Satyajit Ray's ancestral home in Bangladesh - formerly used as the Mymensingh Shishu Academy - is being demolished by the Bangladesh government to build a new semi-concrete structure. After the news came to light, the Government of India extended its co-operation to the Bangladesh Government to repair and restore the ancestral property. NDTV reached out to filmmaker Sandip Ray [Satyajit Ray's son] and asked him to share his fond memories of the house.
"I have never been to Bangladesh to see this building; neither did Baba [Satyajit Ray]. What I saw were the pictures of the building. But I remember Baba wanted to use the pictures of this building when he was working on the Sukumar Ray documentary," Sandip Ray tells NDTV.
"A close associate, who used to look after Baba's production, was sent to Bangladesh to click some pictures of this building. But Baba was very disheartened to see the building in a dilapidated state. He, then, decided that he wouldn't use those pictures in his documentary," Ray adds.
The century-old house, located on Harikishore Ray Chowdhury Road in Mymensingh, is an emblem of the legacy of the illustrious Ray family.
Referring to its heritage and contributions to the Bengal's cutural renaissance, the Government of India said, "It would be preferable to reconsider the demolition and examine options for its repair and reconstruction as a museum of literature and a symbol of the shared culture of India and Bangladesh."
The statement added, "The Government of India would be willing to extend cooperation for this purpose."
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the Mohammad Yunus government in Bangladesh to take steps to preserve the ancestral property.
"News reports reveal that in Bangladesh's Mymensingh city, the ancestral home of Satyajit Ray's grandfather, the renowned writer-editor Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, steeped in his memories, is reportedly being demolished. It is said that the demolition work had already begun. This news is extremely distressing. The Ray family is one of the foremost bearers and carriers of Bengali culture", Banerjee wrote on X.
খবরে প্রকাশ যে, বাংলাদেশের ময়মনসিংহ শহরে সত্যজিৎ রায়ের ঠাকুরদা, স্বয়ং স্বনামধন্য সাহিত্যিক-সম্পাদক উপেন্দ্রকিশোর রায়চৌধুরীর স্মৃতিজড়িত তাঁদের পৈতৃক বাড়িটি নাকি ভেঙে ফেলা হচ্ছে। ভাঙার কাজ শুরু হয়ে গিয়েছিল বলে খবর প্রকাশিত।
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 15, 2025
এই সংবাদ অত্যন্ত দুঃখের। রায় পরিবার বাংলার…
Asked about the demolition, Md Mehedi Zaman, Mymensingh's district children affairs officer, said the decision to demolish the house was made by a committee led by the district's Deputy Commissioner Mofidul Alam, as per a report by The Daily Star.
Citing the risk factors for children, the official said, "The house had been abandoned for 10 years, and Shishu Academy activities have been running from a rented space," adding, that the new semi-concrete building with several rooms will be built to resume academy activities.
