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Catholics celebrate Tagore’s birthday

Bengali poet reflected Jesus’ spirituality, says bishop
Catholics celebrate Tagore’s birthday
Catholic girls perform a dance in Dhaka to celebrate the birthday of Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore
Published: May 10, 2011 08:10 AM GMT
Updated: May 10, 2011 02:02 PM GMT

Hundreds of Catholics yesterday celebrated the 150th birthday of Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore in Dhaka, focusing on his perception of Jesus Christ. “Tagore was a spiritual man and his writings very well reflected Jesus’ spirituality. He liked Christian values but not the pride of Christians with the religion,” Holy Cross auxiliary bishop Theotonius Gomes Dhaka told the gathering. “As Jesus tells us to be humble in heart, so did Tagore in his songs. He had a very good knowledge of Christ and that’s why he was able to portray them in his literature,” said David Pranab Das, 65, a Protestant and Tagore expert. Das was speaking to about 500 young Catholics who along with two bishops, 10 priests and 20 nuns flocked to the celebrations at Bangladesh's largest church, the Tejgaon Holy Rosary Church. The half day program was organized by MAGIS Bangla, a Catholic youth organization set up by Jesuit Fathers. MAGIS stands for Marching and Growing in Solidarity. Entitled Tagore’s Perception of Christ, the program discussed Jesus’ influence on Tagore’s writings, his literary pieces on Christ and Christianity and it also paid tribute to him with poem recitation, music and dance. Jesuit Father Pradeep Perez of MAGIS Bangla commented: “Bangladeshi people don’t know how Tagore evaluated and beheld Christ. We’re trying to let people know this concept.” Some youths found the program as an opportunity to learn something new. “If I hadn’t come to this program I couldn’t know how Jesus’ life and values influenced Tagore,” said Kalpana Chakma, 22, a tribal Chakma Catholic girl. Sonjoy Gomes, 26, a college student added, “Tagore, not being a Christian how deeply learned about Christ. I question myself if we Christians really know Christ yet.” Tagore was the first non-European Asian to win the Nobel Prize for literature (in 1913) for his lyrical poetry in Gitanjali (Song Offerings). Tagore wrote national anthems for Bangladesh and India. Throughout the Indian subcontinent he is revered as ‘Gurudev’ (Great Teacher). His birth anniversary falls on May 7 in the Gregorian calendar but May 8 according to the Bengali calendar. For the first time, Bangladesh and India officially held joint celebrations of Tagore’s birth anniversary this year, beginning with grand celebrations in Dhaka on May 6 and in Delhi on May 8. BA14149

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