Suchitra Sen's ancestral home in Pabna lies derelict and drab

PABNA, June 08: The subcontinent's legendary Bangla film actress Suchitra Sen's ancestral home in Pabna has been left uncared for without the least efforts from any quarter to preserve the memories involving her as well as her family.
Visitors mostly have to return with a heavy heart after seeing the house at Gopalpur Himsagor Lane in the town in a ramshackle and dreary state.
The ancient house of the dream girl's family has been retrieved but tourists and local residents get disappointed for the delay in its renovation, a demand during her lifetime.
The walls of the house, including the living room, the conversation room, the kitchen, and the fuel room are all in a position of falling apart.
On entering the house, there will be seen nothing special except a statue of Suchitra Sen.
According to information obtained from various researchers, Rama Dasgupta (Suchitra Sen) was born on April 06, 1931 at her grandfather's house at Bhangabari village in Belkuchi upazila of Sirajganj district and was brought up at her ancestral home at Gopalpur Himsagar Lane in Pabna town. After birth she was named Rama Dasgupta.
Her father Karunamay Dasgupta worked as a sanitary inspector of Pabna municipality.
Mother Indira Dasgupta was a housewife. She (Suchitra Sen) was fifth among nine brothers and sisters and third among sisters.
She received primary education at Pabna Pathshala and studied up to class X at Pabna Girls School.
Then in 1947, during the partition of India, she moved with her family to Baliganj in Kolkata.
Rama was married with Dibanath Sen, son of a noble family of Dhaka living there. Later her name was Suchitra Sen. And after marriage, Rama Dasgupta became Rama Sen taking her husband's title.
Suchitra Sen appeared on screen in the style of erstwhile Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As a romantic heroine, Suchitra Sen won the hearts of Bengali audience.
She won the "Silver Prize for Best Actress" at the Moscow Film Festival in 1963 for her performance in 'Sat PakeBandha'.
Suchitra is the first Indian actress to receive this honour. It was the first major international award for an Indian actress. Great heroine (Mahanayika) Suchitra Sen acted as heroine in 56 Bengali and 7 Hindi films. She made a big stir in the movie world by pairing with Uttam Kumar.
The historic house has been left abandoned since SuchitraSen and her family moved to Kolkata. In 1987, some local educators established a kindergarten school in the house.
About 27 years after the establishment of the school, a body named 'Suchitra Sen Smriti Sangrakhan Parishad'(SSSSP) was formed by local people to save the house. Various cultural and social organizations also worked for its protection.
In the face of growing agitation and demand of the Parishad, Pabna district administration won a long legal battle and retrieved the historic house on July 16, 2014.
The house contains only a statue of Suchitra and a small collection of her films.
Although nearly 10 years have elapsed since the recovery of the house from unauthorised possession, the museum there preserving her memories has not seen any development.
Rubel Hossain, the caretaker of the house, said, "Everyday people come to see the house, but on holidays, the number increases."
General secretary of the Suchitra Sen Smriti Sangrakhan Parishad Dr Noresh Madhu, said, "The house needs urgent renovation. If the house can be developed as a tourist stop along with Suchitra Sen memorial, it will generate a lot of revenue."
Before that, the project undertaken by the government has to be implemented, he added.
Suchitra Sen retired after 25 years of acting. The legendary heroine, who had been hidden from the public eye for 36 years, died on January 17, 2014 at the age of 82.
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Asaduzzaman in this regard said, "There is a project under process for the development of Suchitra Sen's ancestral house. Besides, work as much as possible is being done locally."
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