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Sarat chandra kuthi a view from outside
Sarat Chandra Kuthi was the house of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and is located in Samtaber (Samta), Howrah in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sarat Chandra was born into poverty in Debanandapur, Hooghly, West Bengal in India but he spent the early years of his lifetime as a novelist in this house. His house in Samta is known as "Sarat Chandra Kuthi" in the locality.
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History and architecture
Sarat Chandra used to live in Samta and stay in his house with the fishermen and washermen. So the villagers separated him from the village - as fishermen and washer men were considered to be of low caste. So he along with the houses where he lived came to be known as a separate village, called "Samtaber". Now, Samtaber is a part of Samta.
The Rupnarayan River then used to flow near the house and was visible from the window of Sarat Chandra’s ground floor study room. Now, the river has changed its route and has moved far away. The author has written great stories and novels in this study like Abhagir Swarga, Kamal Lata, Shesh Prashna, Palli Samaj, Ramer Sumati, Pather Dabi and Mahesh.
The two storied Burmese style house was also home to Sarat Chandra's brother, Swami Vedananda, who was a disciple of Belur Math. His and his brother's samadhi can be seen in the gardens of the house. Swami Vedananda was a disciple in Belur Math. The trees like that of bamboo, galoncho and the guava trees, planted by the renowned author are still tourist attractions.
Parts of the house-like the mud-walled kitchen collapsed and the house was damaged in the 1978 floods. To repair it the Zilla Parishad spent ₹77000. After it was declared as a Heritage or Historical Site by the Clause 2 of the West Bengal Heritage Commission Act 2001 (Act IX of 2001) in 2009 the whole house was renovated and the belongings of Sarat Chandra were polished and preserved in showcases. The trees which were going to fall down and die were given proper care and support. The house’s boundary was extended until the Samadhis, which earlier used to lie on the road. Except these, trees have been planted around the house which now add to its beauty.
Opposite to the house there is also a pond, which he mentioned in his novel, Palli Samaj; he also mentioned about two fishes of the pond who lived there, as Kartika and Ganesh, in the novel.