Five New Heritage Buildings for West Bengal

Who hasn&rsquot read about the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in school But did you know it is now widely accepted that the ruins were discovered by an Indian archaeologist, Rakhaldas Bandopadhyay (12 April 1885 &ndash 23 May 1930), and not Britisher Sir John Marshall Although he is credited with several discoveries and studies across different sites across the Indian subcontinent, his biggest achievement has been the discovery of the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in 1922 while he was working in the Larkana district of Sindh. And if all goes according to plan, visitors will be able to see the house where he lived, in Bongaon town, as a heritage precinct.

West Bengal Heritage Commission, in a recent notice, has announced its intention to declare four buildings as heritage precincts. One of them is the house of Rakhaldas Bandopadhyay in Bongaon, less than three hours&rsquo drive from Kolkata.

Two other precincts are in Serampore, a town to the north of Kolkata and on the banks of the Hooghly, known for its Danish and British legacy. Kashiswar Pith, a temple complex associated with Kashiswar Pandit, an associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The 15^th century temple exists even today but has undergone many changes. The other one is a set of offices in the Serampore Court compound. Currently, the designated space is occupied by a popular restaurant.

Also on the list is the Metropolitan Institution of Kolkata and the Krishnagar Government College, two premier education institutes with a long history of their own.