India & China invoke Tagore's spirit to rekindle cultural ties

K J M Varma, Beijing, May 7 (PTI) India and China on Saturday made a
strong pitch to rekindle close cultural links invoking the
spirit of the 1924 "epic journey" of Rabindranath Tagore,
voted by Chinese as among 50 foreigners who contributed most
in shaping China's modern development.
"Tagore was not only a great bosom friend of the Chinese
civilisation, but also a very faithful friend of all Chinese
people", Chen Haosu, President of the Chinese People's
Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, (CPAFFC)
said while addressing the 150th birth anniversary celebrations
of Tagore.
CPAFFC, the official body designated to forge close links
between China and foreign countries organised a special event
along with the Indian Embassy here to celebrate the life and
times of Tagore, specially his 50 day visit to China which
left a profound impact.
Tagore along with Jawaharlal Nehru figured in the 50
foreigners who contributed most in shaping China's modern
development in an opinion poll in 2009 to mark the 60th
anniversary celebrations of China.
"Ancient China and India used to share a close
relationship in history, but they became estranged in Tagore's
time. However, Tagore's great humanitarianism, compassion and
kindness to Chinese people, the two countries have
re-established an intimate and friendly relationship of
cooperation soon afterwards", Chen said.
During his visit, Tagore forged close intellectual
relationship with a host of Chinese writers of that time
advocating spiritual rejuvenation of Asia.
But his visit was criticised by sections of Communist
Party of China.
Recalling Tagore's prediction of Asia's rise, Chen said
"Tagore called for the light on behalf of Asia in the age of
darkness and now when the brightness comes, (India-China rise)
people must pay glorious tribute to great emissary of light".
Highlighting Tagore's link for India-China cultural
relations, Indian Ambassador to Beijing, S Jaishankar said
"Tagore can be regarded as the father figure of India-China
cultural relations in the modern era".
Tagore established the first Sino-Indian cultural society
and the Chinese department at the Visvabharati University in
Bengal.
His work Gitanjali was translated way back in 1915,
Jaishankar said.
"His visit to China in 1924 was an event of considerable
significance, although it was not without controversies", he
said, adding, "Today we are addressing the same issue that
came up when Tagore visited China. The answers however are
quite different from what the Gurudev heard then from many
Chinese intellectuals".
"The revival of Asian societies about which Tagore was so
discerning is undeniable happening now. Its political and
economic ramifications are, however, just beginning to be
felt. That can be hastened if Asian countries, particularly
India and China work more closely to advance their shared
interests", Jaishankar said.
"We also need to overcome old mindsets that are rooted in
less fortunate periods of our history. Building a strong
India-China relationship would be the best tribute we could
pay to the founder of Cheena Bhavan in India," he said.
Bangladesh Ambassador to China, Munshi Faiz Ahmad also
addressed the gathering saying that Tagore had the distinction
of writing the national anthems for two countries, India and
Bangladesh.
Several artistes from China and India sang Tagore's songs
and recited some of his famous poetic works.