Shillong: On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, a Central team arrived here on Wednesday to prepare a report for renovating historic sites associated with the bard during his stay here.
"India is commemorating 150th birth anniversary of Tagore in a big way, and the Ministry of Culture wanted to renovate sites associated with him especially in Shillong," the head of the team, Director of Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation, Kolkata, K K Banerjee, said. Banerjee visited the state government owned Brookside Bungalow and Jeet Bhumi, a nearby bungalow which is now privately owned. Tagore had stayed in these places during his visits to Shillong.
Tagore stayed at Brookside for about a month when he visited the hill city in 1919. His finest tribute to Shillong is his celebrated novel Shesher Kabita, which he wrote here in 1928. Tagore composed the play, Raktakarabi while staying at Jeet Bhumi, according to available records. Banerjee met Chief Secretary W M S Pariat and is scheduled to meet representatives from social and cultural circles during his three-day stay here.
The team`s visit followed repeated request by writer and researcher Malabika Bisharad to set up a library and a Tagore Research Institute at the Brookside campus.
Last year, Sidli House, another house where Tagore stayed was brought down by its new owner.
PTI