There are several memories of the Nobel Laureate
Rabindranath Tagore in Kalimpong. “Gouripur House” (which is located about 2kms
from the town towards Durpin Hill) was Tagore’s favorite, and where he wrote
some of his great verses, the house is currently not in a good state and
requires restoration. Kabi-Guru Rabindranath Tagore had celebrated his 78th
birthday in “Gouripur House” here in Kalimpong. He had composed a poem titled
“Janmadin” on April 25, 1940 ( 25th. Baishak,1345) and had aired it
live via on Telephone on All India Radio from “Gouripur House”, Kalimpong. That
was the day when telephone service had first commenced in Town. Tagore used to
stay at “Gouripur House” whenever he climbed up the hills during the hot
season.
“Gouripur” is a small district town of Mymensingh, now in
Bangladesh. Rabindranath’s long association with Roy Chowdhury (erstwhile Zaminders
of Gouripur dynasty) family since 1926, when he paid a visit to Mymensingh,( now in Bangladesh). He stayed
in Alexander Castle as a guest of Maharaja Shashikanta Acharya Chowdhury. He first visited Kalimpong in 1938 and penned
several of his classic poems including “Janmodin”, “Maya”, ”Upahar”, “Namkaran”
and “Jalsansar”, among other eminent pieces. In the year 1941, Tagore fell
seriously ill in Kalimpong and had to be rushed to Kolkata for his treatment.
Later in the year Tagore died.
The two-storied bungalow, owned by B. K. Roychowdhury of
Kolkata is on a scenic hill, near here, and is surrounded by lots of greenery.
The Roy-Chowdhury family has been looked after by three generations of a
family. Brajendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury also a renowned classical music maestro.
Leading classical masters of the sub-continent such as Enayet Khan (father of
Ustad Bilayat Khan), Mohammad Ali Khan, Ustad Masid Khan, Ustad Uzir Khan,
Hafiz Ali Khan performed at functions organized in “Gouripur”. Mymensingh,
Bangladesh. Brajendra Kishores son Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, a classical
maestro was also adept at musical instruments like Surbahar,Esraj and Beena.
Brajendra published a paper “Sangeet Bigyan Prabeshika” from Kolkata. He wrote
two books on classical music- “The status of Tansen in Hindustan music” and
“Raga Sangeet”.
Thick foliage has grown all over the house, the windows
are broken and the interiors are in a bad shape too. Even the approach road, which is a part of the
property, had seen better years. The structure itself is on the verge of collapsing
any time. The authentic date of its construction is unknown. It is established
as summer residence of Roy Choudhury family. It was very unfortunate that
“Gouripur House” was not a familiar name even among the local residents. Some
portion of the house has been severely damaged during the earthquake in
September 18th, 2011.
It is necessary to save “Gouripur House” as it is
attached to the legacy of Tagore. It is the moral responsibility of the State
Government to save Gouripur House. The structure must be accord heritage
status. There is no dearth of tourists to the place even now. “Tourists keep
coming here occasionally. Most of them go back with bitter-sweet memories of
the place” said Sangita Sharma, who lives with her husband on the first floor
of the bungalow. Her family has been the caretakers of the buildings for three
generations now.
Reasearch & Picture Courtesy - Santanu Roy.
