Gulzar to grace PU at special event

CHANDIGARH: Poet and lyricist Gulzar will visit Panjab University to take part in an event to be organised by the university. PU vice-chancellor Arun Grover said on Friday that the event would be held especially for Gulzar, during which the celebrated poet would formally accept to head the Tagore Chair. "I had a word with him today, and he accepted my invitation to visit the PU and accept the PU offer of heading the Tagore Chair.The event would also be beamed to Lahore and our regional centres," said Grover.
The VC added that the venue for the event would be Gymnasium Hall, but the date was yet to be decided. He said Gulzar had agreed to PU's invitation for filling up the vacant Tagore Chair, which was was created at PU on 18 February 1961, after the University Grants Commission (UGC) initiated the Tagore Centenary Scheme, and instructed universities to create a chair in the name of Rabindranath Tagore. "It's a huge honour for PU, as noted poets, politicians, and academicians are accepting the proposal of the university. Gulzar will soon be coming to PU, and we are going to play this event in a big way," said Grover.
Distinguished writer and art critic Dr Mulk Raj Anand was the first to get chair professorship from 1962 to 1965. Thereafter, noted Hindi novelist, literary historian, essayist, critic and scholar, Dr Hazari Prasad Dwivedi was appointed as Tagore professor, and he held the chair until 1967, which has been lying vacant since then. "We have some big names associated with PU now, who will be sharing their knowledge mines from various fields, right from the arts, fine arts, and literature with students and society. Gulzar is the most admirable and suitable person for the respectable chair," said Grover.
Gulzar recently translated the poetry of Tagore in two volumes -- as part of the ‘Gulzar translates Tagore' collection -- titled ‘Nindiya Chor' (‘Crescent Moon') and ‘Baaghban' (‘The Gardener'). He sent the books -- which will be released this year -- as a gift to the PU vice-chancellor. Recently, former Prime Minister and noted economist Dr Manmohan Singh had also accepted to head the Jawaharlal Nehru Chair of the PU Department of Economics. Apart from this, Prof Yoginder K Alagh and Padma Bhushan awardee Ela Bhatt have also accepted PU's offer to head Dr Manmohan Singh Chair and Mahatma Gandhi Chair respectively.