Shilaidaha () is a village in Shilaidaha Union, Kumarkhali Upazila of

Kushtia District Kushtia District (; ) is a district in the Khulna Division, Khulna administrative division of western Bangladesh. Kushtia is the second largest municipality in Bangladesh and the eleventh largest city in the country. Kushtia has existed as a sepa ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The place is famous for Shilaidaha Kuthibari; a country house built by Dwarkanath Tagore. Nobel laureate

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

lived a part of his life here and created some of his memorable poems while living here.

History

The village was formerly known as Khorshedpur. During the reign of

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, an indigo-planter named Shelly built a house in this village, later people started to call the village Shellydaha and the named changed to Shelaidaha. In 1807, Dwarkanath Tagore bought the village and made it his estate. He also bought the building (kuthi) as well. His grandson

came to the village many times. Now the village is widely known for Shilaidaha Rabindra Kuthibari.

Literature

During his stay

wrote many of his famous poems, essays and short stories there. Among those some of the masterpieces are '' Sonar Tari, Katha o Kahini, Chitra, Chaitali'', etc. He also translated many of his creations in English there. He also wrote most of the poems from ''Naibedya, Kheya'' and many of the songs from ''

Gitanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' () is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, for its English translation, '' Song Offerings'', making him the first non-European and the fi ...

'' and ''Geetimalya''. It was here, in Shelaidaha in 1912, that he started translating his ''Gitanjali'' into English, which earned him the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913.

Museum

The reformation of Kuthi Bari has been completed under the Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Cultural Affairs. It now serves as a museum named 'Tagore Memorial Museum'. Many of the objects Tagore used are displayed here, such as his bed, wardrobe, iron chest, lawnmower, framed pictures, and last but not least his

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a Berth (moorings), berth, and often tethered to ...

.The Telegraph
Varsities to showcase replicas of Tagore boats
21 June 2012.

Festivals

Several festivals are observed throughout the year in Kuthi Bari such as 25th Baishakh as Tagore's birth anniversary. It is a five-day-long festival. People from across the country as well as India and the rest of the world join this occasion to celebrate his birthday. The program includes discussion, cultural program, fair and staging of his plays.

Gallery

File:Shilaidaha Kuthibadi.jpg, Shilaidaha Kuthibadi in 2015 File:Shilaidohorobinro5.jpg, Shilaidaha Kuthibadi Complex in 2015 File:Shilaidohorobinro4.jpg, Inside of Shilaidaha Kuthibadi in 2015 File:Shilaidaha Kuthibari Bangladesh (6).JPG, Shilaidaha Kuthibadi in 2008 File:Shilaidaha Kuthibari Bangladesh (7).JPG, Shilaidaha Kuthibadi 2008 File:Shilaidohorobinro2.jpg, Another View of Shilaidaha Kuthibadi (2015) File:Shilaidaha Kuthibari Bangladesh (5).JPG, Shilaidaha Kuthibadi in 2008 File:Shilaidaha Kuthibari Bangladesh (9).JPG, Pond in Shelaidaha Kuthibari premises (2008) File:Shilaidaha Kuthibari Bangladesh (10).JPG, Shops for traveller's in front of Shelaidaha Kuthibari (2008) File:Boat used by Rabindranath Tagore at the pond of Shelaidaha Kuthibari , Kushtia.jpg, Replica of boat used by Rabindranath Tagore, reserved at the pond of Shelaidaha Kuthibari. (2016)

References

External links

Shilaidaha Kuthibadi
at banglapedia {{Rabindranath Tagore Populated places in Khulna Division Villages in Bangladesh Kushtia District Tourist attractions in Kushtia District