Kolkata: With the Nobel medal heist still fresh in memory, West Bengal today (May 8, 2004) paid rich tributes to poet Rabindranath Tagore on his 143rd birth anniversary.

The bard's ancestral home at Jorasanko saw a steady flow of people queuing up since morning to visit Tagore's birthplace and the Rabindra museum, thrown open to public on the occasion.

Garlanding Tagore's huge portrait, the hoi-polloi joined eminent litterateurs, Tagore researchers and academicians to remember the great visionary and his immense contribution to Bengali culture.

The West Bengal Government organised its ritual 'Kabi Pranam' function at the cultural hub of Rabindra Sadan where the annual Rabindra Puraskar were given away to eminent litterateurs of the state including poet Alok Ranjan Dasgupta.

At Shantiniketan, the Visva-Bharati University, which had been the centre of controversy for the medal theft recently, celebrated the poet's birthday with cultural fests.

Rabindra Sangeet programmes were held under the aegis of many cultural organisations in various parts of the State.