Since 1961, the steel city had been waking up to familiar Tagore melodies on Rabindra Jayanti with celebrations beginning with a 2km prabhat pheri and ending with cultural performances.

On the 159th birth anniversary of Tagore on Friday, things will be different.

Tagore Society, which organises the bard’s birth anniversary celebrations, has replaced the cultural performances with grocery donation amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“I have never missed Rabindra Jayanti celebrations in my entire life, but this year is different. The priority now is to be safe and help others. We are all feeling a bit emotional, but we can’t help it,” general secretary of Tagore Society Ashis Chowdhury said on Thursday.

Only three persons, including Tagore Society president H.S. Paul, will be offering a tribute to the Nobel laureate’s statue on the premises.

This will be followed by a grocery distribution programme by volunteers in Patamda block of East Singhbhum. Rice, flour and oil shall be given to 100 families in some villages of Patamda.

However, to keep the cultural tradition alive, Chandana Chowdhury, a senior faculty member of Tagore School of Fine Arts, has decided to upload videos of performances by the institute’s teachers and students on its website www.tagoresociety.in and on the Facebook page.

Dance school Nrityangan has conceptualised a pre-recorded video programme titled Tobu Mone Rekho featuring 18 artistes from across the globe. A 20-minute video will be uploaded on their Facebook page.

“We have been working all night to edit the videos. I am so thankful to the artistes who have recorded a video of their performances and sent them to us. Tagore is intrinsic to Indian culture. So a tribute, be it real or virtual, is a must,” Nrityangan founder and Kathak exponent Sandip Bose said.