Within the city of Ranchi is a wooded hill that seems out of place in the new-age suburb it stands in. Yet no bulldozer or demolition crew has flattened it to the ground to make way for modern buildings or structures.
Instead, a wall has been erected to protect it against encroachment and to preserve the memory of the man who once lived in an ashram located on the hill with all its serenity and beauty unmarred by obstructing buildings and offering a splendid view of the surrounding countryside with the then small town of Ranchi hidden in the foliage.
Little known outside literary circles, Jyotirindranath Tagore, elder brother to poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore, was a genius in his own right.
Tagore Hill: Home of the Tagores, 1908 -1925 AD.
In his lifetime he was an accomplished playwright, musician, and pioneer. His contribution greatly influenced modern Bengali art and literature just as much as it played an instrumental part in the development of his younger brother.
Tagore Hill, Morabadi. Zamindari of Thakur Harihar Singh: Farbound.Net Digital wallpapers.
After the death of his wife, Jyotirindranath had retired to the sanctity of this hill to live out his last days, a broken man. The house he used as an ashram (spiritual shelter) is now a museum, and a popular tourist spot – connected to the main road with a newly built flight of stairs, that wend up to the house, beneath the rustling leaves of ancient trees, in place of the dirt path that led Jyotirindranath back to his home.
The hill is also known as the Morabadi Hill and was once the property of Thakur Harihar Singh, the Zamindar of Morabadi. After the independence of India and the abolishment of Zamindaries, Thakur Harihar Singh had donated the land to the Ranchi Municipality to be preserved as a memorial.
According to the District Ranchi website, before Jyotirindranath moved in, the house was a rest house – see District Ranchi Website.
