as

DD slot for Tagore programmes

The Rabindra Bharati University has purchased a 30-minute slot on Doordarshan Calcutta, for a monthly programme on Rabindranath Tagore, and has also made plans for a regular radio programme. The TV programme will aim to propagate Tagore’s philosophy and ideas through his works of art, and will be aired fortnightly once the software base is ready. Feelers have been out for sponsorship, and Rs 6 lakh have already come from corporate houses. "The response from individual sponsors is also quite encouraging," said RBU vice-chancellor Shubhankar Chakrabarty, who has been empowered by the executive council to supervise the plan. "People of art and literature at home and abroad have shown interest in the project when they came to know of it." It is for the same reason that the RBU authorities expect the serial to be financially viable.

Though Chakrabarty will supervise the overall plan, it will be executed by teachers and students of the department of mass communication. Veteran drama teacher, playwright and actor Ashok Mukherjee has been appointed as special professor-cum-director of the project. The University Grants Commission has sanctioned Rs 19 lakh to meet the expenditure including salaries.

The technical support for the audio-visual project will be given by the university’s fine arts’ faculty. The department of mass communication has the necessary equipment. Chakrabarty has also sought help from the Union information & broadcasting ministry and the West Bengal government for the project. The radio programming plans, still on the drawing boards, will also rope in the students and teachers, he said.

"We have a three-pronged approach to both the projects: deft production, teaching and research," said Chakrabarty. "Even students who help in the project will be given incentives, so that earning and learning go hand in hand." Both the TV and the radio stations will be located in the university’s Jorasanko complex, where Tagore was took birth and died. Depending on the response to the two projects, RBU may also launch a Website on the works, and life and times of Tagore. The audio-visual project was inspired by a wholly-owned TV channel launched by Durban University of South Africa. To launch its own channel, Rabindra Bharati does not need to wait for a green signal from Viswa Bharati, the university set up by Tagore which holds the copyrights to his work. Chakrabarty said the project plan lies within the framework of the RBU Act itself. According to the Act, Rabindra Bharati University was set up to propagate Tagore’s ideas and philosophy and champion them in the context of modern India’s integrity and cultural heritage, as well as its linguistic and socio-economic history.

C.B.