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In Love with Kuthibari

by Nilratan Halder
B1LKJS * Masud Rana.
Monohordl Shinn ♦ Masum. Fenl. Zia ♦ Afroza These are some of the specimens of scribbling done on. of all the places tn the wide world, the wall board on which Rabindranath s paintings are on display at Shllaldah Kuthlbarl The name sertbers sole motive may not be willful vandalism — for their tender age and romantic preoccupation may have been too inconsiderate and too overriding to resist the momentary Impulse - but to a Tagore lover or for that matter art tover, It to vandalism all the
What Is still more worn some to the fact that the staff, numbering 12 altogether, re sponsible for the on-the-spot maintenance of the 18-room mansion know no better way of protecting the work of Tagore and the goods and furniture used by him during his moat fruitful stay in nature’s lap In Purbabangla than they are do Ing now through merely ml to appeal mixed with fear of drawing wrath from the Invad
It is this fear that would not allow the display of swords ex cept on spei-ial occasions — such as the 25th Balshskh RablndranaJth s birth day Throughout the year, there fore, they a»r kep! under tock and key ard the visitors are deprived of a rare treat, made so because of their association with the salat Hkr poet Maybe that way those weapons are better kept but hardly given the historic treatment they deserve
Howevermuch pleased, if not complacent. Shamsul Islam. Director. Department of Archaeology may sound in making the assertion about the maintenance of oncellvtng place of Tagore, there are still enough scope for both preser vatlon of the things that have so far survived the gnawing
jaws of time and Implementation of some Ideas necessary for stalling the decaying process.
For example, the furniture used at Tagore s time could be left atone instead of placing them for anyone s sitting and feeling of the touch. If people continue to use them, their
days without doubt will be numbered soon. Those no more allowed to be so roughly used are also not tn good health either One cannot help feeling pity for the famous couch of Tagore when one sets one’s eyes on ft. Under cover of a tom polythene paper, the couch — itself broken — In-
deed cuts a sorry figure Sure enough, the palanquins — one used to be borne by 12 bearers and the other 16 bearers — are-in a good stead, so are the oval table and the writing table but they will not take long to fol low suit, for exposed to the elements such an inevitability for them Is much too natural. The Jet black chairs on which the poet sat and wrote have started showing sings of wears and tears.
Built by the poet's grandia ther Dwaraka Nath Tagore in 1892 tn place of the mansion which was bought In 1913. this Kuthlbarl is 100 years oM — old but not rickety as yet. But some of the wood and iron works such as the hanging porch or verandah (wood) up stairs and the spiralling nicely designed staircase (Iron) appear to have outlived their normal service period They are put under abnormal stress particularly by picnic crowd whose flow cannot be controlled by the appeals of the guards or guides
The Kuthlbarl with Its tree lines and open spaces all around complemented by the sandy spacious stretch of the bank of the Padma nearer of-
fer the picnickers And the picnickers hardly miss the chance of using the natural facilities along with those offered by the local admlntstra tion In the shape of a rest house adjacent to the Kuthlbarl But use they must those facilities, no complaint about that What is however disgusting la the inconsiderate — and sometimes deliberate — act of putting the articles of the Kuthlbarl and even parts of It at risk.
The picnickers come crowding In droves without paying heed to the caution. Evidently, the staircase starts shaking under the weight of four to five visitors. What If 10 to 20 people cram the staircase togetherl Those are the dangers the porch too Is exposed to. Considering all this, the need for regulating the visitors appears to be a prime — and immediate — task.
To do this however a few steps have to be considered. The boundary wall around the mansion Itself will have to be raised further by at least another 3-4 feet. Most Importantly, the Introduction of an entry fee — at least a token one — Is the right answer to the crowd problem. Not that the small amount at the gate will dissuade the visitors but chances are that It will help develop a mechanism by allowing a group of 10 to 20 at a time. For genuine Rabindra followers, it will be quite a nice treatment and hopefully at least bring to an end the free-for-all business. The gatemoney. moreover, will at the year end become a substantial amount — enough for doing some renovation work of the mansion. The Archaeology Department may not have to spend anything from he government exchequer.
One suggestion that a police camp be set up to curb vandalism docs not look j ractical. For, a visit to the pit cc where Tagore lived is more a pilgrimage than Just a picnicking or an ordinary excursion. The two simply do not confoim to each other. What Is Important Is to develop a culture of treating such places with reverence and love. That cultv re does not develop automatic illy. It depends on how the poet's works. Ideas and philosophy are Inculcated In the national life Strartford-upfon-Avon has not become, over the years. Just a name but a symbol of love for the greatest English poet ever. So should the Kuthlbarls at Shllaldah and Sahjadpur aljong with Shanltlniketan and Jorasanko be hallowed by the love of the Bangalces for their greatest poet. It ts the people a will rather than physical force that ought to highlight the great human bond to which Rabindranath himself devoted his entire life.