During the Centenary celebrations of ‘Bidrohi’ (rebel) poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, his two-story concrete structure on the poet’s homestead property here is now proposed to be pulled down and instead, a mud-structure replicating his ancestral home is set to come up at the same spot.

Also, the Pramila Manch (open-air theatre) named after poet’s wife, will also be demolished which is likely to get its new structure, an amphitheatre.

The West Bengal Heritage Commission officials and the state tourism department officials visited Churulia village last week in two phases and held high-level meetings with the DM, West Burdwan and the vice-chancellor of the Kazi Nazrul University, the nodal body assigned to articulate the facelift of the village.

Professor Sadhan Chakraborty, VC, KNU, said, “The heritage commission has given a serious thought to give a heritage tag for the Nazrul Academy building. The existing concrete structure of the academy will be pulled down, where a mud and brick structure, having true resemblance of the house where the poet was born, will be recreated.”

Bengal’s rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was born at Churulia village of undivided Burdwan district in undivided Bengal on 24 May, 1899. Locals of the poet’s native village constituted Churulia Nazrul Academy (CNA) in 1958 with an ambition to preserve the poet’s works and promote research and cultural activities on Kazi Nazrul Islam and his literary contributions. In 1960, the ancestral temporary structure of the poet’s birthplace was dismantled and a single-storied concrete structure on 5 decimals of poet’s homestead property was erected, where the CNA office was accommodated, under the leaderships of founder general secretary Kazi Khairul Anam Siddiqui and organizing secretary Kazi Mazhar Hossen, the poet’s nephew.

Later, a museum housing poet’s handwritten notebooks and manuscripts, his personal gramophone, records, musical instruments, photographs and garments of the poet, his medals and memorabilia have been preserved and showcased. On 21 February, 2021, the Kazi Nazrul University assumed the property rights of the academy in presence of state minister Moloy Ghatak.

“We’re considering the Nazrul Academy complex, an ancient mosque and a Kali temple in the village and his school for declaring as heritage sites. Also, the high school at Searsole in Raniganj where the poet was a student, is under our active consideration,” Dr Basudev Malik, officer on special duty, West Bengal Heritage Commission told The Statesman. Dr Malik added, “We’ve filed our primary report which is to be scrutinized by a 21-member screening committee in August.”

The KNU, meanwhile has flagged off a two-day international conference on the centenary of ‘Bidrohi’ poet, today. Dr Somnath Mukherjee, deputy director, Nazrul Centre for Social and Cultural Studies of the KNU, said, “The poet’s Bidrohi still is still relevant.”