Spectacular Rabindranath Tagore programme at Uppsala University

A spectacular event in honour of the Indian/Bengali Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore took place in Uppsala on Wednesday 7 May 2014. On this day, a bust of the poet – made by Ramkinkar Baij – was unveiled at the university’s departments of Humanities, on Thunbergsvägen 3L, Engelska Parken. In recent years, statues of Rabindranath Tagore have been raised in many places all around the world on initiative from the Indian embassies. 
See video from the ceremony.
The ceremonial unveiling of the bust was carried out by Prof. Eva Åkesson (photo), Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University and HE Mrs Banashri Bose Harrison, Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia. The Tagore International Choir performed at the occasion. This Lund based choir, led by Bubu Munshi Eklund, sings rabindrasangheet, Tagore’s songs in the original Bengali language. A large number of the Uppsala University researchers involved in South Asia related research – members of the SASNET network – turned up for the occasion. SASNET itself was represented by deputy director Lars Eklund (also a member of the choir).

Speakers at seminar: Wessler, Sardella and Gerdmar.

In the afternoon, an academic seminar programme with a cultural touch was held with three lectures on Tagore and his relation to Sweden. The speakers were Professor Heinz Werner Wessler from the Dept. of Linguistics and Philology; Dr. Ferdinando Sardella from the Department of Theology; and Dr. Anders Gerdmar from Nathan Söderblom Society. The Tagore International Choir again entertained with rabindrasangheet tunes, and so did the Uppsala Indian Choir. (photo above) The programme was concluded with a fantastic dance performance by Asta Deboo. The Uppsala Tagore event was jointly organised by the Forum for South Asian Studies at Uppsala University (FSAS), and the Indian Embassy in Stockholm. Read an article about the event by journalist Kouteya Sinha in Times of India.
More photos on Lars Eklund’s Facebook page.

Tagore International Choir in front of the Tagore bust.	Asta Deboo and the Ambassador.