Bangladesh Bhavana museum in Santiniketan set to reopen on Pahela Baishakh
![File photo: Bangladesh Bhavana museum](https://www.tbsnews.net/sites/default/files/styles/big_2/public/images/2024/01/23/1705886879_museum.jpg)
The Bangladesh Bhavana museum in Santiniketan is poised to welcome visitors on Pahela Baishakh (Bengali New Year) with a new look, following the completion of all pending work.
A four-member team from Bangladesh and representatives of Visva-Bharati decided on the museum reopening date in a joint meeting held on Sunday (21 January) evening.
The team comprises the curator and designer of the museum Tarik Sujat, architect Ehsan Khan, and the deputy keeper of Bangladesh National Museum Dibakar Sikder.
Inaugurated jointly by Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi on 25 May 2018, the Bangladesh Bhavana faced closure in 2020 due to the impact of Covid, which also stalled its completion.
The recent approval from the Bangladesh government, following Sheikh Hasina's election victory, paves the way for the finalization of the museum in Santiniketan.
Mandebndra Mukhopadhyay, the chief coordinator of Bangladesh Bhavana in Visva-Bharati, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting, stating, "The meeting with the delegation from the Bangladesh National Museum was very fruitful. Our acting vice-chancellor Sanjoy Kumar Mallik, who participated in the meeting online, assured to extend all kinds of help in the reopening of the museum."
Spanning 44,261 sqft and funded by Dhaka, Bangladesh Bhavana includes a museum, library, auditorium, and a research center on the Liberation War of 1971, showcasing the country's rich history, culture, and art.
During Sunday's meeting, the Bangladesh delegation handed over several postal stamps, coins, and currency notes of Bangladesh for display in the museum.