A graphic impression of the building

After Rabindra Okakura Bhavan in 2007, there was Rabindra Tirtha in 2012. Now here comes Rabindra Bhavan. The Salt Lake-New Town area is set to get the third edifice named after Bengal’s own bard.

Years after the plot was identified and the foundation stone laid in 2010, the civic body is finally ready with a plan and the initial funds to start construction.

A statue of Rabindranath Tagore at FE 505, where the building will come up. (Saradindu Chaudhury)

Rabindra Bhavan will be built on FE 505, a 34-cottah corner plot opposite Netaji Park. It will be a seven-storeyed structure. The project cost has been pegged at Rs 14.5 crore. “Rabindra Bhavan has been a long-standing demand of residents. The building would be a seat of cultural activities of the township and residents would benefit from it,” Krishna Chakraborty, chairperson of Bidhannagar Municipality, told The Telegraph Salt Lake on Monday.

Rabindra Okakura Bhavan of DD Block, which was inaugurated on August 23, 2007 by Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe in presence of the then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, holds a Japanese language class other than being the most popular venue for cultural programmes organised by cultural groups from Salt Lake and its environs.

Rabindra Tirtha of New Town, inaugurated on August 8, 2012 by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, is built on five acres and has an exhibition centre, an air-conditioned auditorium, a library, a research centre, an audio-visual hall and dormitories for outstation students to live in apart from an administrative office.

Floor by floor

At Rabindra Bhavan, the ground, first and second floors would house a 1,000-seater air-conditioned auditorium. There would be two air-conditioned mini auditoriums as well. These would have a capacity of 250 each and would be located on the third floor of the building.

The fourth floor would house a sculpture training centre for aspiring sculptors. “We would be forming an advisory board comprising eminent sculptors who would be helping us with their experience in developing the centre,” said Chakraborty.

The fourth floor would house a library dedicated to books on and by Rabindranath Tagore. “Students doing research on Tagore would be benefited by the research centre. We will firm up a detailed plan regarding the library once the construction is over,” said Chakraborty. A boutique selling Bengal handloom and handicraft would find space on this floor.

There would be a food court on the fifth floor of the building though there is no clarity on what kind of food it would sell. The sixth floor would house a 4,000sq ft banquet hall and the administrative office of the building.

The 12,000sq ft basement will be a parking lot where about 150 four-wheelers can be parked at a time. The construction work will be carried out by the municipality.

Work is scheduled to start after Durga Puja and is supposed to take about two years.

At present, a Tagore statue, encircled by a waist-high fence, stands at a corner of the plot. The rest of the space, run over by wild growth, has been barricaded. A transformer of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company stands inside. According to officials, it would be shifted to a space identified for it by the urban development department before the building comes up.

The reason why

According to Chakraborty, a huge demand exists for auditoriums in the township. “In our experience, people do not just need big auditoriums. Smaller ones are equally sought after. Everybody can avail of the facilities that Rabindra Bhavan would offer,” said the civic chief.

The municipality runs Laban Hrad Mancha in BD Block, the oldest auditorium in the township that recently underwent a renovation.

Residents are happy with the fact that a cultural hub similar to New Town’s Rabindra Tirtha is coming up in Salt Lake. “I have visited Rabindra Tirtha and found it to be awesome. Our long wait for a Rabindra Bhavan in Salt Lake will at last be over,” said Kunal Chakraborty of AJ Block.

“Apart from being a cultural hub, Rabindra Bhavan must have an exhibition hall where Tagore’s life would be presented in pictures. The young generation is not interested to know about Tagore but his pictures might interest them. Efforts must be made to do something so that today’s children can relate to Tagore. A sketch of his early life can be showcased in an interesting way for them,” said Mousumi Chakraborti, a resident of AE (Part II) and a mother of a seven-year-old boy.

But it is the organisers of cultural programmes who are looking forward to the opening most eagerly. Bijan Ghosh of BB Block, the founder of a 27-year-old theatre group Brityo, hopes that the auditorium infrastructure would be carefully planned. “Modern acoustics and lighting arrangements must be installed so that theatre festivals can be organised here. The stage should be big enough and the seats placed in such a manner that anybody sitting at any corner of the auditorium can see a performance without hindrance. The green rooms must have all the facilities for performers. The civic body should involve theatre personalities who are residents of Salt Lake in the designing,” said Ghosh, who is keeping fingers crossed for small theatre groups of Salt Lake getting concessions on the booking amount.

Santanu Gupta, a founder member of a music school Saameepyo based in AE Block, is happy that more options are coming up as venues as many small music schools and theatre groups stage their productions under financial constraints. “If the rent of the smaller auditoriums is kept lower than the existing rate then many groups would be glad to stage shows at Rabindra Bhavan. Rabindra Okakura Bhavan is the most economical among all the venues. As a result, the demand is so high that one needs to book it almost two months in advance. So in such a situation if there is a choice then it will be welcomed by all,” said Gupta. He added that the booking procedure must be user-friendly.

Timeline

April 2010: The foundation stone of Rabindra Bhavan was laid by then finance minister Asim Dasgupta, a resident of FE Block

January 2013: A bronze statue of Tagore was unveiled on the plot by civic chief Krishna Chakraborty and MLA Sujit Bose

End-2014: Construction is slated to start after Puja

Existing venues

Laban Hrad Mancha

• Location- BD Block
• Capacity- 450
• Rent- Rs 7,000 for five hours
• Security deposit- Rs 3,000

Rabindra Okakura Bhavan

• Location- DD Block
  
• Capacity- 268
• Rent- Rs 3,500 for four hours
• Security deposit- Rs 1,000

Purbashree Auditorium (EZCC)

• Location- IB Block
• Capacity - 900
• Rent- Rs 30,000 for four hours (Rs 15,000 for schools and non-governmental organisations for which they have to apply)
• Security deposit- Rs 15,000 (Rs 7,500 for schools and non-governmental organisations)

Aikatan Auditorium (EZCC)

• Location- IA Block
• Capacity- 100 seats
• Status- Undergoing renovation

Rabindra Tirtha

• Location- Action Area 1 on Major Arterial Road beside Hidco Bhavan
• Capacity - 200
• Rent- Rs 10,000 rent for four hours (on weekdays); Rs 12,000 (on weekends and holidays)
• Security deposit- Rs 5,000. Booking is not taken for Sunday evenings