Rabindranath Tagore’s House

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.

Unparalleled in talent, the Tagore family has produced stalwarts in the world of art and literature. The greatest among them was Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Also fondly known as ‘Kavi guru’, meaning the poet of poets – he was greatness personified in the field of art and literature. His most commendable work, ‘Geetanjali’ meaning offering of poems, had won him the prestigious Nobel Prize award. Tagore has always been a source of inspiration for the contemporary poets, writers and art lovers.

The museum has also preserved works of other eminent members of this illustrious family like Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, Jyotirindranath, Abanindranath and Dinendranath Tagore. It has also preserved the clippings of Tagore and a number of pictures and paintings of him and the entire family. The gifts received by him on different occasions are also present in the Rabindra Bharati Museum. The museum also has a section that stores old musical records. The Museum also includes possessions and information of the other great personalities of the 19th and 20th Century, who excelled in the field of Literature.

Location of Jorasanko Thakur Bari (Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral house)

The house and museum is located near Girish Park on Chittaranjan Avenue.

History of Jorasanko Thakur Bari (Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral house)

The Jorashanko Thakurbari was the ancestral home of the Tagore family. It was built in the 18th century by Prince Dwarkanath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore’s grandfather. The Great Poet and Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore was born here. The name ‘Jorashanko’ came into being from the fact that it was named after the twin Shankar (Shiva) temples located near the home.

In the year 1961, as part of the centenary celebration of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray legally procured the house. Thus, it came under the care of the Government. Finally on 8th May, 1961 the Rabindra Bharati Museum was established by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India in honour of Kaviguru. The museum was housed in the 217 year old building where Rabindranath was born and had spent a major part of his life and finally breathed his last. The museum complex has several buildings. The Rabindra Bharati Museum is housed within the University and is a major repository of the works of the Tagore family, especially of Abanindranath and Rabindranath.

The museum has forty original paintings of Rabindranath acquired from Rathindranath Tagore (Rabindranath’s son) by the West Bengal Government including a lot of photographs that came as a permanent loan from the National Library. The Museum is an integral part of the Rabindra Bharati University, established in 1962, for the advancement of the highest education in various disciplines of Humanities and Performing Arts.