New Delhi: In a treat for the lovers of
Rabindranath Tagore, thousands of works associated with the
Nobel Laureate have for the first time been compiled together
on a major scale in a web portal that was launched by Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday.
The web bibliography project was part of a series of
initiatives launched by the government of India to commemorate
the 150th birth anniversary of the multi-faceted genius.
Launching the project, Mukherjee said, "The project focus
on the multi-faceted genius of Gurudev through cultural
programmes, films digitisation programmes and seminars."
The portal incorporates not only the works of Gurudev
himself but also literary criticism and other works on him
published in India or abroad by other authors.
Works in the collections of 20 major libraries in the
country have so far been included in the bibliography and the
compilation work will continue in the future. Besides, details
of works have also been collected from publishers as well as
book stores.
So far, the listings on the web portal include as many as
9,000 books in 42 languages, both Indian and foreign.
Mukherjee commended the Raja Rammohun Roy Library
Foundation for taking up the arduous task of compiling the
web-bibliography of works by or on Tagore, in what is
certainly the most comprehensive compilation attempt
undertaken on him so far.
The bibliography, he said, is an endeavour to bring a
ready reckoner to scholars and readers of Tagore.
The web portal provides access to the works through
search options of 'title', 'author', 'editor' or 'genre'.
More titles will be added in the coming months and the
portal is expected to become the most comprehensive web-portal
on Tagore, within a short time, attracting viewers from both
India and abroad, an official statement said.
Mukherjee said the effort should also involve the Sahitya
Akademis of states.
PTI
First Published: Monday, January 09, 2012, 22:21