December 4, 2021
Md Nadimul Haque makes Special Mention on keeping open the Ghare Baire Museum in Kolkata
FULL TRANSCRIPT
It is deeply saddening for art and history enthusiasts alike, that a decision has been taken to close down the Ghare Baire Museum in Kolkata merely two years after its opening on January 11, 2020. The widely popular museum exhibition, ‘Ghare Baire’, translated to ‘at home and the world’ derives its name from the famous Rabindranath Tagore novel of the same name. It was run jointly by DAG Museum, a private entity, the National Gallery of Modern Art and the Archaeological Survey of India, the last two of which come under the Ministry of Culture.
Based on information available, the contract between the DAG Museum and the Ministry of Culture expired last year, however, the Ministry had decided not to renew it. No specific reason has been given for this sudden and unfortunate decision. During the time of its functioning, the museum had to remain shut on several occasions due to COVID restrictions too.
The museum is housed in an equally historically important and architecturally marvellous Currency Building in Dalhousie Square. The exhibits were well-researched and had provided a much-needed platform for some of the best artists of the 20th century. The museum also held some exquisite Bengali art, with antique pieces as old as those from the 1700s. Some of its most famous artists were Sakti Burman, Haren Das, Gopal Ghose, Nemai Ghose, Ganesh Pyne and Abanindranath Tagore. The restoration of this museum through a renewal of the contract should hence be undertaken at the earliest.
