AT THE 17TH-CENTURY Beit El-Set Wasila in Al-Azhar, writes Nevine El-Aref, poets, scholars and intellectuals gathered on Saturday night to celebrate the Rabindranath Tagore's 150th anniversary, honouring India's best-known poet, philosopher, artist, playwright, composer and novelist of the late 19th and early 20th century. The House of Poems has its own celebration ceremony to mark the Tagore's birthday. To the sound of Indian music, minister of culture Shaker Abdel Hamid and Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Shri S M Krishna inaugurated the celebration, cutting the red ribbon wrapped around the huge oil portrait of Tagore. Meanwhile, excerpts from Tagore's poems in Arabic translation were recited by the Egyptian poet Mohamed Abu Sena. India Ambassador to Egypt R. Swaminathan offered the head of the House of Poems Abdel Moati Hegazi a complete collection of Tagore's poems to be installed in the house library. This is the second ceremony to celebrate the 1913 Nobel laureate's birthday in Egypt. The first was held in late January at Cairo Opera House, where singer Sumitra Guha and her four-member troupe performed a selection of songs from the Rabindra Sangeet canon and Indian classical numbers. This performance was followed by a dance drama from Shyama, Tagore's last major work for the stage. Tagore started writing poetry at the age of eight, and at sixteen, he released his first substantial collection poems, Bhânusi_ha (Sun Lion), which have been recently seized by literary authorities as long-lost classics. In 1877 he wrote his first short stories and dramas, joining the fight for India's independence. As a promoter of the Bengal Renaissance, he also produced paintings, sketches and doodles, founding the Visva-Bharati University. Tagore modernised Bengali art, spurning the rigid classical forms. His novels, stories, songs, dance, dramas and essays addressed both political and personal topics. His verse, short stories and novels were much admired for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism and contemplative approach. He composed the text for both India's and Bangladesh's national anthems. Tagore travelled widely and was friends with many notable 20th - century figures.
