Mamata wants to acquire Tagore's home in London

November 12, 2017 15:44

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to acquire the London house where Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had lived, and convert it into a museum-cum-memorial to the world-famous poet and writer.

Tagore had lived at No 3, Heath Villas in Hampstead Heath, north London, for a few months in 1912 while he translated his collection of poems 'Gitanjali'.

During a meeting with acting Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Dinesh Patnaik, on arriving in London for a week-long tour of the UK on yesterday, Banerjee expressed her state's desire to buy the privately-owned lodgings.

"The home has great historical significance and the chief minister is keen that it be turned into a memorial to Tagore," a person close to the discussions said.

The property, valued at an estimated 2.7 million (Rs 23 crore) a few years ago, had also featured in discussions during the West Bengal chief minister's last visit to London in 2015.

She has revived her request this time with the hope of some movement on the plans.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Attack on High Commission in London: NIA makes first arrest

NIA investigations in the case so far have revealed that the incidents in London on March 19 and 22 last year were part of a larger conspiracy to unleash vicious attacks on the Indian missions and its officials.

Why Gavaskar Slammed Kohli...

'In the middle, he just seemed to have lost touch...So at the end of the day, when he gets out...when you are facing the strike in the first ball of the innings and you get out in the 14th or the 15th over, you have got a strike rate of...

'Confidence comes from winning, not talking': Faf hails team effort

Faf du Plessis was a relieved man after his team snapped a six-game losing streak with a 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad

CM in jail: Delhi L-G postpones mayoral polls

Elections to the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi that were slated for April 26 were postponed on Thursday, with Lt Governor V K Saxena citing 'unprecedented' circumstances where the chief minister is...

Phase II: Touch And Go Seats

Election Commission data shows 15.88 crore (158.8 million) voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the second phase on Friday.