RABINDRANATH AT 150: CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES AND REPRESENTATIVE FORMS

Maharani Kasiswari College
in association with
Center of Associates for Sociological Studies and Action
Presents
UGC Sponsored TWO DAY NATIONAL SEMINAR –

RABINDRANATH AT 150:
CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES AND REPRESENTATIVE FORMS


Aims/Objectives of the Seminar:

ON THE OCCASION OF 150TH BIRTH CENTENARY OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE, this SEMINAR IS being organized WITH THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES:
1. critical appreciation of Tagore’s philosophy and contemporary relevance of his social thought
2. contemporary critical appreciation of Tagore’s literature
3. artistic appreciation and audio-visual representation of Tagore’s select works for understanding its quality and innovativeness

Background:
Creative fecundity of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was inexhaustible and the unlimited variety of his literary output is so extraordinary that the phrase myriad minded can appropriately be used for him. His writings include more than one thousand poems and over two thousand songs in addition to a large number of short-stories, novels, dramatic works and essays on the most diverse topics. He took to painting when he was almost seventy and yet produced within ten years about three thousand pictures some of them of exceptional quality. He made notable contributions to religious and educational thought, to politics and social reform, to moral regeneration and economic reconstruction. His achievements in all these fields are so great that they mark him out as one of the greatest sons of India and indeed one who has a message for entire humankind. Rabindranath Tagore was a leading spokesman for compassionate humanism and culture in India and the world. His thoughts on humanism, education and culture, nationalism and internationalism, continue to have great relevance today. He contributed substantially to the making of a modern India. He was able to shake off all shackles of traditional Hinduism, and arrive at a non-parochial and inclusive concept of India. His inclusive nationalism and non-parochial interpretation of India’s history remains a powerful agent of ideas yet to be fully explored. As an internationalist, Tagore surely would have viewed globalization in a way that could have opened up an alternative perspective that could have allowed many distortions and discrepancies to wither away. Tagore was also an early environmentalist too with a strong sense of aesthetics, who adored wide-open spaces and the riverine areas of Bengal. He disliked smoke-stacked industry and other ugly and noisy aspects of urban life. He felt that mechanization and assembly-line production would strip away freedom and dignity from human beings. Throughout his life he was a passionate champion of women’s rights and empowerment. The crux of Tagore's educational philosophy was learning from nature and life. Tagore also attached great importance to Tapasya and Sadhana. Tagore was critical of the way in which education designed to be job-oriented. He wanted – “From the very beginning such education should be imparted to village folks so that they may know well what mass welfare means and may become practically efficient in all respects for earning their livelihood."

In context of the above, in this seminar an attempt can be made to rediscover Rabindranath Tagore, discuss his ideas and works, and come out with his continued relevance. The experimentation and application of Tagore’s work in day to day living can also be a medium to explore potentialities, possibilities, and opportunities that they present. Experts from wide range of fields including Sociology, History, Bangla, English are going to deliberate upon Tagore and his contribution in context of contemporary discourse and theory. It is expected that this Seminar will be able to deliver a new course of understanding of Tagore and a vision for all of us to imbibe.

Venue:

New Mohit Moitra Mancha, 34/1, Raja Manindra Chandra Road, Paikpara, Kolkata 700037, West Bengal India

Organizers:
• Maharani Kasiswari College, affiliated to Calcutta University, 20, Ram Kanto Bose Street, Kolkata 700003, West Bengal, India, Phone: 033-25302008,
Email: mkcshyam@hotmail.com
• Center of Associates for Sociological Studies and Action, Kolkata, A – 106, Mall Enclave, 13, K. B. Sarani, Kolkata 700080, West Bengal, India,
Phone: +91-9831623471, Email: mass.kolkata@yahoo.co.in



Indicative Details of Sessions/Program:

Day One 21.03.2011 Monday

Session One: 10.00 AM to 11.30 AM Inaugural Session with Key Note Address
• Welcome Address: Ms. Kalpana Bose, Joint-Convenor, Associate Professor, Dept. of Bengali, Maharani Kasiswari College
• Inaugural Address: Chief Guest, Prof. Suranjan Das, Vice Chancellor, Calcutta University
• Special Address: Guest of Honour, Prof. Swapan K Pramanick, Professor of Sociology and former Vice Chancellor of Vidyasagar University
• Key Note Address: Prof. Arun K Basu, Professor of Bangla, formerly with Rabindra Bharati University
• Vote of Thanks: Dr. Ramanuj Ganguly, Joint-Convenor, Reader, Dept. of Sociology, West Bengal State University and Director, Center of Associates for Sociological Studies and Action
Tea Break 11.30 AM to 11.45 AM
Session Two: 11.45 A.M to 01.45 PM Literary Appreciation and Contemporary Social Relevance of Tagore’s Works:

Chair - Prof. Arun K Basu, Professor of Bangla, formerly with Rabindra Bharati University
• Prof. Padip K Dutta, Head & Professor of Political Science, University of Delhi, Delhi
• Prof. Sovanlal Dutta Gupta, formerly with Dept. of Political Science, Calutta University
• Prof. Gopa Dutta Bhowmick, Vice Chancellor, Gour Banga University, Malda, West Bengal
• Prof. Tapodhir Bhattacharya, Vice Chancellor, Assam University, Shilchar
Lunch 01.45 PM to 02.30 PM
Session Three & Four: 02.30 PM to 05.30 PM Artistic Appreciation of Tagore’s select
Works
Chair: Prof. Tapodhir Bhattacharya, Vice Chancellor, Assam University, Shilchar
• Dr. Sima Chakrabarti, Principal, Maharani Kasiswari College
• Smt. Alokananda Ray, Danseuse – Experiment with Drama: ‘Balmiki Pratibha’
• Dr. Sruti Bandyopadhyay, Department of Dance, Rabindra Bharati University – Dance Drama: ‘Bharat Tirtha’


Day Two 22.03.2011 Tuesday


Session Five 10.00 AM to 11.30 AM Artistic Appreciation of Tagore’s select
Works
• Mr. Rabin Mondal and Arun Chakraborty: Art and Painting of Tagore
• Ms. Manjusree Roychoudhury: Rabindra Nritya
Tea Break 11.30 AM to 11.45 AM
Session Six 11.45 AM to 02.00 PM Tagore’s Philosophy and Social Thought:
Chair - Prof. Swapan K Pramanick, Professor of Sociology and former Vice Chancellor of Vidyasagar University
• Prof. Abhijit Pathak, Professor of Sociology, CSSS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Dr. Nandini Bhattacharya, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, Central University, Hyderabad
• Dr. Himabanta Bandyopadhyay, Dept. of Bengali, Rabindra Bharati University
Lunch 02.00 PM to 03.00 PM
Session Seven 03.00 PM to 04.30 PM Audio-visual Representation of Tagore’s select works
Chair: Prof. Sudhir Chakraborty, IDSK, Calcutta University
• Dr. Debasish Roychoudhury, Dept. of Drama, Rabindra Bharati University: Dramatic Representation of Short Stories
• Mr. Subhasish Ganguly: Performance by Blind Opera
Session Eight 04.30 PM to 05.00 PM Valedictory Session
Chair: Dr. Mukul Sengupta, former Principal, and of Department of English, Maharani Kasiswari College, Kolkata
• Valedictory Speaker: Prof. Biswanath Roy, Dept. of Bengali, Calcutta University
• Vote of Thanks: Dr. Mousumi Mallick, Associate Professor, Dept. of Bengali, Maharani Kasiswari College, Kolkata