This lovely home served as Rabindranath Tagore’s home. At the age of 78, he made his first visit to Kalimpong Hill in April 1938 and stayed at Gouripur Bhavan. Brajendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, the Jamindar of Gouripur in Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh), was the home’s original owner. When he visited Kalimpong, they invited Rabindranath Tagore to stay there. Rabindranath Tagore met the locals of Kalimpong while there and also appeared in several activities. Almost 300 individuals from various groups came here to congratulate him. Hirendranath Dutta, a Vedantist, and Dr. Graham, a Scottish Missionary, were among the visitors to the poet. During his time here, Rabindranath Tagore penned several letters, including Udbodhan, Garhthikani, Ashirbad, Adeya, Jakkha, and Maya. Paharer Nile Ar Nile, his fourteenth poem, and Boyos Amar Bujhi Hoytoh Tokhon Hobe Baro, his nineteenth, were also written by him. During his stay in Gouripur, the poet’s 78th birthday was honored. Prabodh Sanyal from Kolkata, Manmohan Sen, Maitreyi Devi, and Chitrita Devi from Mangpoo attended the event.
Rabindranath Tagore recited his poem through telephone, which the Akashvani Kolkata Center of All India Radio broadcasted. It was considered the first step of the telephonic communication link between Kolkata and Kalimpong. He also wrote the Janmadin poem at Gouripur. Seeing the devastating nature of World War II, he wrote Namkaran, Damama Oi Baje, Atmachholona, and Opoghat. Dr. Nilratan Sarkar and Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy forbade him from going to hill stations, but he again visited Kalimpong on September 20, 1940; this time, he stayed at Gouripur Bhavan. They called the doctor in from the hospital when he suddenly fell ill.
Rabindranath Tagore read his poetry over the phone, and the Akashvani Kolkata center of All India Radio broadcast it. It is believed to have been the initial step in establishing a telephone communication link between Kalimpong and Kolkata. At Gouripur, he also penned the poem by Janmadin. He authored Namkaran, Damama Oi Baje, Atmachholona, and Opoghat after witnessing the devastation of World War II. He was forbidden from visiting hill towns by Drs. Nilratan Sarkar and Bidhan Chandra Roy, but on September 20, 1940, he returned to Kalimpong and stayed once more at Gouripur Bhavan. The doctor was summoned in from the hospital when he suddenly became ill along with the daughter and son of Rabindranath Tagore, three doctors—Drs. Jyoti Prakash Sarkar, Dr. Amiyanath Basu, and Dr. Prashanta Chandra Mahalanabish—rushed to Kalimpong from Kolkata. Rabindranath Tagore and they departed Kalimpong for Kolkata on September 28, 1940. The Gouripur Bhavan was designated as a heritage in 2018 by the West Bengal Heritage Commission.
