Sri Palee College Horana celebrates Tagore Day

High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha visited Sri Palee College in Horana to attend the Tagore Day celebrations. The foundation stone of Sri Palee College, modelled after Santiniketan, was laid by Gurudev Tagore himself on his third and last visit to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) on 20 May 1934.

The Tagore Day celebrations at Sri Palee College, after more than a year of celebrations in Sri Lanka, marked by various events to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore was graced by the Senior Minister for Good Governance Ratnasiri Wickramanayake with Ashok K. Kantha was the Guest of Honour. Member of Parliament from the Kalutara district Vidura Wickramanayaka also graced the event along with members of the Sri Palee Past Pupils Association.

In his address, Wickramanayake recalled the long association between Sri Palee College and Santiniketan and the contribution and impact of Tagore on the cultural resurgence in Sri Lanka and emphasised that Sri Palee was the most appropriate place in Sri Lanka for the commemoration of Tagore’s birth anniversary as its foundation was laid by Tagore himself.

While addressing the gathering, Kantha recalled his earlier visit to Sri Palee in September 2010 to launch a commemorative platinum jubilee publication titled ‘Sri Palee Vibhuthiya – The Splendour of Sri Palee’ which paid tribute to Wilmot A. Perera, an eminent educationist, parliamentarian, philanthropist and  diplomat, whose vision resulted in the foundation of Sri Palee modeled on the line of  Santiniketan.

The High Commissioner noted that Tagore’s three visits to Sri Lanka had clearly left an abiding imprint and his extensive interactions with artistes and literary personalities of Sri Lanka significantly contributed to the cultural resurgence inspiring artists, dancers and singers to develop their genres.   

Tagore himself was deeply impressed with the Kandyan dance and mask dance and had adapted elements of these dance forms in his later dance dramas. He emphasised that Tagore did not bring any outside influences and helped in the cultural revival in Sri Lanka by highlighting the rich cultural heritage and traditions of Sri Lanka.  

Kantha thanked the Government of Sri Lanka for releasing a special postal stamp on 7 May 2011. He also highlighted a number of events organised to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Tagore and thanked the Sri Palee family for encouraging and supporting these initiatives.

He also referred to the speech made by Tagore in 1934 at the Jaffna Central College during which he spoke about “restoration of the ancient association of minds” between India and Sri Lanka through his efforts and through a direct language of art.  

Kantha referred to the successful organisation of sacred Kapilavastu relics exposition for 23 days during which approximately 3.5 million devotees paid their homage as a reaffirmation of the ancient association of mind between India and Sri Lanka that Tagore spoke of. He also spoke of the visit of the President of Sri Lanka to India to lay the foundation of the University of Buddhist and Indic Studies at Sanchi along with the Prime Minister of Bhutan. Kantha added that the end of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations does not mean an end to the legacy of Tagore and that his works and vision would continue to inspire us.

On this occasion, the High Commissioner also presented Indian musical instruments and a set of books on Mahatma Gandhi and Gurudev Tagore for use by the students of Sri Palee College.