The top bosses of the KMC have taken up plans to offer a slice of the grandeur of Tagorean days to visitors flocking Jorasanko Thakurbari.

In the words of the Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk’s famous words— Real museums are places where time is transformed into Space and real museums are places where Space can also be transformed into Time; recreation of the lost ambience of Tagorean heritage at Jorasanko Thakurbari fulfils the author’s words.

Renovating Tagore’s abode

Considering Tagore’s known interest in popular martial art forms, including Kushti and Judo, the proposed makeover plan of the Thakurbari campus would feature re-creation of a Kushti Akhara, which used to be among the top showpieces of the heritage household.

Tagore, say annals, had arranged judo training sessions by celebrated judoka Shinzo Tagaki at Santiniketan back in 1929 and it stands as the first written account on the unique martial art form in India.

According to the detailed project report drawn up by the department of architecture of Jadavpur University, the northernmost open space lying on the backside of Bichitra Bhavan, which once housed the granary for the Tagore household and now lie unused, would be turned into a visitors’ courtyard. It would afford visitors and tourists a relaxing space to catch a quick breather after doing the rounds of the indoor museum.

The proposed Kushti Akhara would further afford space for visitors to sit and ruminate on the fun young Rabi would have had spoiling himself in the mud in his boyhood days.

Bringing back the glory

According to the plan, parts of the surrounding buildings would be partially blocked out to create proper ambience.

The backyard court of the heritage campus would be gilded with lights in a manner as to recreate its past ambience. Apart from a host of attractions at the backyard court, the visitors would also be accorded a chance to pick a memento from the souvenir shop.