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Journalism of Courage
Despite being a cultural icon in India, Rabindranath Tagore, poet, scholar and social reformer, is barely known in the West. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913, but the honour cemented his already established stature as an Indian icon rather than win him fans abroad. To remedy a bit of this, New College at the University of Toronto had a weekend long conference on the poet recently in Mississauga.
The conference, called 8216;8216;Claiming a Cultural Icon8212;Interpretations and Misrepresentations of Rabindranath Tagore8217;8217;, was launched with the unveiling of a lifesize bust of Tagore, a gift from the Indian government, in the New College library in the presence of the Indian High Commissioner to Canada Shyamala Cowsik.
Dr Kathleen O8217;Connell, a Tagore scholar and lecturer at the University of Toronto, introduced the anthology at the Central Library in Mississauga to a number of dignitaries, artists and poetry lovers, including Indian Consul General Satish Mehta, Linda Thomas, executive director of the Mississauga Arts Council, artist Miro Korsic and Canadian poet Peter Jailall.
A slide show on the paintings of India8217;s William Shakespeare8212;as Tagore is referred to by many in Canada8212;was presented along with the poetry reading. An exhibition on Tagore8212;reportedly the world8217;s biggest on the poet8217;s life and work outside India8212;has been put up at the University of Toronto8217;s Robarts Library until December 30 and features some original manuscripts and 14 huge panels depicting Gurudev at work.
