Commemoration of the centenary year of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Serbia

Ilija M. Kolarac Foundation, Belgrade; 5^th May 2026

Address by Ambassador Shri Abhishek Shukla

Prof. Predrag Cicovacki,
Prof. Aleksander Petrovic,
Mrs. Ljiljana Stijaković-Singh and Ms. Una Singh
Mr. Branislav Pekic, Minister Counsellor from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Distinguished guests,
Friends,

Namaste,
Dobre Veche!

Before I commence my remarks, I would also like to acknowledge the presence of Dr. BVRC Purushottam, Chief Electoral Officer from the State of Uttarakhand in India and his colleagues who are on an official visit to Serbia and have taken time off from their schedule to be part of this commemorative event.

I would also like to thank Ambassador Matilde Mordt. Resident Coordinator, United Nations, Serbia for her gracious presence today evening.

Friends,

For many, India and Serbia come across as two distant lands in two different continents. Many assume that there are only a few things which are in common between our two countries. In all honesty, yours truly was also one among this crowd before having joined as Ambassador in this beautiful country:

• I did not know about the commonalities between Sanskrit and Serbian with more than 3,000 words in common.
• I did not know that apart from commonalities in linguistic DNA, one specific genetic marker, the Haplogroup R1a acts as a biological bridge between Eastern Europe and Northern India.
• I did not know about the fine spiritual traditions and inspirations which continue to feed the soul of our two nations to this day.

There are many such revelations but that is for another day. I have come to realise that while India and Serbia may seem worlds apart geographically, they share a surprising amount of ‘soul’ and historical resonance.

And today, friends, we have gathered to celebrate and commemorate this civilizational connect. Today’s event is not merely to mark a date on a calendar, but to catch the echoes of a footstep that resonated through the streets of Belgrade one hundred years ago. In 1926, this city welcomed a man who was once described as "the Great Sentinel" of the human spirit by none other than Mahatma Gandhi. Rabindranath Tagore did not come here as a stranger; he came as a citizen of the world who believed that the soul has no borders.

To speak of Gurudev Tagore is to speak of the confluence of rivers. Belgrade is truly the apt place for that. He was a poet, a painter, a musician, and a philosopher, but above all, he was a seeker of truth, constantly guided by the motif- ‘where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.’

Tagore’s greatest gift to the 20th century—and perhaps his most vital lesson for the 21st—was his role as a bridge-builder. In an increasingly fractured world, the life and work of Tagore finds true relevance. He sought a synthesis of East and West. He rejected the notion that the Orient and the Occident were irreconcilable. He saw the West’s pursuit of scientific truth and the East’s pursuit of spiritual harmony not as rivals, but as complimentary. He was also the bridge builder between the Ancient and the Modern. He drew deeply from the Upanishads, one of the many fountain-heads of Indian wisdom. He was also a fierce advocate for modern education and social reform. He proved that to be modern is not to discard one’s roots, but to allow those roots to nourish new flowers, and new dimensions. He sought to not just connect the roots to the stem and its branches and leaves but also deepen these roots to break new grounds.

Friends,

In India today, Tagore is the heartbeat of our cultural identity. He gave us our national anthem, but more importantly, he gave us a vision of a ‘Universal Man.’ His philosophy of setting up Vishwa Bharati university with the motto- यत्र विश्वं भवत्येकनीडम् - i.e. where the whole world meets in a single nest—continues to guide India’s role on the global stage as a force for peace and pluralism.

Today’s India professes the ethos of ‘Vishwa-bandhu’- Friend of the World as a core pillar of India's foreign policy framework. This is reflected in:

• India’s commitment to act as a ‘first responder’ in times of global crisis, be it providing vaccines during COVID-19 global pandemic or responding to call for HADR- Humanitarian and Disaster Relief works during natural calamities or offering prompt and substantive assistance during times of economic crisis.
• India’s commitment to acting as a bridge between the Global North and the Global South. Our G20 Presidency in 2023 where the African Union became a permanent member of the G20 grouping enabling an equitable world order or the Voice of the Global South Summit which connected aspirations of the developing nations to the deliberations of the G20 grouping.
• India’s commitment to the principle of ‘strategic autonomy’ in international relations where each country should be allowed to make decisions as per its own national interests or aspirations.

Thus, globally, Gurudev Tagore’s relevance has never been sharper.

Friends,

When Tagore visited Belgrade in 1926, he was moved by the warmth of the Serbian people. As he walked through Belgrade, he saw a Serbia that stood, much like his own India, at a crossroads of history and culture—a land that understood the price of freedom and the sanctity of the soil. He spoke then of the "mystic bond" that connected different cultures.

Today, we celebrate that bond. The centenary of his visit is a reminder that the intellectual and spiritual ties between India and Serbia are not new; they are centuries deep.

Through his presence here, he planted a seed of curiosity and mutual respect. Our presence today is the blossoming of that seed. We see in Serbia a kindred spirit—a nation that values its traditions while reaching for the future, much like Gurudev himself.

Let me conclude with a thought from the poet himself. Tagore once wrote:

"The traveller has to knock at every alien door to come to his own, and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end."

A hundred years ago, Belgrade was one of those ‘alien doors’ that Tagore knocked upon, only to find it wide open with friendship.

My dear friends,

Consider my remarks as a filler, just a prelude to far better and deeper insights on Gurudev’s life and work by Prof. Petrovic and Prof. Cicovacki, and Ms. Singh who will share with us the most beautiful rendition of his poems.

Let me not keep you from them any further.

Thank you!
Hvala vam!