The statue of Rabindranath Tagore, sculpted by the Indian sculptor, Ram Vanji Sutar, has been gifted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to the Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies (ScoTs), to commemorate the historic links between Scotland and India and recognize the spirit of unity and harmony that Tagore embodies in his work and writing.

The Indian national poet, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), was the first non-Westerner to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Tagore was a multi-genre writer, philosopher, composer, painter, educationist, environmentalist, and rural reconstructionist. His songs are the national anthems of two countries, India and Bangladesh and he inspired the national anthem of Sri Lanka.

After the award of the Nobel Prize, Tagore became an international figure and as invitations poured in, Tagore took on the role of a cultural ambassador, travelling to around 34 countries delivering lectures, meeting key figures and communities, in a one-man mission to bring the East and West closer together.

Tagore was a close friend of the Scottish polymath, Patrick Geddes, who, like Tagore, was an educationist, environmentalist, cultural activist, peace warrior and internationalist. Geddes travelled to India when he was 60, as World War I broke out in 1914. He was there till 1924, invited to provide the plans for over 50 towns and cities.

Geddes and Tagore met in India and their correspondence shows their shared ideas on creative education, environmental sustainability and the primacy they attached to local and global cooperation. When Tagore founded his International University at Visva-Bharati at Shantiniketan in 1921, he invited Geddes to provide the plans, which Geddes did.

Patrick Geddes’ son, Arthur Geddes, taught at Tagore’s rural reconstruction centre in Sriniketan, the twin institution of Shantiniketan, for two years and translated and provided notations for 14 Tagore songs (of the 2,200 songs composed by Tagore). When Geddes established the Scots College at Montpellier, France, he also set up the Indian College there, where he invited Tagore to be the President.

The cities of Edinburgh and Calcutta with which Tagore and Geddes are associated, have a long shared history of connectivity. Tagore was born and died in his family home in Calcutta, Jorasanko and Geddes’ made his home in Edinburgh’s Old Town before he travelled to India. Tagore’s grandfather, Dwarkanath Tagore was awarded the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh in 1942 and his gift of the Ragamala paintings are with Special Collections at the University of Edinburgh Library.

Both the ScoTs Tagore Collection and Geddes Papers are with Special Collections at the University of Edinburgh Library. Both Edinburgh and Calcutta are Cities of Literature and the Cultural capitals of their respective nations. In 2009, Scotland was the theme country at the Calcutta Book Fair, with a strong contingent of writers, curators and librarians from Scotland representing the historic links between Scotland and India.

Tagore was born in Calcutta which witnessed the confluence of cultures and reform movements. He belonged to a family which led the Bengal Renaissance which introduced reform and transformation, leading India into the modern era. Today, Rabindranath Tagore’s bust joins his friend and collaborator Patrick Geddes’ bust in the beautiful Sandeman House Garden which is at the heart of the City of Edinburgh, symbolising their friendship and association. They embody the message of cooperation and human sympathy which are so relevant in today’s world and for all times.

Tagore’s universal humanism and sense of interconnectedness are best expressed in his recognition of the sustaining power this precious planet, in his poem, ‘Parting Words’: ‘ When I go from hence, let this be my parting word, that what I have seen is unsurpassable.’