India urges Bangladesh not to demolish Satyajit Ray's ancestral home; offers help to preserve it

The iconic building belonged to the filmmakers’s grandfather, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, who was also a renowned litterateur.

India on Tuesday called on Bangladesh to reconsider its decision to demolish the ancestral property of noted filmmaker Satyajit Ray and offered help to preserve the iconic building as it symbolises Bangla cultural "renaissance".

Describing the move to demolish the "landmark" building in Mymensingh as a matter of ”profound regret”, New Delhi also urged Dhaka to convert it into a museum symbolising shared culture of the two countries and pledged to extend cooperation for it.

The iconic building belonged to the filmmakers’s grandfather, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, who was also a renowned litterateur. The reaction by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came following reports that the building is set to be demolished by Bangladeshi authorities.

"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 MEA said. It said the property, presently owned by the Bangladesh government, is in a state of "disrepair".

"Given the building’s landmark status, symbolising Bangla cultural renaissance, it would be preferable to reconsider the demolition and examine options for its repair and reconstruction as a museum of literature and a symbol of the shared culture of India and Bangladesh," the MEA said in a statement.

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It said the government of India would be "willing" to extend cooperation for this purpose. Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the move by the Bangladeshi authorities to demolish the property as "extremely distressing" and said the building is intricately tied to the cultural history of Bengal.

"I appeal to the Bangladesh government and all the conscientious people of that country to take steps to preserve this heritage building," she said in a social media post. The West Bengal chief minister also appealed to the Indian government to intervene in the matter.