WB: Musical programmes, craft fair to celebrate Rabindranath Tagore's birthday

Kolkata: With a number of musical programmes to be held all over the state and a handicraft fair in the city, West Bengal on Monday geared up to celebrate the 151st birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore on Tuesday.

Organised jointly by the West Bengal State Akademi of Dance Drama Music and Visual Arts along with Rabindra Bharati University, the 26th Lokshilpa O Karukriti Mela was inaugurated by Higher Education Minister Bratya Basu at Jorasanko Thakurbari, the ancestral home of the Tagore family in north Kolkata.

Altogether 50 artists, craftspersons and weavers have come from different parts of the state along with their wide range of handicraft products like 'patachitras', decorative items made of 'sola' (spongewood), 'Chhau' dance masks, 'dhokra' handloom items, 'batik' work, 'baluchari' and 'kantha'-stitch sarees.

The West Bengal government will organise a cultural event on Tuesday where leading singers and elocutionists will preform.

Celebrated according to the Bengali calendar, Tagore's birthday, known as 'Pachisse (25th) Baishakh' in Bengali, has been declared a holiday by the state government.

The state government will organise a cultural event on Tuesday where leading singers and elocutionists will preform.

Besides exponents like Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Ajoy Chakraborti and Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta, Bengali bands Bhoomi, Dohar and Chandrabindoo too will perform. Danseuse Alokananda Roy will also present a dance-drama based on Tagore works.

Officials said similar programmes will be organised in the city and districts from Wednesday.

At Visva-Bharati university in Shantinekatan set up by Tagore, the day will be celebrated in traditional style.

The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre will have a Tagore dance and drama festival for a fortnight.

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