Latha Reddy ![]() We have gathered to celebrate the centenary of Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to China in 1924. I truly believe this was a turning point in our shared relations. The visit by a foremost poet-philosopher of that era to China was a pathbreaking event. “The world has for long been in its grip”, he said, “the exclusive winter that keeps the human races within closed doors but the doors are going to open; spring has come!” I think that's a very hopeful note from the great Rabindranath Tagore. He used the Upanishads and the immortal teachings of the Buddha and his own poetic talents to argue for a United Pan-Asia with fraternal bonds among the great Asian cultures. It was a plea for Universal love and his friendship with figures, such as Bingxin, Xu Beihong, Xu Zhimo, Liang Qichao in China was the confluence of literature and culture in both China and India. I understand this series of events is being organized by the Intercivilizational Dialogue Project, the association of peoples of Asia which stands for Asian unity and peace and the Gandhi Global Family, a group dedicated to spreading the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi. For me the idea of being associated with an event for Gandhi is a matter of great reverence. I had the privilege when I was Consul General in South Africa of cherishing that heritage because many people forget that he lived for 23 years in South Africa and I was associated with a lot of events dedicated to preserving his memory. This photo exhibition which we've just gone around is rightly entitled the ‘Spirit of Asia and our Human Future’. I think that's a very inspiring title and we should take a moment to think about it. It is my honor to speak on this occasion alongside my distinguished colleague and fellow Diplomat Kong Xianhua, the Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Mumbai. This historic visit of Tagore’s to China, including his interaction with Tan Yun Shan who later came to Shantiniketan and started the China Bhavan. He was a follower of Gandhi Ji as well and he contributed to India's own Freedom struggle. Lin Huiyin and Xu Zhimo were the young hosts of Tagore who were his interpreters in 1924. We've also heard of their illustrious background. Similarly Nandalal Bose went with Tagore and it had a profound influence on him as we could see from his paintings. Nandita Chaturvedi, one of our organizers, said “we wanted to mark this historic trip that Tagore did in 1924 and use this occasion to talk about Tagore’s vision for peace in Asia. Tagore remains the second most translated author in China.” We've already heard how popular he is in China, how well he is remembered, but the fact that he is the second most translated author after Shakespeare came as quite a surprise even to me. His influence on modern Chinese literature was great. We live in a changing world where Asian countries are rising. We must also learn to remember our historic civilizational and cultural links. Our vision of Pan Asia should be our guiding light and should inspire us to build a peaceful and United Asia. Let us rise above our political and territorial differences and forge a new friendship based on mutual trust and understanding that is the best way forward for us to honor the memory of Gurudev and his historic visit to China. I thank you for your attention and I hope I have done justice to the visit of the great poet to China, a great country. Latha Reddy is former Ambassador and Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, India.
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January 2025
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