Jorasanko Thakur Bari in Jorasanko, north of Kolkata, West Bengal, India, is the ancestral home of the Tagore family. It is currently located on the Rabindra Bharati University campus at 6/4 Dwarakanath Tagore Lane Jorasanko, Kolkata 700007.It was built in the 18th century on the land donated by the famous Sett family of burrabazar to Prince Dwarkanath Tagore (Rabindranath Tagore's grandfather).Apart from the heritage routine, Rabindra Bharati University organizes regular cultural programmes on the poet’s birthday, Panchise Baisakh, when thousands flock to Jorasanko Thakur Bari, and on other occasions, such as his death anniversary, Baishe Shravan.It also organises a festival of arts, sraban Mela, basanta utsab.Unparalleled in talent, the Tagore family has produced stalwarts in the world of art and literature. The greatest among them was Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Also fondly known as ‘Kavi guru’, meaning the poet of poets – he was greatness personified in the field of art and literature. His most commendable work, ‘Geetanjali’ meaning offering of poems, had won him the prestigious Nobel Prize award. Tagore has always been a source of inspiration for the contemporary poets, writers and art lovers.In the year 1961, as part of the centenary celebration of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray legally procured the house. Thus, it came under the care of the Government. Finally on 8th May, 1961 the Rabindra Bharati Museum was established by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India in honour of Kaviguru. The museum was housed in the 217 year old building where Rabindranath was born and had spent a major part of his life and finally breathed his last. The museum complex has several buildings. The Rabindra Bharati Museum is housed within the University and is a major repository of the works of the Tagore family, especially of Abanindranath and Rabindranath.
The museum has forty original paintings of Rabindranath acquired from Rathindranath Tagore (Rabindranath’s son) by the West Bengal Government including a lot of photographs that came as a permanent loan from the National Library. The Museum is an integral part of the Rabindra Bharati University, established in 1962, for the advancement of the highest education in various disciplines of Humanities and Performing Arts.
