Chandigarh, 09 January, 2025- Today, on 09 January, 2025, a lecture was organized by the Hindi Department, Punjab University, Chandigarh on the topic "Mysticism in Rabindranath Tagore's 'Gitanjali'". In this program, Madhurima Bhattacharya (Assistant Professor, M.V.J. Degree College, Bengaluru) presented a topic-based lecture as the keynote speaker.
At the beginning of the program, Department Head Prof. Ashok Kumar and Prof. Gurmeet Singh formally welcomed the keynote speaker by presenting him a bouquet of flowers. Prof. Gurmeet Singh was present as the special guest in the program. Giving a brief introduction of Madhurima Bhattacharya, he said that it is our good fortune that on our request, she accepted the invitation to deliver a lecture on a serious topic like 'Mysticism in Gitanjali'. The keynote speaker said in his statement that Rabindranath Tagore is one of those eminent poets of India who is read and taught in many countries of the world.
His fame can also be judged from the fact that his works became the inspiration for the national anthems of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Mysticism can be seen in his works which can be compared with poets like Rumi and Kabir. Tagore believed that humanism is the path to attain God. In 'Gitanjali', he has addressed God in the form of Guru, friend, beloved etc.
This timeless creation teaches us to praise God while performing the duties related to our life. Also, it gives us the right understanding of human relationships and God present in the world. While talking about 'Gitanjali', he tried to touch the subtle emotions of life by reciting his self-composed poem 'Sangharsh'.
After this, the students of the department Sahil, Narayan and Pawan won everyone's heart with their poems. And in the end, the head of the department Prof. Ashok Kumar thanked the chief speaker of the program Madhurima Bhattacharya, special guest Prof. Gurmeet Singh and the audience. While reciting Rabindranath Tagore's poem 'Bhay Rahit Man', he said that there is still a possibility of a better translation of 'Gitanjali'. Research scholars and students of the department were present in this program. Research scholar Rahul conducted the program successfully.