A Center devoted to India’s bard and the Bengali Shakespeare

India’s great Nobel laureate and globally celebrated poet-painter Rabindranath Tagore and his legacy have found yet another proud permanent roosting perch, now in Europe. A site devoted to his life and works has just been launched in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Scottish Centre for Tagore Studies centre will look to promote Indian culture, art, literature, education and philosophy by highlighting his legacy. ScoTs is probably the first-of-its kind university or centre in the UK celebrating the writer’s achievements on the eve of his 150th birth anniversary. The centre is located at the Edinburgh Napier University`s Institute of Creative Industries. An official news releases spells out the following facts: 

• Rabindranath Tagore, who was the first non-white Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1913, penned thousands of poems and songs before his death in 1941, with his work translated into hundreds of languages. Now, 150 years after his birth, the first UK hub of its kind dedicated to the writer has been established  at Edinburgh Napier University’s Institute of Creative Industries.
  
• Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in the Scottish Government said: “Rabrindranath Tagore was India’s greatest artist, musician and poet and had many close ties to Scotland. ScoTs will celebrate these connections and Tagore’s legacy, deepening the relationship between our two countries. I am delighted that the centre is being launched in this, our Year of Creative Scotland.”
  
• ScoTs will highlight Tagore’s legacy following an agreement with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which will bring Professor Indra Nath Choudhuri, Academic Director of the Indira Gandhi Institute, to the University as Scotland’s first ICCR Chair in Tagore Studies. The ICCR is also funding two PhD fellowships dedicated to researching the works of the influential author.
  
  
• Rabindranath Tagore had strong links to Scotland, mainly through his firm friendship with the pioneering town planner Sir Patrick Geddes, but his grandfather, entrepreneur Prince Dwarkanath, was also honoured with the Freedom of the City award by Edinburgh in 1845. Dr. Bashabi Fraser, Lecturer in Literature and Creative Writing at the University, said: “ScoTs will celebrate the life, teaching and vision of Rabrindranath Tagore, whose spirit continues to inspire.