Pramathesh Barua’s Dhubri home to be a museum

Guwahati: The descendants of the zamindar family of Gauripur, to which the doyen of celluloid and maker of the first ‘Devdas’, Pramathesh Chandra Barua belonged, are going through an emotional upheaval over the fate of their ancestral home, Hawa-Mahal.As the Assam government took over the possession of the heritage bungalow, on the banks of the river Gadadhar in present day Dhubri district on Monday, Pramathesh’s nephew Prabir and other relatives, who have been living here for ages, were seen bidding a tearful farewell to their home. Apart from their personal belongings they have to leave behind all the priceless artefacts the family owned. The artefacts would be on display in the renovated house-come-museum.Prabhat Chandra Barua, Pramathesh’s father, built the bungalow with the help of masons from China Town in Kolkata in 1904. It took a decade to be completed. The well-ventilated interiors ensured a pleasant stay for the royals, especially during summer. The family earned the title of Raja from Emperor Shah Jahan. As Pramathesh rose to fame, the celluloid connection drew some of the biggest names from Calcutta to Hawa-Mahal.Bengal’s biggest star, Uttam Kumar, visited the bungalow in the 1950s for the shooting of the film, ‘Bicharak’ with his co-actor Arundhati Devi. Another Bengali film, ‘Gajamukta’ was also shot here. Soumitra Chatterjee, Tom Alter and Moon Moon Sen came here for shooting in the 1980s.Prabir said the biggest attraction of the bungalow is its spectacular location atop a hillock offering a breathtaking view of the sunset and even the mighty Kanchenjungha on a clear November day.
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