India offers to work with Bangladesh to repair & reconstruct Satyajit Ray's ancestral property
The Ministry of External Affairs in a late night statement noted 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 Government of Bangladesh, is in a state of disrepair.
"Given the building's landmark status, symbolising Bangla cultural renaissance, 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 said.
"The Government of India would be willing to extend cooperation for this purpose," the statement added.
India's offer came amidst reports in Bangladesh that the ancestral home of eminent litterateur Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, formerly used as the Mymensingh Shishu Academy, is being demolished to make way for a new semi-concrete structure.
Upendrakishore was the father of celebrated poet Sukumar Ray and grandfather of filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
Located on Horikishore Ray Chowdhury Road in Mymensingh, the century-old house is tied to the legacy of the illustrious Ray family, whose contributions to Bangla literature and arts are considered foundational.
Horikishore Ray Chowdhury himself was an ancestor of Upendra Kishore, Sukumar, and Satyajit, the Daily Star reported.
The house, situated just behind Shashi Lodge -- one of the region's most prominent archaeological landmarks -- had fallen into disrepair after years of neglect by the authorities.
Local residents say that the demolition will wipe out the legacy of the Ray dynasty in Mymensingh city.
According to the Department of Archaeology, the house was built more than a century ago by Upendrakishore, a notable zamindar from Masua in Kishoreganj's Katiadi upazila.
After the partition of 1947, the property came under government ownership and was repurposed as the Mymensingh Shishu Academy in 1989.
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