After years of neglect, Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral residence at Jorasanko in north Kolkata will finally get a face-lift on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary.
The Jorasanko museum — a treasure trove of over 700 works from the Bengal school of art that include Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, Hirachand Dugar and Ramkinkar Baij, besides 45 rare masterpieces of Tagore, perpetually in want of funds, is now the recipient of generosity from many countries. Tagore’s residence-turned-musuem gets about Rs 1.5 lakh a year from Rabindra Bharati University for restoration and preservation.
Funds have come in from the US, China and Bangladesh, on conditions of opening separate galleries dedicated to the Nobel laureate's visit and relations with these countries. The US ambassador has granted Rs 13 lakh for a US gallery dedicated to Tagore’s numerous visits there while the Republic of China has sanctioned Rs 30 lakh for a China gallery and the Bangladesh High Commission has promised an amount for a Bangladesh gallery.
“We have had talks with the deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh and also with representatives of the Bangladesh government and are planning to open a Bangladesh gallery, marking the importance of the neighbouring country that inspired Tagore to create some of his finest literary works,” says Karunasindhu Das, vice-chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University.
“The Bangladesh government has also promised us to give the famous ‘Padma boat’ aboard which Tagore watched the lush beauty of the land, an inspiration for many of his masterworks,” adds Das. The gallery would also have copies of all literary works published on Tagore in Bangladesh along with a separate art gallery of works by Bangladeshi artists of the maestro.
“We had started renovation of the mansion with a sum of Rs 9 lakh from the university fund last year,” says Das. The university authorities have completed the first phase of renovation. The second phase, centred around the heritage wing, namely ‘Ram Bhavan’ and ‘The Bichitra Bhavan’, will start soon.
“The second phase will be undertaken by the Archeological Survey of India with a budget of Rs 16 lakh sanctioned by the central government. The state government has also given Rs 45 lakh, while the Kolkata Corporation has granted a sum of Rs 17.70 lakh,” adds Das.
