Almora’s Tagore Bhavan which inspired Gurudev to write Gitanjali lies desolate

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As a poet, novelist, musician, painter, and educationist, Rabindranath Tagore, was always fond of the outdoors and was close to nature. India’s first Nobel laureate loved hills and one of them was Almora in Uttarakhand.</p>
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The house in Almora, Uttarakhand, where Gurudev stayed has become a desolate place with hardly any visitors. He visited Almora first in 1903 and his last sojourn was in 1937 as a guest to agricultural scientist Basiswar “Boshi" Sen.</p>
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On his first in 1903, Gurudev resided in the St. Marks House which is situated in the district’s cantonment area. It is this picturesque locale that he got inspiration for Gitanjali, his epic that won him the Nobel Prize in 1913.</p>
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Staying in Almora he started writing Gitanjali though he had come here  to stay along with his terminally ill daughter Renuka. </p>
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St. Marks House was renamed in 1961 as Tagore Bhavan. The residence is located in a peaceful environment from where one can view the Himalayas.</p>
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While tourists from Bengal visit this place whenever they are in Almora, according to the local residents the place has not been publicised enough by the authorities to make it a popular tourist attraction. This they feel is necessary as the place is of historical importance. This</p>
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Locals say that tourists from West Bengal come here, but the area remains secluded since it has not been advertised properly as a place of historical significance. They say that the administration should make efforts to make it a tourist spot so that locals will also benefit.</p>
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 Mithilesh Thapa speaking to news18.com said: “We are waiting for the budget from the state government. We will place a bust here as soon as we get it. We are also trying to build a museum here. We will place his collections there. We have not received any sanctions of funds from the administration and hence we are managing on our own.”</p>
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Also he added that the road leading to Tagore Bhavan from the local village will be named Tagore Road.</p>