A century after Tagore’s Sweden visit, PM Modi, Kristersson honour Rabindranath's enduring legacy

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, on Sunday exchanged special commemorative gifts to celebrate the legacy of Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

Kristersson gifted Modi a box containing two replicas of hand-written epigrams by Tagore, accompanied by a small explanatory text and a photograph of the polymath taken in 1921 during his visit to Uppsala University in Sweden.

Modi and Kristersson met in Gothenburg in Sweden on Sunday.

The original epigrams, recently discovered in the Swedish National Archives, were created by Tagore during his visits to Sweden in 1921 and 1926.

Modi presented Kristersson a set of collected works of Tagore, along with a specially handcrafted bag from Shantiniketan with motifs that Gurudev chose to empower local artisans.

“The bag symbolises Tagore’s philosophy that art is not meant to be confined to galleries, but to breathe life into everyday objects, bridging the gap between the intellectual and the functional,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Though Tagore could not travel to Sweden in 1913 to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature, he was received by King Gustav V when he visited the country in 1921.

“These gifts symbolise the shared cultural and intellectual heritage between India and Sweden, and pay tribute to the enduring legacy of Rabindranath Tagore. The exchange of gifts also coincides with the centenary of Gurudev’s historic visit to Sweden in 1926,” the MEA stated.