Abe to release book on Tagore's speeches

Tagore's speeches in Japan, published in form of a book, will be released by the Japanese PM during his visit to Kolkata.

Almost 66 years after his death, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore's speeches delivered in Japan have been published in the form of a book that will be released by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit in Kolkata on Thursday.

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The 250-page book is titled "Talks in Japan". Tagore had visited Japan five times between 1916 and 1924 and wanted to see his speeches in print. He had even requested Prasanta Mahalonobis, the famous scientist who served as his secretary for sometime, to publish them.

Abe will also inaugurate Rabindra-Okakura Bhavan, an India-Japanese cultural centre, built by Paschimbanga Bangla Akademy (PBA) at Salt Lake on the eastern fringes of the city.

Okakura Kakuza, a Japanese art connoisseur who came to the city to invite Swami Vivekenanda to the World Congress of Religion, fell in love with Tagore's works and worked untiringly to promote the writings of the Nobel laureate in Japan.

PBA secretary Sanat Chattopadhyay said the Bhavan would highlight the cultural ties between the two countries.

Noted Japanese researcher on Tagore Kazuo Azuma has already arrived in Kolkata to help with the inauguration of the Bhavan.

Several rare photographs of Tagore's Japan's visit and that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Radhabinod Pal, who was the lone Indian judge at the Tokyo war crimes tribunal, will find a place at the Bhavan, Chattopadhyay said.