6.8 Magnitude Sikkim Quake damaged Historic buildings in The Hills

KURSEONG, 21 SEPT: The earthquake that rattled the Darjeeling Hills last Sunday has not just taken toll of human lives and left hundreds of houses damaged but endangered some historical buildings spread across the Hills.   One of them is the Arts and Crafts Institute meant for girls ~ the only one in West Bengal ~ named “Chitra Bhanu Bhavan” located at around 6 km from Kalimpong town. The earth quake damaged it extensively.
The building has a history of its own. The son and daughter-in-law of Rabindranath Tagore, Rathindranath Tagore and Pratima Devi, founded it in 1943. They donated the building to the state government in the poet’s centenary year. The government started a training centre of arts and crafts for girls on the premises.
However, for the past one year, not a single student has enrolled and it has now turned into a kind of a museum where many works of art and craft by the former students are being preserved. There are hundreds of rare photographs, documents and books associated with the Tagore family. It is one of the most well-known tourist haunts in Kalimpong. Its condition has further worsened after the quake.   The in-charge of  the Chitra Bhanu Bhavan said that they had informed about the grave condition of the house to the Directorate of Technical and Training (POLY), West Bengal.
However, the historic bungalow in Mongpo where Tagore used to stay during his Hill sojourns was not damaged by the quake. Similarly, another historical edifice located on the Giddapahar under the Kurseong sub-division has escaped the fury of the trembler. It was the house owned by the elder brother of Netaji, Sarat Chandra Bose. It is now known as Netaji Museum.  Subash Chandra Bose used to reside in the house during the freedom struggle. Several houses adjoining the monument were shattered. But miraculously, this historical edifice remained unscathed.
SNS