Santiniketan's Visva Bharati University wears a deserted look on Tagore's birthday

Located about 158 km northwest of Kolkata in Bengal’s rural hinterland, Santiniketan founded by Rabindranath Tagore wore a deserted look on his 159th birth anniversary, as the usual crowd and flurry of activities were missing on Friday.

Shantiniketan (WB): For the first time in 70 years, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore at Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan in Birbhum was celebrated without fanfare owing to coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Located about 158 km northwest of Kolkata in Bengal’s rural hinterland, Santiniketan founded by Rabindranath Tagore wore a deserted look on his 159th birth anniversary, as the usual crowd and flurry of activities were missing on Friday.

The university's Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty, accompanied by a few ashramites (ashram members), gathered at the prayer hall, Rabindra Bhavan and Chhatimtala to fondly remember the Nobel laureate and his contributions.

At the university, every year the day begins with its students singing prayer songs and cultural procession in the morning. Hundreds of people gather on this day every year at the university, to hum along a live concert. A special prayer is also held at Udayan, the house in Shantiniketan, where Tagore celebrated his last birthday in 1941.

There were no usual singing of poet's songs at the university and the celebrations were mostly attended by people online this year.

Santiniketan embodies Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of a place of learning that is unfettered by religious and regional barriers.

Established in 1863 with the aim of helping education go beyond the confines of the classroom, Santiniketan grew into the Visva Bharati University in 1921, attracting some of the most creative minds in the country.