Docu-drama on Tagore's Karna Kunti Sambad at Indian Museum today

Kolkata: Indian Museum will host a docu-drama based on Rabindranath Tagore's Karna Kunti Sambad to mark the occasion of Gurudev's 158th birth anniversary on Thursday.

The docu–drama titled "Changing Shades of Time" has been made by the director of Indian Museum Rajesh Purohit.

"I was inspired by the English translation of Tagore's Karna Kunti Sambad by Ketaki Kushari Dyson. Here Tagore depicts the relationship between a mother and child in the most wonderful way. I had made this docu-drama while I was in Kurukshetra eight years back," Purohit said. Tagore had written Karna Kunti Sambad in 1901.

The docu-drama aims to show the change with the passage of time on how Vyasa had portrayed the relationship between Karna and Kunti in his Mahabharata, how Tagore conceived the two characters in Karna Kunti Sambad and what relationship street-children share with their mothers these days.

The authorities of Indian Museum are also putting on display the original Japanese translation script of a poem from his play Mukta Dhara ('Waterfall' in English) that he had written after his first visit to Japan. A silver enameled bead that Tagore had gifted to a famous person in the Japan during his visit will also be exhibited. The two rare collections of the museum will be the exhibits of the month and will be displayed for public till May 31.

These two exhibits and some photographs in connection with Tagore's Japan visit were gifted to the Indian Museum by the Japan Embassy in the year 1989. Tagore had visited Japan three times — in 1916, 1924 and 1929.

His visits to Japan have proved to be a milestone in the relation that Japan and Bengal share. During his tours, Tagore had met the Prime Minister of Japan, writers, artistes, musicians, educationists, politicians, and journalists. He delivered numerous lectures and befriended a number of Japanese.