The articles spirited away are prized possessions of not only the Bengalees, but also the people of the subcontinent as a whole. They are priceless mementos to be unfailingly preserved for the glory, inspiration and enlightenment of the posterity.

That the debased operators allowed their crass monetary instincts to hurt the finer sentiments of Tagore heritage lovers is a shock that we will have great difficulty living down. It is not known under what circumstances the invaluable things were stolen, but there is reason to believe, if we go by the press account of the incident, that security lapses made the task of the burglars rather easy. Millions in this part of the world revere Tagore and are emotionally attached to what he left for his admirers. They are really shocked. Some of Tagore's great treasures have slipped off the hands of their custodians. It is agonizing to think that the medal and manuscripts have fallen into the hands of some criminals totally ignorant of their aesthetic and heritage value.

We hope that the West Bengal government's drive to track down the criminals and recover the priceless possessions of Tagore will be successful sooner than later. The drive has the blessings of the countless fans of the late Nobel laureate, who is still the prime source of inspiration in the fields of literature and arts to people in this region.