KOLKATA: President Ram Nath Kovind called his visit to Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan a pilgrimage stating that it was here that Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore frequently met each other.
“It is indeed my privilege to be here at Santiniketan. I come here not only a visitor or paridarshaka but equally as a humble pilgrim and a seeker for the answers to our eternal quest for wisdom. I bow to the founder of this great seat of experiments in learning and living,’’ said Kovind addressing the gathering during the annual convocation of the university, founded by poet Rabindranath Tagore.
In his speech, the President said, “This is one of those blessed sites that re-imagined our civilisation’s values that now define India. This is the place that infused new energy in our national life. I call my Visva Bharati visit a pilgrimage because the two greatest visionaries of modern India, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahamta Gandhi, frequently met here. The community here — students, academics, staff, ashramites – are proud inheritors of that rich legacy which your founder has left you’’
Kovind was received by West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankar at Andal airport in Durgapur on Sunday. Kovind was the chief guest at the convocation held at Amrakunja on the university premises.
Last year, PM Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee attended the convocation of the central university.