'Restoration ruined Rabindra Complex'

Much of the originality and archaeological beauty of Rabindra Complex, a place with fond memories of poet Rabindranath Tagore and his wife Mrinalini Devi, has been damaged by shoddy restoration work, say renowned citizens. 

Noted writer Hasan Azizul Huq, whose village home is around the corner of the Rabindra Complex, said, "Restoration should be carried out without damaging originality. The building looks different and its colour has been changed. The archaeological originality has been damaged by the restoration."

An official at the Department of Archaeology in Khulna said the district administration officially handed the building, situated at Dakkhindihi in Phultali upazila of the district, over to the department along with 40 decimals of land on 15 September in 2005.

During the 2010-11 and 2011-12 financial years, Tk 2.45 million was spent on the restoration of the building.

"The archaeological authenticity of this building has been ruined," observes Professor Shafiullah Sardar, former principal of Khulna BL College.

Journalist Bidhan Dasgupta echoed the same. During restoration, the red walls were painted white and excessive cement was used. As a result, the building looks distorted, he said.

However, Mohammad Amiruzzaman, regional director of the Department of Archaeology, refuted the allegations.

"Archaeological procedures were duly followed during restoration of the Rabindra Complex," he claimed.

About the drastically different colour scheme, he said, "The building was originally white. It turned red when the paint peeled off over time." He also said they dug out a boundary wall inside the premises and decided to make a wall based on it.

According to Rabindranath's biographer Prasanta Kumar Paul's Rabindra Jiboni (The Life of Rabindranath), Rabindranath married Mrinalini Devi on 9 December 1883. His father-in-law Benimadhab Roy Choudhury, a landlord from Jessore, lived in Kolkata.

His son Narendranath Roy Choudhury, better known as Felu Babu, would visit their lands in Dakkhindihi. Felu Babu's sons stayed at this building prior to partition.

Before permanently moving to Kolkata in 1940, Felu Babu and his wife gave their property to a landlord named Bijankrishna Das as an exchange settlement.

Naib Nabakumar Mustafi was in charge of the house and property. Bijankrishna Das left the county in 1965. Naib Mustafi's whereabouts are unknown. The house was taken over by others.

In 1995, the local administration took charge of the house and on 14 December that year, the Rabindra Complex was inaugurated.