MUMBAI: Eminent lyricist Gulzar and noted cartoonist Narayan Debnath will be conferred the honorary 'Doctor of Letters' by Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) at its 40th annual convocation on 8 May, it was announced on Monday.

Social scientist Dipankar Gupta will be the chief guest and West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi, who is also the chancellor of the university, will preside over the ceremony at RBU's Jorasanko campus in north Kolkata, said acting registrar Debdatta Roy.

In addition, State Akademi Awards will be given to Chetna Jalan (dance), Shaoli Mitra (drama) and Dhaneshwar Roy (music).

In the run up to the convocation, the university will be organising a 'kavi sammelan' on 6 May where poets from across the state will participate.

Craftsmen from various districts of Bengal will showcase their creations at Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's ancestral home 'Jorasanko Thakurbari', the location of a section of the varsity's departments, from 7-10 May.

RBU was founded on 8, 1962 May under the Rabindra Bharati Act to mark the birth centenary of Tagore at his residential house for the advancement of learning and culture particularly in the branches of music, dance and drama.

Its new campus was set up at B.T. Road in 1976.