University showcases Indian-Chinese friendship

A prestigious Indian university here on Wednesday opened a gallery about the friendship between legendary Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore and China. The gallery, to be permanently exhibited by the Rabindra Bharati University, enlightens on Tagore's contribution to and historical position in cultural exchange between China and India. It consists of eight rooms highlighting different features of Tagore's relations with China. Chinese Consul General in Kolkata Zhang Lizhong said at the inauguration ceremony that Tagore is not only a poet and philosopher well known to Chinese readers, but also a great sympathizer of the Chinese people's struggle for better fate in the first half of the 20th century. He denounced both the opium trade imposed by the British on China and the aggression of China by Japanese imperialists, said Zhang. B. Basu, minister-in-charge of Education of the state of West Bengal, said that civilizaional exchanges between China and India started in immemorial times and Tagore is one of the pioneers in seeking cultural exchanges with China in the 20th century. He said the on-going India-China exchanges of culture will make more meaningful and eventful relations between the two countries. The items displayed in the gallery are provided by Chinese and Indian institutions including the Shanghai Archives Bureau and scholars on Tagore who provided 250 Chinese books on the Indian writer. The Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing offered the first Chinese edition of lyrics by Tagore to the exhibition in 2011. Professor Liu Yuening, the publisher of the edition, also gave dulcimer performances in collaboration with Indian musicians at the ceremony to the effect of a new style of China-India music combination. Tagore and his works have an extensive influence in China. " Gitanjali," "Stray Birds" and "Crescent Moon" are loved by many Chinese readers.