162nd BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF RABINDRA NATH TAGORE OBSERVED AT GOVT. MODEL COLLEGE, BORKHOLA

Govt. Model College, Borkhola, Cachar celebrated the 162^nd birth anniversary of the world poet Rabindranath Tagore with an insightful guest lecture organized by the Department of Bengali on 9^th May, 2023 at the college premises. A towering academician of Barak Valley, an authority in Bengali literature, a prolific writer and an ex Vice Chancellor of Assam University, Silchar,  Prof. Tapadir Bhattacharjee was the honourable resource person invited for the event. The program began with an introduction by the co-ordinator Dr. Madhumita Ghosh which was followed by the lighting of the lamp in front of Tagore’s portrait by the guest speaker and the principal Dr. Sahabuddin Ahmed. Some of the B.A. students then complemented the lamp lighting with the Rabindra sangeet “Ei akashe amar murti alloy alo”.  This was followed by the felicitation of the guest Prof. Bhattacharjee by the principal Dr. Ahmed with a uttoriyo, bouquet and a memento. Dr. Mousona Nath, Assistant Prof., Department of Bengali then felicitated the principal Dr. Sahabuddin Ahmed. An enlightening welcome address was delivered by Dr. Ahmed where he highlighted the importance of the day. The IQAC co ordinator Dr. Mofidur Rahman then briefed audience about the college and its activities. As a part of the theme of ‘Borshoboron’ (embracing the Bengali New Year), two students from BA 4^th semester performed a dance on “Esho hey Boishakh”. That was followed by the wonderful speech of the guest lecturer who is nationally as well as internationally acclaimed for his expertise on Tagore. Prof. Bhattacharjee elaborated on the enormous and prodigious amount of contributions made by Rabindranath Tagore in the field of literature.  Besides throwing light on the vastness of Tagore’s poetry, novels, drama, paintings and essays, he also mentioned the massive greatness of the world poet’s letters too. Drawing the instance of the Jallianwala bagh incident, Prof. Bhattacharjee unveiled the silent contributions of Tagore in the country’s political scenario. Through the example of Tagore, the speaker attempted to motivate the audience to make an optimum use of time in all kinds of productive endeavours which would benefit humanity at large. He made an urge to keep Rabindranath Tagore alive through a genuine practise of his ideals, literature and educational thoughts at every step. After an extremely inspiring and illuminating talk, he also humbly donated some of his self-authored books for the students of the college.

The guest lecture was followed by the prize distribution ceremony. The Department of English, Department of Education and Literary Affairs Committee of Govt. Model College, Borkhola had jointly organized speech, essay and poetry Recitation competitions to celebrate Rabindra Jayanti Eve on 8th May, 2023. Around 20 students participated in the events out of which six were selected as winners in different sections. The prizes and certificates were given away by the invited guest and the principal. The prize distribution was followed by a speech on Tagore’s educational views, ideals and the essence of Shantiniketan by Dr. Rupashree Paul, Head,  Department of Education. Yet another interesting section of the event was the live portrait painting of Tagore by a renowned artist of the region Mr. Prasenjit Dey. The program came to an end with a vote of thanks by Miss Suroshikha Debnath, Head, Department of English and a musical thanksgiving by Dr. Madhumita Ghosh and Dr. Mousona Nath. Lastly, after the lecture-cum-cultural event, Prof. Tapadir Bhattacharjee inaugurated the first wall magazine of the Bengali Department “Nairit”, adding yet another feather of glory on the auspicious day of Rabindra Jayanti. The audience in the program included college students, guardians, faculty members and some students from the nearby school Saraswati Vidyaniketan.