Shah Rukh recites Tagore before Twenty20 audience

Kolkata, May 8 (IANS) A true entertainer that he is, Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) owner Shah Rukh Khan enthralled the crowd here reciting Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's poems when the team's match against Bangalore Royal Challengers was delayed Thursday due to rains.

"Tagore has poems for every mood. So, to boost up the KKR morale and their 65,000 supporters at the gallery, I recited 'Where the mind is without fear' from the translated version of Geetanjali (collection of Tagore's poems)," Shah Rukh Khan told IANS.

The occasion was right too: Thursday was Tagore's birth anniversary.

Earlier, the first thing Shah Rukh said after reaching the city airport was: "I am a blind fan of Tagore! Though I don't know Bengali, I have read almost all of his translated poems."

"He is the epitome of world literature. Whenever I feel stressed out, his songs and poems inspire me," Shah Rukh Khan said of Tagore.

"It is an honour that KKR will be playing a match on this pious occasion and that too at the birthplace of the world poet (Bengal). We are really blessed."

Keeping in mind the sentiments that Kolkatans attach to Tagore, Shah Rukh also cancelled a pre-match performance he had planned and instead included a 10-minute show by popular artists to pay tribute to the bard of Bengal.

• Music News