President inaugurates Tagore's painting at Santiniketan

Santiniketan: President Pratibha Patil today inaugurated an exhibition of Tagore's original paintings, besides attending other programmes at Santiniketan.

The President visited Uttarayan Complex in the Visva-Bharati University this morning where Rabindranath Tagore stayed and attended a one-hour-long cultural programme there.

She then visited Kala Bhavan in the University and inaugurated an exhibition of Tagore's original paintings.

"It is for the first time, after many decades, that Visva-Bharati has made it possible for many to have a glimpse of these paintings, to see how great a painter Tagore was, and how he was a harbinger of an art movement in India," Patil said in her speech on the occasion.

Patil also paid tributes to the poet whose 150th birth anniversary the country is celebrating.

"I am very happy to be here at the Visva-Bharati University, in a year when we are celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore," the President said.

Patil appreciated the restoration and renovation activities at the Uttarayan Complex, including the Pampa Lake, and said, "It is incumbent on us to preserve the legacy of Gurudev in Santiniketan."

Governor M K Narayanan was also present in the cultural programme.

The President arrived in Kolkata yesterday on a three-day visit to West Bengal.