Reconsider Satyajit Ray Home Demolition, Can Help With Repair: India To Bangladesh

NDTV

5 days ago

On Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that eminent filmmaker Satyajit Ray's ancestral home in Dhaka is being demolished by Bangladeshi authorities. However, the Government of India has stepped up to co-operate with the Government of Bangladesh to repair and reconstruct the ancestral property.
The century-old property in Dhaka's Horikishore Ray Chowdhury Road belonged to Ray's grandfather, the renowned litterateur Upendra Kishore Ray Chowdhury.
Citing the property's landmark status, Bengal's cutural renaissance, the Government of India said, "It would be preferable to reconsider the demolition and examine options for its repair and reconstruction as a museum of literature and a symbol of the shared culture of India and Bangladesh."
The statement added, "The Government of India would be willing to extend cooperation for this purpose."
We note with profound regret that the ancestral property of noted filmmaker and litterateur Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, belonging to his grandfather and eminent litterateur, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, is being demolished. The property, presently owned by the… pic.twitter.com/FBz24oHPSN
— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2025
Earlier, Banerjee appealed to the Mohammad Yunus government in Bangladesh to take steps to preserve the ancestral property. She had urged the Indian government to intervene in this matter. She said the demolition of such a place was "heartbreaking".
"News reports reveal that in Bangladesh's Mymensingh city, the ancestral home of Satyajit Ray's grandfather, the renowned writer-editor Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, steeped in his memories, is reportedly being demolished. It is said that the demolition work had already begun. This news is extremely distressing. The Ray family is one of the foremost bearers and carriers of Bengali culture", Banerjee wrote on X.
খবরে প্রকাশ যে, বাংলাদেশের ময়মনসিংহ শহরে সত্যজিৎ রায়ের ঠাকুরদা, স্বয়ং স্বনামধন্য সাহিত্যিক-সম্পাদক উপেন্দ্রকিশোর রায়চৌধুরীর স্মৃতিজড়িত তাঁদের পৈতৃক বাড়িটি নাকি ভেঙে ফেলা হচ্ছে। ভাঙার কাজ শুরু হয়ে গিয়েছিল বলে খবর প্রকাশিত।
এই সংবাদ অত্যন্ত দুঃখের। রায় পরিবার বাংলার…
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 15, 2025
Upendra Kishore Ray Chowdhury's house was being demolished to make way for a new semi-concrete structure. It was formerly used as the Mymensingh Children's Academy but had reportedly fallen into disrepair after years of neglect by the authorities.
The house was built about a century ago and after the partition of 1947, the property came under government ownership.
Md Mehedi Zaman, Dhaka's Children Affairs Officer, told Daily Star that the house had been left abandoned for 10 years. and that a semi-concrete building with several rooms will be built to start academic activities.
He said the demolition is being carried out with necessary approvals, as the state of the building posed a serious risk for children.