Patna, May 16: Rabindranath Tagore came alive on stage as students took turns to speak on various facets of the Nobel laureate’s life.

The occasion was a speech competition organised by Rabindra Parishad to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. Around 250 students took part in the competition on the themes “Rabindranath Tagore and his childhood” and “Tagore and patriotism”. The competition was held on Rabindra Parishad premises.

Nancy Sharma of St Karen’s Academy was one of the participants for whom this event had a double meaning. “It is my first stage appearance and I can’t tell you how happy I am today to speak about Tagore’s childhood. Though I am have only four minutes to speak on the man and his genius, if I am given time, I can surely talk for hours,” said Sharma. Tagore’s nickname, his upanayan sanskar (a ritual), his knowledge in Sanskrit and love for reciting shlokas, his cultural background and Gitanjali, all got a mention in the speeches of the students.

Onam, a Class VII student of Notre Dame Academy, was very excited. “The one thing that I have learnt from Tagore is we should always keep trying. The day I decided that I will be taking part in the competition, I revised my speech 100 times,” said Onam.

“The judging parameters were based on subject matter, diction, poise, presentation and a general impression,” said Llewellyn Galstaun, one of the judges. “It seems everyone has downloaded the life history of Tagore from the Internet and they have mugged up whatever they could find. What they needed to do was understand the things they wrote and then speak about it from their hearts,” added Galstaun.