KOLKATA: The demolition of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s ancestral home in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh city has been halted following public outcry. However, officials claim the property does not belong to Ray or his family.
According to a report by Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo, Mymensingh deputy commissioner Mufidul Alam said, “This house does not belong to Satyajit Ray or his family. They never lived here. Bangladesh Government is the owner of the house, according to records.”
As news of the demolition of renowned film director Satyajit Ray's ancestral house in Bangladesh's Mymensingh hit the headlines, Bangla literature and film enthusiasts and the West Bengal government urged the Bangladeshi government to halt the operations.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress National General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee also expressed concern over the demolition of Satyajit Ray’s ancestral house in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh.
On Wednesday, Abhishek demanded that the Government of India should talk to the Bangladesh Government regarding the preservation of the family home of the Ray family, which has made an incomparable contribution to Bengali culture.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee had said, "News reports reveal that in Bangladesh's Mymensingh city, the ancestral home of Satyajit Ray’s grandfather, the renowned writer-editor Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, steeped in his memories, is reportedly being demolished. It is said that the demolition work had already begun. This news is extremely distressing."
This news first came to light in reports by Bangladeshi newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo. According to those reports, the house on Harikishor Ray Road in the district's headquarters was used as the Mymensingh Shishu Academy. However, the house had remained unused since 2007, a report published in Prothom Alo claimed.
The Shishu Academy has starting work on a plan to demolish the abandoned house and construct a multi-storied building. The Shishu Academy had started using the building in 1989 during the time of the then military ruler of Bangladesh Hussain Mohammad Ershad.
Abhishek wrote on his X handle: "I am deeply distressed to learn that the ancestral home of Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray in Dhaka is reportedly being demolished by the Bangladeshi authorities. This century-old property belonged to Ray’s grandfather, Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, a towering figure in Bengali literature and culture." Abhishek also appealed to the Bangladesh government to preserve the property.
He also wrote, "I also call upon the Government of India to initiate appropriate bilateral engagement to ensure that this irreplaceable piece of Bengal’s cultural history is not lost to demolition."