaim.