When Gurudev taught BHU to focus on arts

VARANASI: Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's association with Banaras Hindu University (BHU) goes way back to 1923, where he stayed during his visit to the city in 1923.
On the eve of the 75th death anniversary of Tagore, TOI explored the Noble laureate's connection to the city and BHU that once had 'Tagore House', which was transformed into International Centre to deal with matters related to foreign students and their admission.
As per BHU records, the International Centre was established in 2004 in one of the oldest building of the university Tagore House, named after the poet. A commemorative plaque in his name is also affixed to the wall, describing his visit to the city to chair the first meeting of 'Bang Sahitya Sammelan' in 1923.
Known for his penchant for literature, art and music, Tagore was appointed as the first honorary chairman (for life) of Bharat Kala Parishad (now Bharat Kala Bhawan) in BHU and it was he who advised to concentrate on arts and craft. The foundation stone of the present building was laid by the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962.
The administration had planned to create a memorial in Tagore's name at the six-acre Malaviya Heritage Complex on the campus. A committee was constituted during vice-chancellorship of YC Simhadri and the three buildings named after Tagore, Annie Besant and Mahatma Gandhi were renovated and brought under the ambit of heritage complex after formal inauguration in 2001. The Tagore Memorial that was intended to be developed as a regional centre to store material relating to the cultural life of Bengal in Gurudev's times, could not materialise.
To realize the memorials of Tagore, Besant and Gandhi, BHU VC GC Tripathi has been monitoring the progress of work at the under-construction Bharat Adhyayan Kendra to be built at a cost of Rs 20 crore. Once the building is ready, efforts would be made to store material related to them as well as the collection of their publications, OSD of the centennial cell of BHU and former committee member of Malaviya Heritage Complex, Vishwanath Pandey said.