Sowing seeds of friendship-a visit to Tagore Int'l School

Indian Students in the Tagore International School in New Delhi learn Chinese Calligraphy in a virtual class with China's Shanghai Jinyuan Senior Middle School. Photo taken on September 12, 2014. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com / Sun Yang]

Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore is known by Chinese people for his poems and his friendship with China.

Ninety years after Tagore's visit to China, an Indian school named for him is renewing the ties between the two countries.

"Please hold your brush vertically at 90 degrees to the paper surface...use your five fingers to hold the brush..."

Every Friday afternoon, students in the Tagore International School have a one-hour distance-education class learning Chinese calligraphy. On the other side of the screen is a teacher from Shanghai Jinyuan High School.

Chinese calligraphy is an optional course in the school. Its unique character and writing system has aroused a great interest among Indian students.

Mehak is in Grade 9. She has been learning Chinese calligraphy for three years.

"I think calligraphy is a bit easy for me because I can pick up these strokes easily. So it is very interesting. If I get a chance to go to China, then over there I can show I know these things."

The Tagore International School is located in New Delhi, with more than 1,800 students.

The school is famous not only because of its name, but also its close ties with China.

Madhulika Sen is the Principal of the school.

"Rabindranath Tagore, who won the Nobel Prize, was in Shanghai for six months. He has a special relationship with China. We are named after him. So we thought we can take this relationship further. That's our guiding force. "

Tang Guangrong is a middle-school teacher from Sichuan Province. He started teaching Chinese in Tagore School in January.

"Indian students have shown special interest in learning Chinese. On my first class in the school, one of the students told me that he learns Chinese because he wants to work in Chinese companies. Also, Chinese culture is exceedingly attractive to them"

After nine months of learning, Tang's students in India are able to read Chinese poems.

Vania talks about her experience of Chinese learning.

"I really like Chinese. It's a very much fun language. We have a lot of fun while learning Chinese. At first, I thought it is difficult to learn Chinese. But now I can speak Chinese very well. I want learn it more and better."

According to Principal Madhulika Sen, the school is planning more exchange activities between Indian and Chinese students.