PM Modi’s visit to Shantiniketan amid song row

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Tribune News Service 

Kolkata, May 23

The controversy over his comment relating to the timing of “Rabindra Sangeet” broadcast by the All India Radio (AIR) is expected to be set at rest by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visits Shantiniketan on Friday.

Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina too will be visiting Shantiniketan on Friday and inaugurate the building constructed by Bangladesh government at the university town founded by Tagore. The Bangladesh Bhavan at Shantiniketan will have facilities like auditorium, museum and research facilities.

Prime Minister Modi, who is chancellor of Visva-Bharati, will be in Shantiniketan in connection with the university’s convocation function. The two functions, one at the convocation centre at Visva Bharati and the other at Bangladesh Bhavan, will be also attended by West Bengal Governor KN Tripathi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Modi and Hasina are also slated to have an exclusive bilateral talk when they meet at Shantiniketan. This is going to be Modi’s first visit to Visva-Bharati as the university chancellor. 

Visva-Bharati has decided to present the replica of the first edition of Tagore’s anthology of poems, ‘Gitanjali’, published in London in 1912, to Prime Minister Modi. Visva-Bharati authorities will also present replica of the original manuscript of Tagore’s famous poem “Chitto Jetha Bhoyshunno” (“Where the mind is without fear…”) both in Bengali and Tagore’s own translation of the poem in English.

Modi will also receive from Visva Bharati a CD with half a dozen of Tagore’s songs sung by Sangeet Bhavana students under the guidance of eminent Rabindrasangeet singer Swastika Mukhopadhyay. The songs include ‘Aguner Paroshmoni Choaon Prane’ and ‘Anandoloke, Mongolaloke’, two songs mentioned by the Prime Minister in his speech in the ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme in April.  Ayan Bandopadhyay of Debitola village in North 24 Parganas had written to Modi requesting him to touch upon Tagore’s philosophy of peace and brotherhood and harmony in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ address.

This prompted PM Modi to bring Tagore in the ambit of his ‘Mann ki Baat’ speech. But the PM’s statement that he used to listen to Tagore songs on the radio at 5.30 in the morning when he was very young triggered off a controversy. It was pointed out that those days there was no FM broadcast and no radio station in India aired Tagore’s songs so early in the morning. WBPCC chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury proposed filing a petition under the RTI to find out if any radio station ever aired Tagore songs at 5.30 in the morning.

On whether PM Modi would throw light on the issue when he visits Shantiniketan on Friday, Rahul Sinha, BJP national secretary and former president of the party’s state unit, said, “Modi is the first Prime Minister to express his love for Tagore songs. He also is a great admirer of Tagore’s teachings. Whether he listened to Tagore songs at 5.30 in the morning or six or seven is immaterial. Only nit-pickers dwell upon such things.” 

About the row 

• Modi had, in his ‘Mann ki Baat’, said he would, during his younger days, tune in to radio at 5.30 am to hear Tagore’s songs 
• The Congress was quick to counter the PM and sought to know if any radio station had ever aired Tagore songs at 5.30 in morning 
• The party even mulled filing an RTI to ascertain facts