Shilaidaha Kuthibari: A Bit Closer to Rabindranath Tagore

        Shilaidaha Kuthibari is located in a place in Kumarkhali Upazilla of Kushtia district in Bangladesh. It is a famous historic place where the great universal poet and the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore stayed for over a decade at irregular intervals between 1891to 1901. Actually it is a country house built by the father of Rabindranath, Dwarkanath Tagore.

        It is 20 kilometers away from Kushtia town on the bank of the river Padma. Tagore started managing their family estates in Shilaidaha in 1890. Rabindranath once wrote, “The holy place of my literary pursuits during my youth and middle age was the village of Shilaidaha kissed by the waves of Padma.” During his stay in Shilaidaha, he wrote many world famous poems and songs.

        Rabindranath wrote a number of masterpieces such as Sonar Tori, Chitra, Chaitali, Katha O Kahini, Kshanika during his stay in Shilaidaha. This is where he started translating his Gitanjali from Bengali to English in 1912, which brought him the Nobel Prize for literature the following year. He also translated many of his creations in English there as well. He also created most of the poems from Naibedya and Kheya, and the songs from Gitanjali and Gitimalya. He immersed himself in Shilaidaha and Padma, which is obvious in his Chhinna Patrabali. This is how Rabibndranath enriched Bengali literature through his writings during the time he stayed there. After his departure from Bangladesh it became a historical place and his achievement of the Nobel Prize glorifies the place throughout the world.

        Shilaidaha Kuthibari is a beautiful red sprawling three storied building surrounded by a large expanse of plants, flowers and trees. It is pyramid shaped with a terrace. There is a pond besides the main building. The poet created many remarkable songs and poems sitting under a tree or beside the pond which are still present there. There are some sitting arrangements around the pond where people can sit for relax. The total area of the compound covers 11 acres where the building is on right in the center of the compound. There is a picnic spot just beside the Kuthibari where cars can be parked too. A guest house is also located in the picnic spot. There is another guest house in front of the picnic spot as well as beside the Kuthibari.

        The reformation of Kuthibari has been taken place under the Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The building now serves as a museum named ‘Tagore Memorial Museum’. Some rare elements and household things of the poet such as his bed, iron chest, lawn monger, wardrobe, framed pictures and last but not the least his houseboat  are displayed in the museum. There are two auditoriums in the compound. Several festivals are celebrated throughout the year such as 25th Baishakh as Tagore’s birth anniversary. People from across the country as well as India and the rest of the world join the five day long festival to celebrate his birthday. One can enjoy magic show, horse riding and some other very interesting events there too.