Shilaidaha Kuthibadi a historic place associated with RABINDRANATH TAGORE and a tourist spot. It stands on the south bank of the river Padma in Kumarkhali upazila in Kushtia district and is five miles north of the district headquarters across the Gadai and opposite to the Pabna town on farther north across the Padma. Shilaidaha is also famous for the kachhari (office) of the Birahimpur zamindari and the historic kuthibadi of the Tagore family of Jorasanko.
Kuthibari is a picturesque three-storied terraced bungalow, constructed with brick, timber, corrugated tin sheets and Raniganj tiles. Silaidaha Kuthibari is nestled within about eleven acres of beautiful orchards of mango, jackfruit and other evergreen trees, a flower garden and two ponds. Silaidaha has an enchanting natural beauty and rural landscape. The Villa, enclosed within a boundary wall, is entered through a simple but attractive gateway on the south. It accommodates about 15 apartments of various sizes with a large central hall on the ground and the first floors. Each of the open terraces on the ground and the first floors is partly covered with a sloping roof of Raniganj tiles, while the central part over the ground floor has a pitched roof with gable ends. A short pyramidal crest farther variegates the roof over the second storey. Silaidaha Kuthibadi is now a protected national monument where
a Thakur Memorial Museum has been established by the government.
Rabindranath started his experimental work with village development and modern methods of cultivation at Shilaidaha, which he later undertook at
PATISAR. He established a primary school there in the name of Pratima Devi, his daughter-in-law.
The birth and death anniversaries of the poet are observed at Silaidaha on a national level
on 25 Baishakh and 22 Shraban respectively. Many scholars from home and abroad attend these celebrations and take part in discussions on the life and works of Rabindranath. Cultural functions follow, during which prominent artistes present
TAGORE SONGS
