Rabindranath Tagore's houses damaged in Northeast quake

Two houses in Kalimpong and Mongpo in the Darjeeling hills, where Nobel laureate and poet Rabindranath Tagore penned some of his memorable poems, were damaged during the earthquake that rocked Sikkim and other parts of northeast India.

Official sources said here today that the ground floor at the back side of "Gauripur Niwas" in Kalimpong, where Tagore lived in mid-1930s, collapsed during the temblor while several cracks have appeared in many other parts of the building.

The house, bearing a marble tablet about the Nobel laureate's stay, is in bad shape in the absence of proper maintenance.

The single-storey "Rabindra Bhavan" at Mongpo, where Tagore stayed for several months towards the end of his life, also developed cracks in the right frontal portion due to the quake, they said.

The roof and chimney suffered major damage when a tree fell on it during a storm in May last, they added.

Tagore penned some of his great poems here between 1938 and 1940 including Janmadin (Birthday).

Priceless Tagore memorabilia is preserved in the house which is now a museum, including a mahogany desk and his bed.

GJM president Bimal Gurung said the damages would be brought to the notice of the state government for proper action as the house is a heritage building.