The doorbell of dilapidated Suradham sings the catchy Come September signature tune, hardly a number that one would associate with the great music composer and dramatist, Dwijendralal Roy, whose sesquicentennial birth anniversary has been all but ignored in the state to which he belongs, though two of his famous compositions, Dhana Dhanya Pushpa Bhara and Banga Amar Janani Amar, are still popular enough to be part of the repertoire of Chitpur brass bands.

Suradham, a heritage property, is off Vivekananda Road at 46 DL Roy Street (earlier Nandakumar Choudhury 2nd Lane), adjacent to Chaltabagan Lane. Roy had built the house in 1906 and started living in it with son Dilip Kumar — poet, musicologist, musician and singer — and daughter Maya in 1909.

It was in this house that Roy, a widower and a government officer, had breathed his last on May 17, 1913 aged 50. Here he had penned some of his memorable plays, such as Shahjahan, Chandragupta, Punarjanma and Anandabiday, a parody.

Dwijendralal Roy’s house off Vivekananda Road

Roy, who did his MA in English from Presidency College and went to the UK to study agricultural science, introduced a new rhythm in Bengali prose and also suffused his poetry with the spirit of prose. He had to burn many of his nationalist compositions at the insistence of friends who feared he would be persecuted for them.

Today, Roy’s house is badly in need of repairs. A signboard on its gateway reads Children’s Seminary School and Children’s Sweet Home. Another signboard claims the building has belonged to Barnashram Trust Estate since 1936. An inscription in Bengali on the gateway, almost concealed under a coat of red paint, reads “Suradham”.

Roy at Suradham

To the right of the gateway is a tiny room, part of which is used for binding exercise books. The other half is the school. At the entrance to the building are stacks of birdcages, and on the first floor are huge cages in which birds like budgerigars are bred.

A man in a dhoti named Subimal Chakrabarty, one of the occupants of the house, gives the telephone number of Prashanta Bhattacharya, who says he is a member of Barnashram Trust. He claims that Dilip Kumar Roy had sold the house to the trust in 1936.

It is true that Dilip Kumar, who had moved to Pondicherry and later Pune, had renounced all his earthly possessions. But it does not matter whom the house belongs to. What does is that Dwijendralal lived here with his son and daughter.

In 2004, the neighbourhood had protested following attempts to develop the property. Trees in the compound had been felled and bhoomipuja, too, was conducted. Neighbours Debendranath Nandi and wife Dolly brought this to the notice of the authorities, shooting off letters to the chief minister, mayor and several other persons holding high positions.

Work stopped and for the time being this heritage building was saved. But it would be hard to save it from neglect even if promoters are fended off, as the state government has done nothing to save it from depredation.

D.L. Roy’s Krishnagar birthplace is gone. His Calcutta house too may meet with the same fate.