Rabindra Bharati Univ to set up separate gallery on life & works of Dwarkanath

Kolkata: Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) will set up a separate gallery to portray the life and works of Dwarkanath Tagore at its Jorasanko campus. The varsity will also restore the four paintings of Dwarkanath drawn by different painters with the help of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach).

"People talk more about the flamboyant lifestyle of (Prince) Dwarkanath Tagore but they are in the dark about his entrepreneurship. We are planning to undertake research work to rediscover his life and works with assistance from Intach and the Bengal Chamber," said Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, Vice-Chancellor of RBU, on the sidelines of a seminar titled "Dwarkanath Tagore: A Retrospect on India's Pioneering Industrialist" to commemorate his 225th birth anniversary at the Bengal Chamber on Saturday.

The RBU museum at its Jorasanko campus has a lot of collection on the life and activities of Dwarkanath. "We will come up with a separate corner so that visitors have a clear idea about the various facets of his life," he said.

According to Ray Chaudhury, Dwarkanath was one of the first Indian industrialists of colonial India, who traded with the British and other foreign countries as a businessman. He was also the pioneer of several social reforms in Bengal including the introduction of medical studies, the establishment of the Calcutta Public Library (now National Library) and the like. He also had a substantial contribution to the development of the Bengal Renaissance. Business historian Kamalendu Dhar in his address spoke about several steps taken by Dwarkanath which may be relevant even today. "Non-Performing Assets (NPA) in banks is a prime concern these days but there has been hardly a single instance when he had not repaid any loan," Dhar said.

The Bengal Heritage Foundation in August last year during a function at Kensal Green Cemetery, London, restored his tomb to commemorate his death anniversary. A bust and a plaque containing his contributions were also unveiled to honour the entrepreneur, philanthropist and the first successful businessman who took up Indo-British trade.