The Motihari home where writer Eric Arthur Blair, better know by his pen name of George Orwell, was born, has been renovated.
The place is about 160km northwest of Patna in Bihar's East Champaran district.
Orwell's father Richard W. Blair, who worked for the then British government's opium department, was posted in Motihari at the time of his son's birth. Ida Mabel Blair gave birth to the man, who was to write masterpieces like Animal Farm and 1984, on June 25, 1903.
The initiative to renovate the house was taken by the state art, culture and youth affairs department, which sanctioned funds to the Bihar state building corporation for the same. The work included restoration of the dilapidated house, construction of toilet block and plantation and landscaping of the ground in front of the house.
"The work began last August and was completed in May," a corporation official associated with the project told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
Special care was taken while repairing the damaged walls of the house. Bricks of the same dimensions as the original have also been used. "Renovation work cost Rs 50.82 lakh," the official said.
The move to protect this important site, was started by the state government five years ago. In December 2010, the place was declared a protected site under the Bihar Ancient Monument and Archaeological Site, Remains and Art Treasure Act, 1976.
Following this notification, the state government first undertook construction of a boundary wall around the five-acre plot, which also housed the opium house where opium used to be stored during British rule.
Around half of the plot has been earmarked for construction of a Satyagraha Park to mark a movement Mahatma Gandhi launched in Champaran in 1917 for the cause of indigo farmers.
Interestingly, Orwell himself was a big fan of Gandhi. In an essay "Reflections on Gandhi", first published in 1949, he had compared the Mahatma's life to a pilgrimage.
The art, culture and youth affairs department is now planning to make the place a happening spot not only for residents but also for tourists for visit.
"We are planning to set up a library, a park and a multimedia centre on the premises," department principal secretary Vivek Kumar Singh said, adding: "The aim was to put these facilities in place before the current fiscal year ends."
The multimedia centre would be used to show short films on the lives of Orwell and Gandhi. Some films depicting the importance of the site would also be made to enlighten visitors. As far as the library is concerned, all major works of Orwell would be kept there in addition to a few other books on different topics, with special emphasis on the history of Bihar.
A park would be added to the site to make it more attractive.
Additional reporting by RN Sinha from Motihari
