BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
KOLKATA, 10 JANUARY 2025:
West Bengal Animal Resources Development Minister, Swapan Debnath has recently announced that to further boost tourism in Hatipota village under Nandai Gram Panchayat of Kalna Number one block of East Burdwan district which is associated with the famous novel Devdas of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee a number of new projects will come up this year.
( PICTURE – Actor Dilip Kumar lying below the banyan tree at Hatipota in the film Devdas released in 1955, directed by Bimal Roy, in which Suchitra Sen played the role of Parvati alias Paro)
Mr. Swapan Debnath told The Travel and Tourism Times that every year Pather Dabi an NGO organizes a programme on the birth anniversary of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee in Hatipota and this year too he was present at the function a few days ago along with school children.
“ We have planned to set up a Sarat Chandra Chatterjee and Devdas museum and library at Hatipota village so that the posterity remembers this masterpiece from the great novelist even after the next 100 years from my MLA local area development fund. Construction work has already started after the last year’s Durga Puja festival ,”added Mr. Swapan Debnath .
Mr. Swapan Debnath added that the Nandai Gram Panchayat has been developing a park in the memory of Devdas and his lady love Paro, work has already started. Besides the Kalna number one panchayat samity is setting up two homestays in cottage styles, work of all these projects are going on now.
“ Debdas who was sick and undergoing treatment at faraway Varanasi wanted to see for the last time his lady love Parbati alias Paro. He came to Pandua railway Station in Hooghly district by train and after that took a bullock cart for Hatipota village, the in- laws House of Parbati. But he died under a banyan tree, which was there at the site for more than 200 years. Locals informed the zamindar Bhuvan Choudhury and Paro rushed to see him for the last time but was not allowed. A club Debdas Smriti Sangha has been set up here by the local people and every year on 15 January a Debdas Smriti Mela has been organized,” Mr. Swapan Debnath added.
The minister further said that many photographs of the building of the zamindar family, teeth of elephants found in Hatipota and other articles related to Debads will be kept for display at the new museum. “ I will also write to Kalna Police Station and SP of East Burdwan to retrieve the details of the post mortem report of Devdas in Hatipota from the archives of Burdwan Police , which will also be kept at the museum,”he said.
Mr. Swapan Debnath has written letters to film director Sanjay Leela Bansali and actor Sharukh Khan and late Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee seeking their support to develop Hatipota . “ I have even met Madhuri Dikshit in Burdwan town and narrated her the untold stories of Hatipota and urged her to visit here once. Late Bengali actor Tapas Pal who also played a role in Bengali movie Devdas and though agreed to inaugurate the statue of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee in Hatipota,” he said.
( PICTURE – HATIPOTA DEVDAS SPORTING CLUB)
The zamindar bari ( house) is washed away over the decades due to erosion of Ganga River banks while the banyan tree has also died. But the entire encroachment in the area has been removed to give it a fresh look and revive the history and old glory.
“ In nearby Palitpur of Samudragarh, the then freedom fighter and novelist Sarat Chandra Chatterjee took a hiding and we have set up a memorial there. Sarat Chandra Chatterjee had visited the area and I have learnt that Devdas is based on a true story,” added Swapan Debnath. The road to the village has also been concreted by the present state government.
Mr. Rejaul Mollah , who also hails from Hatipota said that on 15 January 2025 during the inauguration of the Devdas Smriti Mela all the tourism attraction projects – park, museum, library and homestays etc will be inaugurated.
“ Written in 1901 and published in 1917, Devdas is the only novel in the country, which has the maximum number of films made in various languages, several times not only in Bollywood and Tollywood but in other regional languages. On 8 April 2007 a bust of Sarat Chandra
Chatterjee was inaugurated in Hatipota. I have urged CM Mamata Banerjee in her administrative meeting to develop Hatipota as a model tourism village in the state as the story of Devdas is still immensely popular throughout the country,” said Mr. Rejaul Mollah.
There will be the theme of Debdas depicted everywhere in the home stay, at the Park Gate and Library and seminar room. About 4500 to 5000 people stay in this picturesque village, beside which the Khori Rivulet passes through.
Advertisement:
Add Comment