- Written by Edawanisha Marbaniang, Fifth Semester, Media Technologies, 2023
Brookside is a very prominent name today in Shillong. It is a spacious bungalow type house, consisting of 18 rooms situated on the Zig Zag road of Rilbong, Shillong. The bungalow carries the memory of the great poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s first visit to Shillong in the year 1919.
Here stayed Tagore from 11th October 1919, to 31st October 1919 during his first visit to Shillong.
Brook Side was originally built by the British during the last part of the 19th century, when Shillong was declared the capital of erstwhile Assam in 1874. But during 1905, while Lord Curzon divided Bengal very arbitrarily, and Assam was reconstructed as a new province, and the capital was shifted from Shillong to Dacca; a good number of government officials and assistants were transferred to Dacca. The British officers who were settled in Shillong disposed of the houses and left for Dacca.One of the bungalows, ‘Brook Side’ was bought by K.C.Dey (Kiron Chandra Dey), C.I.E, the Assistant Commissioner of then Chittagong Division.
Rabindranath Tagore, the first Nobel Laureate, of Asia, a towering personality in the history of the nation, visited Shillong thrice, in 1919, 1923 and 1927 respectively, and spent a good number of days here in Shillong during each of his sojourns. Tagore loved Shillong on his very first visit in 1919, and felt inspired to revisit the hill resort twice in 1923 and 1927.
Tagore's first visit to Shillong was in, October 1919. It was a long journey from Calcutta (currently Kolkata) to Shillong, as there was no direct train route between Calcutta and Guwahati, as in now. The Bramaputra Saraighat bridge had not been built that time. There was only a ferry streamer service, linking Amingaon and Pandughat. The then newly constructed Guwahati-Shillong road was very narrow and precarious and the bus service, though introduced, was very uncomfortable due to the bumpy and uneven road.
Till 1960, majority of the residents of Shillong were not aware of the name of Brook Side bungalow and the history behind it relating Tagore's stay at Shillong. There was nothing significant outside or inside the complex signifying Tagore's stay. Simply at the entrance, there was a gate with two small pillars; on the left pillar of which it was engraved as 'Brook Side' and on the other it was engraved as K.C. Dey, C.I.E. The bungalow was left under the care of a watchman-cum gardener and it gave quite a neglected and deserted look.
On the plaque in the Brook Side premises it is engraved as:
Bipode mor e raksha koro
E nohe more prarthana
Bipode e ami naa jeno kori bhoy
Let me not pray to be
Sheltered from danger
But to be fearless
in facing them'
(Rabindranath Tagore)
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