Source: The post is based on the article “Tagore’s home Santiniketan added to UNESCO World Heritage List” published in Indian Express on 18th September 2023
What is the News?
Santiniketan, the home of late Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage sites list.
What is Santiniketan?
Santiniketan is a town located in West Bengal’s Birbhum district.
The name of the city literally means the ‘abode of peace’.It was named after a local dacoit Bhuban and was earlier called ‘Bhubandanga’.
Established by: It was originally an ashram built by Debendranath Tagore (father of Rabindranath Tagore) where anyone, irrespective of caste and creed, could come and spend time meditating on the one Supreme God.
– Later, Rabindranath Tagore envisioned it as a university town and established a school.It was called Brahmachary Ashram, and was later expanded into the Visva-Bharati University.
Features: Distinct from the prevailing British colonial architectural orientations of the early 20th century and of European modernism, Santiniketan represents approaches toward a pan-Asian modernity, drawing on ancient, medieval and folk traditions from across the region.
– Santiniketan is also adorned with splendid sculptures, frescoes, murals, and paintings created by renowned artists such as Rabindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose (one of the pioneers of modern Indian art) and Ramkinkar Baij (master sculptor and painter) among others.
Significance: Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan is Bengal’s only central university.The Prime Minister is the chancellor of the varsity.
Some other recent additions-
A) Dholavira-Gujrat-2021
B) Ramappa Temple-Telangana-2021
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