Mongpu: Tagore's favourite destination in the Hills turns tourist hotspot

Mongpu: For 75-year-old Nilima Dutta a visit to Mongpu in the Darjeeling Hills, was nothing short of a pilgrimage. Pronob Dutta from Malbazar wanted to show his son, Rabindranath Tagore's favourite destination in the Hills.

After two long years of Pandemic, all roads led to the Mongpu, 32 km from Darjeeling, on Monday. Rabindranath Tagore had visited Mongpu on four occasions and penned many an immortal works.

"This is my first visit to Darjeeling. As I am a Rabindranath enthusiast and heard a lot about Mongpu, I had asked my daughters to plan out stay keeping Mongpu and Ranbindrajayanti in the itinerary. My joy knows no bounds," stated Nilima Dutta, a tourist from Dumdum, said.

Pronob Dutta, a high school teacher from Malbazar was there in Mongpu along with his 4-year-old son and wife."I wanted my son to see the house where Kabiguru had stayed," stated Dutta. Bholanath Dey from Nadia, on a trip to Darjeeling, extended his stay to visit Mongpu. There were many others like him. Mongpu has turned into a tourist destination, thanks to the poet.

However, the Rabindra Museum is closed for renovation since December 20 last year which emerged as a major damper for the visiting tourists.

The Rabindra Jayanti commemorations, organised by the Information and Cultural Department of the West Bengal Government, was held in the front porch of the bungalow.

"Repairs and renovation work of the museum is near completion. By the end of this month, the work is expected to finish. We hope to open the museum up by June," stated S Ponnambalam, District Magistrate, Darjeeling.

In order to boost tourism centered around Rabindranath Tagore, many facilities are coming up. "A guest house where tourists can stay along with a restaurant is under construction" added the DM. Funded by the North Bengal Development Department, the guest house is being constructed by the DM office. Beautification work is also underway of the lawns and porches surrounding the bungalow. "Tourists visit in large numbers from all over. It has become an important tourist destination for the Hills," added Sisir Raut, the caretaker of the bungalow.

Tagore had visited Mongpu in 1938; twice in 1939 and in 1940. In 1940, his birthday was celebrated here.

He had written many a memorable works during his stay at Mongpu including 'Chelebela', 'Nobojatok', 'Sesh Kotha', 'Bangla Bhashar Porichoy,' 'Mongpu', 'Giribas', 'Sanai', 'Akash Prodip' and 'Jonmodin.'In Mongpu, Tagore used to stay in the house of Manmohan Sen (Husband of Maitreyi Devi) who was the chief chemist of the cinchona plantation.