House owner to preserve plaque at Tagore’s abode in Shillong

July 10, 2010 04:40 pm | Updated 04:40 pm IST - Shillong

Shanghai: President Pratibha Patil pays floral trbutes to a bust of Rabindranath Tagore at Mao Ming Road in Shanghai during her visit to China. Photo: PTI

Shanghai: President Pratibha Patil pays floral trbutes to a bust of Rabindranath Tagore at Mao Ming Road in Shanghai during her visit to China. Photo: PTI

The plaque at the demolished house where Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore stayed during one of his visits to Shillong will be preserved by the owner.

Concerned over the razing of the structure, a delegation of Tagore lovers visited the site on Friday and interacted with the owner of the house.

Naba Bhattacharjee, one of the members of the delegation, said the owner of the demolished Sidhli House, Philip Pala, assured them that the plaque would be appropriately placed at the entrance of the new structure.

“Here lived Rabindranath Tagore in May and June, 1927. His novel ‘Yogayug’ and poems ‘Susamay’ and ‘Debdaru’ were written here,” read the plaque.

Sidhli House at Upland Road in Laitumkhrah area, where the bard stayed during his last visit to Shillong in May-June 1927 and had penned some of his important works, was demolished by the owner last week.

Tagore had visited Shillong thrice.

According to records, the house originally belonged to an Italian, Louis Joseph Dalingrad, who had played host to the poet during his two month stay in Shillong.

The house was later purchased by the royal family of the erstwhile princely state of Sidhli in Goalpara district of Assam and subsequently changed hands before Mr. Pala bought it.

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