Indian PM leads tributes to Tagore on 163rd birth anniversary

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tribute to Bengali polymath, Rabindranath Tagore on his 163rd birth anniversary.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also paid homage to Rabindranath Tagore, an iconic talent who excelled in varied fields, on his birth anniversary.

In a post on X, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "On this auspicious day of his birthday, I pay my homage to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in his own words - where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; where knowledge is free; where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; ... into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake."

Siliguri Mayor Goutam Deb also offered tribute to Rabindranath Tagore at Baghajatin Park on his birth anniversary.

Congress General Secretary, Jairam Ramesh remembered Rabindranath Tagore on his birth anniversary, mentioning the philosopher's insightful words from his renowned poetry collection 'Gitanjali', which also is reflected in the Congress party's 'Nyay Patra'.

"Today is Rabindra Jayanti. It is only appropriate the Congress 'Nyay Patra', which has been very much in the news, ends by recalling Gitanjali 35. This has even greater relevance now than when it was written well over a century ago," Jairam Ramesh wrote in a post on X.

Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali Brahmin from Calcutta who was born on May 8, 1861. The multitalented iconic figure received the first Nobel Prize in literature in 1913 for Gitanjali.

Some of Rabindranath Tagore's best-known works, apart from Gitanjali, include Gora (Fair-Faced) and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World), Chokher Bali, Kabuliwallah, The Postmaster and Shesher Kabita, among others.

He also composed 'Jana Gana Mana', India's national anthem. He even wrote the national anthems for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. His song 'Banglar Mati Banglar Jol' has been adopted as the state anthem of West Bengal.

Rabindranath Tagore is famous by many names - Gurudev, Kabiguru, Biswakabi and is often referred to as 'the Bard of Bengal'.

(ANI)