Poets, scholars celebrate Tagore's 150th birth anniversary

Cairo, Oct 4 (PTI) Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore was
poet of action, he practiced what he preached and lived by the
principles he expressed in his works, noted Egyptian poets,
literary critics, writers and academics feel.
Poets and scholars gathered at the Supreme Council for
Culture Opera House Complex as part of the on-going
celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of the Nobel
Laureate, organised by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian
Culture affiliated with the Embassy of India here.
Two leading experts on Tagore from India – Prof Hossainur
Rahman, a cultural historian from Kolkata and Prof Anisur
Rahman, a Professor of Literature from the Jamia Millia
University in New Delhi participated in the seminar. Indian
Ambassador to Egypt R Swaminathan also attended the event.
It was attended by many poets, literary critics, writers
and academics including well known Egyptian poets Hassan
Teleb, Helmi Salem, Farouk Shousha, Mohamed Ibrahim Abou Senna
and Mohamed Abdelmottaleb, and was extensively covered by
local media.
The two Indian experts read the works of Tagore and also
shed light on his life, work and mark in Indian modern
history.
Tagore's works as a painter were not for Indians but were
appreciated by the west. He also noted that like Arab poets,
Tagore was always expressive of the love of life contrary to
western poets who write about the desire to end their lives,
Rahman noted.
During the seminar, noted Egyptian poet Ahmad Shawky's
work was compared with Tagore. Shawky was born a few years
after Tagore and often placed by critics in the same category
with him as they were both born under the British occupation
of their countries, resisted it and both were romanticists.
Describing Tagore as 'the conscience of the world',
Farouk Shusha found new common grounds between Tagore and
Shawky as both admired Tolstoy, mimicked his call for open
schools and composed poems as obituaries.
Moderating the seminar, Director of the Beit Al Shar
(House of Poetry) and a renowned poet, Ahmed Abdel Moaty
Hegazy noted that Tagore was poet of action, he practiced what
he preached and lived by the principles he expressed in his
works. PTI RAN
MNS