• Source:JND
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The ongoing demolition of the ancestral home of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, has been stopped following intervention by the Indian government. The development came just a day after India expressed deep concern and offered to assist in restoring the property into a “museum of literature,” according to reports by the news agency IANS.

In a formal statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, “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 ministry’s response follows widespread criticism and appeals to preserve the heritage site.

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Why Was House Being Demolished?

According to reports in Bangladeshi media, the house was being razed to make way for a semi-concrete structure intended to revive the Mymensingh Shishu Academy’s operations. The house, located on Harikishore Ray Chowdhury Road, has been abandoned for nearly a decade and has fallen into serious disrepair.

Md Mehedi Zaman, the district Children Affairs Officer, told The Daily Star that the Shishu Academy had been operating from a rented building. The plan was to build a new structure on the ancestral property to resume the academy’s activities.

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Satyajit Ray’s Connection To House

Sandip Ray, the filmmaker’s son, revealed that his father once planned to include the house in a documentary about Sukumar Ray, Satyajit’s father. However, after an assistant visited the site in 1987 and reported its poor condition, Satyajit Ray dropped the idea. “My father was very shocked to see the pictures. The condition of the ancestral house was very bad,” Sandip said.

 

Although he had heard earlier plans of renovating the house into a heritage site, Sandip said he had no prior knowledge of its demolition. “I have never been there myself. My father may have gone there once long ago,” he noted.