‘Cultural obliteration’ fears in Bengal after Ray ancestral home demolition in B’desh | Kolkata News – Times of India

Kolkata: The demolition of the house of Satyajit Ray’s ancestor, Harikishore Ray Chowdhury, formerly used as Mymensingh Shishu Academy, has elicited strong criticism from both sides of the border.While Mamata Banerjee urged the Bangladesh interim govt, led by Mohammad Yunus, to preserve the “heritage-laden house”, MEA offered to help “examine options for its reconstruction”. Worried about cultural obliteration, Belayat Hossain Mamun, the Federation of Film Societies of Bangladesh general secretary, fears this demolition was orchestrated to test the waters before plotting the razing of the house at Moshua in Kishoreganj, where Upendrakishore was born in 1863. Following global demands, the Sheikh Hasina govt had earlier restored this Kishoreganj house from its dilapidated state.Prasadranjan Ray, president of Society for the Preservation of Satyajit Ray Films in Kolkata, told TOI he had been to Moshua twice but never to the Mymensingh house. “For us, the ancestral house in Bangladesh is in Moshua and not Mymensingh. There were two houses in Moshua, one of Harikishore and the other of his cousin, Kalinath Ray. Upendrakishore, Kalinath’s biological child, was adopted by Harikishore in 1868. My grandfather, Pramadaranjan Ray, was Upendrakishore’s youngest brother,” said Prasadranjan, Satyajit’s second cousin. In 1880, Upendrakishore came to Kolkata to study. “At the time he studied at Mymensingh Zilla school, he must have lived in Harikishore’s house in Mymensingh. Harikishore owned many houses. I am not sure where he lived,” said Prasadranjan. “I am touched some people were worried that the heritage property was demolished, but I am not sure if Upendrakishore lived there.” Mamun told TOI Harikishore owned several houses in Mymensingh. “His main residence, ‘Durlabh Bhavan’, was sold off and it changed ownership several times, eventually belonging to social worker Ranadaprasad Saha,” he said, adding ‘Durlabh Bhavan’ made way for a multi-storey building a few years ago. “There was no outcry at that time. Media outlets have started talking about the razing of a smaller house of Harikishore in Mymensingh. This couls be is a litmus test to gauge if the time is right to raze the Kishoreganj house. We hope it is prevented,” Mamun added.Premendra Mazumder, vice-president of Federation of Film Societies of India, said, “It’s good the former Bangladesh govt renovated the Kishoreganj house… Hope it will get due care,” he said. Prasadranjan said, “I am impressed with the Moshua house restoration, hope it won’t be razed.”