SHILLONG, Nov 19: Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s romance with Shillong is poised to be perpetuated through setting up of Tagore Cultural Complex at Brookside bungalow at Rilbong where the state Legislative Assembly is temporarily housed.
A proposal in this regard has been submitted by the state government and the Centre’s approval is awaited.
Informing this Commissioner and Secretary in-charge of Art and Culture Department, FR Kharkongor said here today that the cultural complex will be set up under the under the Tagore Cultural Complex Scheme at the idyllic Brookside bungalow where Tagore had stayed during his maiden visit to Shillong in 1919.
“It will be a multi-functional tourist space, tourist attraction and also like every place celebrates the legacy of a famous man – Tagore – who is Asia’s first Nobel laureate and he had come to the hills, speaks about humanity, unity and many aspects which can be drawn upon,” he said.
Kharkongor said that the Brookside bungalow is already considered as an important heritage site and the idea is to highlight the connection the Bard shared with the beauty of Shillong.
“He has written so many works inspired by Shillong and this is to showcase the kind of connection Tagore had with the environment and greenery of the place,” he recalled.
Pointing out that there is no Tagore Cultural Centre in the entire North East, Kharkongor said, “This will be the first of a kind and this is also because Tagore has a very close connection with the city of Shillong he had visited on three occasions”.
The Union Ministry has a specific scheme for it, Kharkongor said, adding, “That is why we thought, why not we leverage this unique connection as other states in the North East don’t have that and we have our own land which is where Tagore stayed”.
It may be mentioned that Rabindranath Tagore visited Shillong in 1919, 1923 and 1927 and when the poet visited South India in 1928 and wrote Shesher Kobita, 13 of the 17 chapters were inspired by his stay in Shillong.
In line with this, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had discussed the proposal with Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel, in the national capital on Wednesday.