Written by Tanisha Mishra and Gouravi Sharma
Did you know there is a museum in Bengal whose collection reflects the region’s rich cultural heritage before the partition? We’re talking about the Gurusaday Museum, located in Joka, Kolkata. This cultural treasure has been shut for the past 4 years and 7 months, locking away invaluable artefacts of Bengal’s folk arts and crafts from public view.
A Legacy Preserved—Then Forgotten
Established in 1963, the Gurusaday Museum houses the remarkable collection of Gurusaday Dutt, a distinguished Indian Civil Service officer and folklorist. Between 1905 and 1941, Dutt travelled extensively across Bengal, collecting over 3,000 artefacts, including textiles, terracotta pieces, wooden carvings, kanthas (embroidered quilts), and musical instruments. His goal was to document and preserve Bengal’s folk traditions at a time when they were largely ignored by mainstream academia and museums.
The museum used to boast a truly distinctive collection, with each item offering a glimpse into the rich tapestry of rural Bengal. Beyond the intricate kantha embroidery, the museum houses an extensive array of patachitras, traditional sweet moulds, handcrafted puppets, and numerous other artefacts.
Together, they weave a vivid story of the region’s social customs, religious practices, artistic expressions, and the cultural syncretism that once defined undivided Bengal.
Clockwise from top: A file photo of Gurusaday Museum; A portrait of Gurusaday Museum, a statue of Goddess Durga at the museum (Photo by Gouravi Sharma), various artefacts collected by Dutt, file photo of a kantha on display inside the museum.
After Dutt’s death in 1941, the collection was managed by a trust composed of Dutt’s family and associates. The Bengal Bratachari Society, founded by Dutt himself, was instrumental in establishing the museum.
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In 1984, the Gurusaday Dutt Folk Art Society took over management of the museum through an agreement with the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, which provided financial support for its operations.
Silence Behind Closed Doors
To learn more about the current state of the museum, we spoke to Churamoni Hati, Gallery Assistant at the Gurusaday Museum. He shared that the museum was last open to the public on June 10, 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, and has remained closed ever since.
“We first wrote a letter to the Ministry of Textiles, and then to the Central Labour Commission,” he said. “We only received one reply — from the Central Labour Commission — stating that the Gurusaday Museum, under the Gurusaday Folk Art Society, is a private body. We responded to that letter on March 22, 2022, but never heard back.”
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According to Hati, no maintenance is being done on the art and craft items. The museum received its last government funding in November 2017, which allowed it to operate until 2020. Since then, staff salaries have been irregular or unpaid.
Government’s Stand
We reached out to Mousami Guha, Assistant Director of Handicrafts, to understand the government’s position. She clarified: “Since 2017, the department has stopped all kinds of funding for maintenance or salaries. This is an autonomous body, and we cannot provide funds to a private organization without government approval.”
She also showed us official documentation related to the museum and added: “We have no liability over the antiques in the museum; the Ministry of Culture can take them.”
When asked why the funding was discontinued, she stated: “We have no investment in it.”
