Kolkata: State minister for Higher Education Bratya Basu and Thailand Ambassador Pattarat Hongtong inaugurated the Thai Gallery at Rabindra Bharati University in Jorasanko on Friday. The gallery is going to be opened to the public in a day or two.
The gallery is located inside the century-old house set up by Dwarkanath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore's grandfather at Jorasanko Thakur Bari.
A room has been allotted to the Thai authorities to decorate with exhibits on the first floor of Ram Bhavan, on the way to the room where Tagore was born.
It has an installation of exhibition pieces titled "Tagore's Visit to Siam: Prelude to the Modern-Day Chapter of Thai-Indian Relations."
It is based on the research of Associate Professor of Chulalongkorn University Sawitree Charoenpong, who has written the book Cultivating Friendship in the Name of Bharat: The roles of Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Satyananda Puri and Subhas Chandra Bose in Thai-Indian relations.
The exhibition pieces were designed by a Thai contractor with the help of Sumeth Jackmetha from Silpakorn University. The idea for an exhibition came up in 2016 by the former Permanent Secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Norachit Sinhaseni.
After getting approval from Rabindra Bharati University, the Thai began printing and framing of the physical exhibition pieces, which were completed in 2020.
However, the project was put on hold due to the pandemic and closure of universities and museums across India.
The gallery has been created to tell the story of Rabindranath Tagore's visit to Siam in 1927. During the visit, Tagore had met King Prajadhipok, Rama VII, who was considered the first monarch of Asia to have granted a royal audience to the Gurudev.
Apart from this, the exhibition is dedicated to the modern-day linkages between Thailand and India through Thai personalities who came into direct or indirect contacts with Rabindranath Tagore after his visit.
Another important modern-day linkage is to her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's royal visit to the city and to Jorasanko Thakurbari on July 22, 2014. She was received by Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University Professor Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury.
The exhibition hopes to fascinate people and "inspire" Indians to travel to Thailand and follow Tagore's itinerary in and outside Bangkok.