Tagore set up the university with his money, sustained it with cash from the Nobel Prize for Literature he won in 1913 and contributions from friends. Visva-Bharati University ceased to enjoy 'sole authority' over Tagore's works from January 1, 2002.

The copyright had expired 50 years after the Nobel Laureate's death in 1941, but was given a 10-year extension. In 1991, then Visva-Bharati vice chancellor appealed to the then prime minister and chancellor P V Narasimha Rao for an extension of the copyright.

Then chief minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu convinced Narasimha Rao to promulgate an ordinance extending the copyright by a decade.

In the post-copyright era, Visva-Bharati music board, without whose endorsement no recorded music of Tagore could see the light of day, became a non-entity.

Publishers and music dealers across the world lapped up the decision as a lucrative business opportunity. Now, any one is free to make a living out of Tagore's works -- be it music or literature and one does not need to pay any royalty to Visva-Bharati.

Image: In this file photograph, Rabindranath Tagore is seen with the Countess Anna de Noailles in an unknown location.