Shilaidaha Kuthibari

Rabindranath Tagore managed his family's estates in East Bengal from the 1890s and lived for long stretches at the Shilaidaha kuthibari, a three-storey house in gardens near the Padma, moving along the rivers by the family houseboat, and the years here were among his most productive: much of the Gitanjali, the collection that led to the Nobel Prize, was written at Shilaidaha, along with songs and stories drawn from the river country around him, and his contact with the Baul singers of the region, above all the legacy of Lalon, shaped his music. The house is kept as a museum with photographs, furniture and manuscripts, and the anniversary days bring festivals of his songs. The Padma has shifted away from the house it once ran beside.

History

An indigo planter built the house, which later passed to the Tagore family, and Rabindranath Tagore lived here in the 19th century. The government of East Bengal acquired it under the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950, in 1969 the provincial government planned to preserve it as a historic site, it has been in the care of the Department of Archaeology since 1971, and it became a museum in 1986, holding more than 80 photographs of Tagore and many of his belongings (Wikipedia, Shilaidaha Rabindra Kuthibari).

What to look for

• The three-storey kuthibari - the estate house in its gardens.
• Gitanjali associations - the rooms where much of it was written.
• Photographs and manuscripts - the museum's Tagore material.
• The Baul connection - the river country music that shaped his.

When to go

November to March; the Tagore anniversary in May brings the festival and the crowds. Two hours. It closes on some days. Mornings are quieter.

Things to know

The river the house was famous for has moved away. Interpretation is largely in Bengali. The museum is modest and the visit is as much about the association as the objects. Kushtia is a long journey from Dhaka.

Nearby

The Lalon shrine at Kushtia is close; the Padma lies beyond the fields.

Key facts