President Pranab Mukherjee received the first copies of the books – 'Tagore's Vision of the Contemporary World' and 'Tagore and Russia' at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi yesterday. <br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was happy to receive the first copies of these books containing proceedings of seminars organized in 2011 by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). He complimented the ICCR on the initiative and for its support for Tagore Studies over the years. He urged ICCR to continue these exercises and to support Tagore scholars across the world in the coming days.<br/><br/>The President said Tagore travelled widely within India and abroad. Russia had a special place in Tagore's heart. Tagore was attracted to the Soviet Union having heard of the success of its programmes of rural education.<br/><br/>The books have been edited by Prof. Indra Nath Choudhuri and Dr. Reba Som.