From the archive record
Popularly known as the ‘Jorasanko Thakurbari’, Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral house is now a museum dedicated to the life and works of the Nobel Laureate. Built in 1785, the Jorasanko Thakur Bari is spread over 35000 square meters. Today the building houses Rabindra Bharati University, inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru on Tagore’s birth centenary, 8 May 1962. Within the complex is Maharishi Bhavan, named after the poet’s father, Maharishi Debendranath Tagore, where, as the plaque outside reads, “Rabindranath was born breathed his last here.” Today this house is a museum that has three galleries dedicated to Tagore, members of his family and the Bengal Renaissance. The galleries provide glimpses of intimate family photographs, live size portraits and Tagores evolution as a poet philosopher.