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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Prof Rajat Kanta Ray mesmerised, inspired history students for decades: Eminent personalities
Kolkata, Amid outpourings of grief over the death of professor Rajat Kanta Ray, whose lectures at the then Presidency College were a major draw among students, eminent personalities on Monday recalled how the historian had mesmerised and inspired all in his illustrious teaching career. Prof Rajat Kanta Ray mesmerised, inspired history students for decades: Eminent personalities Ray, also a former vice chancellor of Visva-Bharati, a central university founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in West Bengal's Santiniketan, died on August 6 at the age of 79. Prasar Bharati's former CEO Jawhar Sircar recalled Ray's active support in taking select paintings of Rabindranath Tagore to several countries, while Victoria Memorial's former curator Jayanta Sengupta said Professor Ray had elucidated the importance of grasping "historical narratives". Visva Bharati's senior faculty member and historian Atig Ghosh described Ray as "the best teacher" among those he came across. "He was six years my senior but centuries ahead of me in scholarship and achievements. I shall miss his warmth and detailed comments on each of my recent pieces that his wife Nupur used to read out to him," Sircar said. "Without Rajat Babu's intervention, we would not be able to take selected paintings of Rabindranath from Kala Bhavan to seven important countries of the world— for the first time ever— during the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Tagore in 2011-12," he recalled. Ray continued to "mesmerise generations of students" till the end, the former Rajya Sabha MP said. Sengupta, also the Alipore Museum director, recollected how "Sir made an amazing evaluation of the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte" in a session. Ray taught at the Presidency College from 1975 to 2006, mentoring generations of historians and history teachers. "Despite having come in contact with many renowned teachers during my student days in Presidency College, Jawaharlal Nehru University and abroad, Ray was the best teacher I came across. I had the opportunity to get him as a teacher in the Presidency College from 2000-03," Ghosh, the Visva Bharati teacher, told PTI. "There can be some other historians who are as colossal as Ray, but he was the best teacher of history," Ghosh said. He recalled how Ray used to take his students on a heritage walk across the Presidency campus on their first day in the hallowed institution, "as we could see history unfolding before us as if in a live manner". Ghosh said Visva-Bharati has called a memorial meeting for Ray on the campus on August 19. Between 2006 and 2011, Ray served as vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati. Ray was "unusually bold and was often disliked by a bunch of mediocre teachers who had got into Presidency thanks to political patronage of the Left Front", Sircar claimed. "I know this because some of them — led by a vitriolic Bengali teacher who taught Hindi — went after him in the 2003-2006 period and complained to me as higher education secretary of West Bengal. "I went straight to CM in 2005 and requested him to stop his partymen from harassing Rajat Babu, who was an outstanding teacher. CM supported me fully and after retirement, he continued to teach in the Presidency as Professor Emeritus," Sircar added. Presidency Alumni Association vice president Bivas Chaudhuri said Ray had received the 'Atul Chandra Gupta Distinguished Alumnus Award 2024' at a function and also delivered an illuminating speech, despite ill health. Ray, who had done his PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge, is survived by his wife and two daughters. His acclaimed books include 'The Felt Community: Commonality and Mentality Before the Emergence of Indian Nationalism', and 'Social Conflict and Political Unrest in Bengal 1875–1927'. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Print
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Visva Bharati to hold candlelight march to protest vandalism of Tagore's house in B'desh
'To register an emphatic condemnation of the despicable mob attack and vandalism of the ancestral House of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in Bangladesh's Sirajganj district on June 8, Visva Bharati has decided to hold a candlelight march,' it said. The Nobel Laureate poet was the founder of Visva-Bharati, which is now a central university. The institute's spokesperson Atig Ghosh said in a statement that a large number of students, ashramites and others will assemble at Upasana Griha (prayer hall) and march to the main gate of the central administrative building on June 23. Kolkata, Jun 22 (PTI) Visva-Bharati university on Sunday said it will organise a candlelight march on June 23 to condemn the mob attack and vandalisation of Rabindranath Tagore's ancestral house in Bangladesh. A mob attacked and vandalised the ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Bangladesh's Sirajganj district, leading authorities to constitute a three-member committee to investigate the incident, according to media reports. On June 8, a visitor went to the Kachharibari, also known as Rabindra Kachharibari or Rabindra Memorial Museum, located in Sirajganj district, with his family. There, he got into an altercation with an employee at the entrance over the motorcycle parking fee and vandalism ensued by a mob, the reports said adding few people had been arrested in this connection. PTI SUS NN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
03-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Authorities to take action for demolition of painter Abanindranath Tagore's heritage house
Kolkata, The administration would take action against those responsible for almost razing down the heritage house of painter Abanindranath Tagore, who played a pivotal role in the Bengal School of Art movement in the 19th century, in Santiniketan. Bolpur Municipality Chairperson Parna Ghosh on Tuesday said that despite a notice served by the civic body on the present owner of the property named 'Awas' not to tinker with the construction in any way, the person engaged a real estate developer and razed down major parts of the building. Santiniketan in West Benganl's Birbhum district comes under the Bolpur Municipality. "We will protect whatever remains of 'Awas' are still there. We will take action against those who went ahead with the demolition ignoring the notice served by the municipality," Ghosh said. Only the gate of the house, with the name 'Awas' inscribed on the still intact boundary wall, remains, according to a video clip of the demolished property, which went viral on social media. Abanindranath, a nephew of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, used to stay in 'Awas' during his stay in Santiniketan. The house was built at Santiniketan's Aban Pally, named after the painter who was appointed the second 'Acharya' of Visva Bharati university in 1942 after the death of Tagore in 1941. Visva-Bharati, set up by Tagore in 1921, was declared a central university and an institution of national importance by an Act of Parliament in 1951. 'Awas' changed hands afterwards. Former acting vice-chancellor of Visva Bharati and ashramite Sabujkali Sen expressed dismay over the incident. "We are saddened that a house associated with the memory of Abanindranath Tagore - and retaining certain unique features reflecting his works - has been mostly razed down. A part of history and heritage is thereby gone," she said. Education Minister Bratya Basu, when told about the demolition of 'Awas', said he did not have much knowledge about the development. "Abanindranath Tagore is our national pride. I am happy several of the houses - associated with his memory - are being preserved and maintained elsewhere. This includes a property in Konnagar, in Hooghly district which is being preserved by the local municipality,' said Basu who is also a theatre personality. Abanindranath is also known for "Bharat Mata" , a painting he created in 1905, representing the nation as a four-armed goddess. He also had a number of books on art to his credit. Besides, the stories he wrote for children were told so picturesquely that it was said, Abanindranath 'writes pictures'. He died in 1951 at the age of 80 years.
