Consequent to the decision taken for commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, a National Committee under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister was constituted on 5th February, 2010 to consider and approve policies/plans, programmes and to guide and supervise the commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda including preparatory activities leading up to the Anniversary Year 2013-14. The first meeting of the National Committee was held on 20th May, 2010.
Considering that Chicago has a special place in Swami Vivekananda's life where he had delivered his memorable address to the World Parliament of Religions in 1893 it was inter-alia decided in that meeting that some programmes be held in Chicago, specially at the place where the famous Address was delivered by Swami Vivekananda. The Chairman, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recalled that "Swami Vivekananda's famous lecture at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago on 11th September, 1893 was a shining moment in India's cultural history. As the State of Chicago did not allow memorials of people who were not American citizens, we have to ponder on some other way of commemorating this moment at the place where it happened...."
Keeping above vision as the guiding light following actions were taken:
The Chicago University's Vivekananda Chair:
An Agreement for creation of "The Indian Ministry of Culture Vivekananda Chair" was signed during the visit of the Finance Minster Shri Pranab Mukherjee to Chicago on 28th January 2012. The salient features of this Agreement are:-
· In consideration of a grant of US$ 1.5 million for creation of an endowment, the University of Chicago will establish "The Indian Ministry of Culture Vivekananda Chair" to honour the life & legacy of Swami Vivekananda by promoting fields of study most relevant to his teachings.
· The University of Chicago will identify and send to Government of India dossiers of two or three candidates who possess a demonstrated record of scholarly excellence and whose work epitomizes the legacy of Swami Vivekananda.
· The University of Chicago will take into an account the feedback from the Government of India before making its final selection from the pool of selected candidates.
· The Swami Vivekananda Chair will be held by each scholar ideally for a period of 2 years.
· The Chair who will be filled a senior scholar of significant academic distinction in a field of study promoted by Swami Vivekananda. He/she will remain in residence for one or more quarters of the academic year to teach, conduct research, and engage with the intellectual community of the University.
· Each year, the holder of the Swami Vivekananda Chair will also make a public Presentation on a topic that exemplifies, honours, and promotes the legacy of Swami Vivekananda.
The said Presentation will be scheduled and organized in coordination with the office of Consul General of India at Chicago. Each such event will be a public celebration of the partnership between the University of Chicago and the Government of India and an enduring commemoration of Swami Vivekananda's indelible mark on the City of Chicago.
· University of Chicago will give wide publicity to the establishment of the said "The Indian Ministry of Culture Vivekananda Chair" as part of commemoration of 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and such publicity will also be displayed prominently in the University. The University will display the title of the Chair in all appropriate materials, print and electronic media wherever such Chairs are promoted and publicized.
· All the expenses connected with the creation and operation of the Chair like salary, cost of travel, accommodation, annual presentation etc. will be met from the interest income generated from the endowment grant of US$ 1.5 million. The University of Chicago will be responsible for maintaining separate accounts for the principal account, expenditure and income.
· The University of Chicago will also facilitate exchange of research scholars from/ to India between both the parties i.e. University of Chicago and Government of India.
1. Vivekananda Memorial Plaque:
The Ministry of Culture had tried for more than two years to explore the possibility of erecting a commemorative bust or a plaque to commemorate the site where Swami Vivekanand gave his famous lecture,(the Chicago Address on 11th Sept. 1893), which is now within the Art Institute of Chicago. The Consulate General of India, Chicago had reported that local laws that do not permit such memorials or installations.
When the National Committee on Vivekananda Celebrations met under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister in May 2010, this proposal of the Culture Ministry to have a Vivekananda memorial in Chicago was given full support. Thereafter, the National Committee under Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister has also lent its weight and encouraged the Ministry of Culture to carry on with its negotiations.
Efforts were, therefore, kept up by the Culture Ministry which led to a breakthrough during the visit of Shri Jawhar Sircar, Secretary, Culture to the Art Institute of Chicago in September, 2011. Follow up discussions were initiated through the Consul General of India, Chicago for installation of a plaque and for a suitable endowment for Vivekananda related research project, in the Art Institute of Chicago.
The installation of an enhanced (engraved bas relief) Vivekananda Memorial Plaque, with Swami Vivekananda's embossed image on it was installed in the Art Institute of Chicago's museum to commemorate Swamiji's historic Chicago Address before the World Parliament of Religions on 11th September 1893. The plaque was unveiled by Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 28th January.
2. Vivekananda Memorial Programme for Museum Excellence:
An agreement was signed for Vivekananda Memorial Programme for Museum Excellence. Under this programme Art Institute of Chicago will work with Government India to impart a broad range of knowledge on modern operations of Museums like conservation, planning of exhibitions etc. for a four year period. Government of India will provide an amount of US$500,000 for conduct of this programme by the Art Institute of Chicago.
The purpose of the 'Vivekananda Memorial Programme' for Museum Excellence is two-fold:-
a) Art Institute of Chicago will function as a Resource Centre for documentation and dissemination of material on best international practices in various museum-related fields such as display technologies, collection management, conservation techniques, acquisition and building of collections, engagement with communities and educational programmes etc. and
b) There will be exchange programme of professionals between the two sides with the Indian professionals being attached to the Art Institute of Chicago for varying periods up to four weeks to obtain hands-on experience regarding specific museum-related aspects, and the professionals from the Art Institute of Chicagowill visit India for purposes of lectures/ seminars/ workshops etc.
3. Exhibition of Tagore Paintings
Under the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, apart from several other activities, for the first time ever, several exhibitions of Tagore's paintings are being organised in USA, France, Germany, UK, Singapore, Japan and South Korea by the National Gallery of Modern Art under Ministry of Culture in association with Visva Bharati University. The exhibition was inaugurated in Chicago on 28th January, 2012 at the Art Institute of Chicago, is part of this series of exhibitions. It will put on display 61 of Tagore's paintings.
The first public and international exhibition of Tagore's paintings was held in Paris in May 1930, at the "Gallerie Pigalle". The exhibition was later held in different countries in Europe in the same year. His works startled both western and Indian critics of the time with their freshness and directness of feeling, as they reflected a cosmopolitan approach, and bore little relationship to the rest of Indian or Western Art. His work stemmed not from tradition, but was truly original and unique.
For Tagore, art and aesthetics were an integral part of the self, facilitating the recognition of beauty in all aspects of life and, therefore, key to the final vision of human harmony. The key to Tagore's artistic vision was the idea of personality and harmony where beauty could exist in individual human perception. For Tagore, art was the bridge that connected the individual with the world.
The three separate sets of Tagore's original paintings have come out of India on such a massive scale after 80 years for the world to view. These exhibitions have already held at Berlin, Seoul and New York, while another exhibition is already on in London at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The Finance Minister inaugurated the exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago on the 28th January, and the Culture Minister Kumari Selja inaugurated an exhibition at the Petit Palais in Paris on the 26th January. Thereafter, the plans are under way for holding more such exhibitions in Rome, Toronto and Kuala Lumpur.
The Culture Ministry has been working under the guidance of the Prime Minister of India, in his capacity as the Chairman of the National Committee on the Celebration of 150th Birth Anniversaries of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda. It has also received the direct encouragement of Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the Finance Minister, who is the Chairman of the Implementation Committees, for both the Celebrations. The Ministry of Culture is glad that its untiring efforts have borne results through this unprecedented exposure of Tagore's paintings and other international programmes concerning two great sons of India.
