TEHRAN -- The impact of Islamic mysticism on India’s national poet Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was discussed during a conference at the Ferdowsi Cultural Center in Mashhad on Friday.

A large number of scholars, professors, writers, poets, Iranian experts on India, enthusiasts of Indo-Iran culture and literature attended the conference, which was cosponsored by the center and the Embassy of India in Tehran.
Iranian experts Mohammad-Jafar Yahaqqi, Parvindokht Mashhur and several other literati delivered speeches during the meeting.
Yahaqqi, while tracing historical connections between India and Iran, said that Mashhad has great importance in relations between India and Iran.
Tagore has the same respect and status in India as Ferdowsi does in Iran, he added.
Mashhur said that the close connection of Tagore with Iran and the Persian poet Hafez needs additional research and scholarly work. She said that Tagore’s ties to Iran are amazing and highly significant.
Indian embassy’s Charge d’Affairs Sibi George also delivered a lecture at the gathering.
“India and Iran, both cradles of ancient civilizations, are linked through historical and civilizational ties and shared cultural experiences,” he said.
“This provides us with considerable opportunities to enhance cooperation to our mutual benefit,” he added.
Tagore was also commemorated during a ceremony in Bandar Abbas in southern Iran last week.