SHILLONG, May 9 � A life-size statue of Noble Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore was today unveiled at Brookside Bungalow here at Rilbong to celebrate the bard�s 150th birth anniversary.
The statue made of fibre-glass was unveiled by Union Minister of State for Water Resource Vincent Pala just outside the bungalow where Tagore stayed during one of his first three visits to Shillong in 1919.
�Tagore was a great poet and humanist. He awakened the mass through his compositions. He is again the only person whose composition forms the National anthem of two nations � India and Bangladesh,� Pala said.
The Minister said he as a student in Calcutta was greatly inspired by Tagore�s works and even now download poems and other literary works from the Internet on his I-pad and I-phones during his busy schedule.
Tagore during his three visits stayed at three locations, first at Brookside Bungalow and then at Jeet Bhoomi in 1923 at Rilbong and lastly at Sidhli House, Upland Road in 1927.
To mark the birth anniversary, a four-day festival titled Tagore Utsav was held at the Brookside bungalow, which has been declared as Rabindranath Art Gallery by the government.
�The statue�s unveiling here not only pays tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, but also makes us realise that Shillong�s landscape, people and culture acted as a catalyst for Tagore�s creativity,� Shyamal Kumar Deb and Manjushree Kar, Kolkata-based sculptors who made Rabindranath�s statue said.
During the four-day festival, which concluded today, various artists performed songs and dances and seminars were also held on Tagore�s works.
Cricketer Sourav Ganguly�s wife, Donna Ganguly performed with her dance troupe the dance drama Chitrangada during the festival.
�I am fortunate to be performing here where Tagore stayed. He was a great poet and humanist, millions take inspiration, including me, from his life,� Donna Ganguly said.
Earlier, the festival was inaugurated by Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary who said, Tagore was not only a great play writer, poet, painter, stage artist, but also a philosopher and a social reformer.
