Sinha said the university will be selective about the sponsors. "We will not accept liquor or cigarette companies," he said. "But soft drink companies are welcome."The university telecast the first episode on June 30 this year on DD1 and DD7. Present and past students of the university took part in a drama called `Bisarjaner Pala' based on Tagore's `Bisarjan'. The drama was directed by veteran actor and director Manoj Mitra.

The first part of the next episode, based on the Bengal School of Painting, will be telecast in August. The drama department wants to telecast one episode every month, but has not got the slots. Hence, it will telecast the episodes every other month, according to Sinha. The programme that was telecast on June 30 cost Rs 80,000, he said. "The next episode, on the Bengal School of Painting, has two parts and each will cost around Rs 55,000," Sinha said.

The money has come from the University general fund of the state government. The university has sold some of the free commercial time, 210 seconds per 30 minutes of programming, but most of the other commercials relate to the university's own museum and publications.

The university would also start to sell cassettes and CDs of its students, chosen by a panel of judges, from its sales counter Sonar Tari, most probably from next December, Sinha said. Students will get them free of cost.Sinha said even non-resident Indians in various countries could buy them through the publication network of the university.

The return from the sales will come to the university, Sinha added.The university is going to buy some musical equipment from multinational companies such as Sony, Tascam etc. Tenders have been issued and Tascam has responded with the most favourable price. Among the equipment to be bought is a MX 2424 hard disk recorder of 24 tracks which is very rare in Calcutta.The university is also going to start its own radio and television channels to telecast programmes on Tagore. A production trust of Bangalore has expressed interest in sponsoring these programmes.

According to Sinha, renowned filmmaker Buddhadev Dasgupta is making a Bengali documentary on Tagore's house at Jorashanko in Calcutta. There will be an English version soon. This documentary will be shown in various parts of the world as part of the programme to disseminate Tagore culture.