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Musical programmes and craft fairs marked the celebrations of the 150^th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore 

With a number of musical programmes to be held all over the state and a handicraft fair in the city, West Bengal celebrated the 151st birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.

Organised jointly by the West Bengal State Akademi of Dance Drama Music and Visual Arts along with Rabindra Bharati University, the 26th Lokshilpa O Karukriti Mela was inaugurated by Higher Education Minister Bratya Basu at Jorasanko Thakurbari, the ancestral home of the Tagore family in north Kolkata.

Altogether 50 artists, craftspersons and weavers have come from different parts of the state along with their wide range of handicraft products like 'patachitras', decorative items made of 'sola' (spongewood), 'Chhau' dance masks, 'dhokra' handloom items, 'batik' work, 'baluchari' and 'kantha'-stitch sarees.

Celebrated according to the Bengali calendar, Tagore's birthday, known as 'Pachisse (25th) Baishakh' in Bengali, has been declared a holiday by the state government.

The state government organised a cultural event where leading singers and elocutionists performed.

Besides exponents like Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Ajoy Chakraborti and Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta, Bengali bands Bhoomi, Dohar and Chandrabindoo too will perform. Danseuse Alokananda Roy will also present a dance-drama based on Tagore works.

Similar programmes were organised in the city and districts from Wednesday.

At Visva-Bharati university in Shantinekatan set up by Tagore, the day was celebrated in traditional style.

The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre will have a Tagore dance and drama festival for a fortnight.

 PTI