SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL AT THE VISVA-BHARATI UNIVERSITY

Santiniketan, West Bengal, 29th November 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very happy to be here at the Visva-Bharati University, in a year when we are celebrating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. I begin by paying my highest homage to one of the noblest sons of India. He was, undoubtedly, a poet of excellence and became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. The poignancy of his poetry, was matched by his writings as a novelist, essayist and as a story teller. In his works, the depth of human feelings, the aspirations of a nation, and the oneness of human race, were all expressed through a deep understanding of the wisdom of the past and expectations of the future. Besides, his multi-faceted personality saw him in a role as an educator, and a social reformer, a musician and a composer, an actor and a painter. He has left an indelible mark in the annals of history.

Today, I will be inaugurating an exhibition of the original paintings of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan, which has the biggest treasure of his best works. It is for the first time, after many decades, that Visva-Bharati has made it possible for many to have a glimpse of these paintings, to see how great a painter Tagore was, and how he was a harbinger of an art movement in India.

Gurudev Tagore was a great intellectual who strongly believed that a human being must seek truth and must contribute to human welfare. He emphasized the importance of building educational institutions, where high standards of learning would be maintained. He believed that education should aim to make individuals understand the world in which they live, and to be conscious of their moral and social responsibilities. While coining the basic principle of education, he also remembered the argument in favour of freedom - based on the ancient Sanskrit sayings such as 'sa vidya ya vimuktaye', which means "that is education which liberates". Tagore decided to introduce the indigenous system of teaching and learning. He began translating his idea into action first by setting up Brahmavidyalaaya in 1901 and later in 1921 by establishing Visva-Bharati. He sought to build a space where students lived close to nature, and studied in an atmosphere of trust and freedom. Speaking about Visva Bharti in New York in 1930, he said, "I established my institution in a beautiful spot where the children had the greatest freedom under the shade of ancient trees.... We are building up our institution upon the ideal of the spiritual unity of all races."In the 150th year of his birth, as we celebrate the triumph of these innovative ideas, the greatest service that we can render to Gurudev's memory, is to live by the ideals he espoused.

Gurudev Tagore always kept human beings at the centre of the Universe. It was his belief that if every person strove hard to achieve perfection, there would be great changes in the world. He felt that disappointments and setbacks in life were not something that we need to be worried about, but rather take these as opportunities for growth, and for breaking barriers that limit our thinking. In his essay, 'The Problem of Self' he stated, "Our life, like a river, strikes its banks not to find itself closed in by them, but to realize anew every moment that it has its unending opening towards the sea." Life has a purpose and it is for each one of us to realize it, moving ahead despite the rough and tumble of the vicissitudes of time.

Gurudev was always full of hope. Not surprising that there are several references to spring in his writings. For him, spring was not only a beautiful period of the year, but a fountain of new hopes and aspirations as also a renewal of humanity. He felt that just as nature rejuvenates itself constantly, human beings have the capacity to regenerate and to revive. It is for this reason that he had an abiding faith in humanity. While speaking of injustices and repression, he saw a possibility of change, as long as human beings did not become entrapped in their prejudices. He understood the importance of new thinking for addressing the various challenges in an ever-evolving world. Today, even as the world is faced with innumerable challenges we can take strength from his message to face challenges with fortitude, openness of mind and an optimism of spirit. The agility with which we respond to new circumstances is a measure of our preparedness for taking advantage of emerging situations. Gurudev inspired a whole generation during his lifetime and continues to live in the hearts of millions.

It is amazing how he travelled to distant countries, covering long geographical distances. Today, around the world we can see the footprints of Rabindranath Tagore in different countries and continents. Conversations with Afghanistan invariably have a reference to the story of 'Kabuliwala'. With Bangladesh, we are jointly celebrating Gurudev's Anniversary, for he is the one who has written the national anthems of both countries. He was India's ambassador of peace and harmony. In many countries where I have visited so far as President, I have come across his ardent admirers. When I travelled to Chile in 2008, I paid a floral tribute to the statue of Gurudev there. Later, when I went to China in 2010, I had the honour to unveil a bust of Gurudev in Shanghai. The Government of the Republic of Korea has provided a place for a bust of Gurudev in the centre of Seoul, and there too, I paid homage to him in 2011. More recently in Switzerland, I inaugurated the Tagore Chair on Indian Studies at the University of Lausanne and also unveiled his statue. Indeed, Gurudev Tagore was an internationalist, and had his strong belief in 'universalism' - this is reflected in his choice of your motto with which you are all so familiar of 'Yatra visvam bhavatyekanidam' - where the world makes a home in a single nest. His ideas show that he was a strong proponent of promoting international peace and understanding. An untiring pacifist, he was a universal spirit and wrote extensively on the subject of unity, harmony and peace.

One other aspect intrinsic to Gurudev's personality was his love for nature. He felt that nature contains in it, the soul of a civilization. Nature calms human beings as it lives on in time. In this context, I recall when he was in Hungary recuperating from illness he planted a tree on November 8, 1926 and wrote in the Guest Book there the following lines -

   "When I am no longer on this earth, my tree
   Let the ever renewed leaves of
   Thy spring, murmur to the wayfarers;
   The poet did love while he lived".

Such was Gurudev's life's immense love for humankind and nature. Today, we have in our midst renowned painter Shri K.G. Subrahmanyam, who on the occasion of the 150th Birth Year celebrations, has painted an entire building in Kala Bhavana. Also, two creative gifts from the eminent sculptors and illustrious alumni of Visva-Bharati - Shri M. Ramachandran and Shri K.S. Radhakrishnan, were unveiled. I also appreciate the restoration and renovation activities being done in Uttarayana Complex including at Pampa Lake. It is incumbent on us to preserve the legacy of Gurudev in Santiniketan, the abode of peace, where he spent so much of his life and to which he was dedicated.

I am very happy to visit here.

Thank you.

Jai Hind!