Kolkata South End Park residence of SD and RD Barman with deep roots in Tripura’s royal legacy faces ruin
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, July 21, 2025
In a city known for preserving the legacies of Tagore and Ray, the neglect of one of Indian music’s most treasured heritage sites has sparked widespread disappointment. The crumbling house at 36/1 South End Park, Kolkata, where music legends Sachin Dev Barman (SD Barman) and Rahul Dev Barman (RD Barman) once lived, is at the center of a growing citizens’ movement calling for its preservation.
The Barman family, descendants of Tripura's royal Manikya dynasty, moved into the South End Park house from a rented home in Hindusthan Park, where Pancham, as RD Barman was affectionately known was born in 1939. While SD Barman and his wife Meera Devi shifted to Mumbai in 1952, young RD stayed on in Kolkata during his school years at Tirthapati Institution on Rashbehari Avenue. The house was not just a residence, it was a crucible for his early musical exploration and a silent witness to the making of a genius who would go on to redefine Indian film music.
This Tripura to Kolkata musical journey, from the princely courts of Agartala to the sound studios of Mumbai remains etched in Indian cultural memory. But the physical symbol of that journey is now in ruins.
An online petition, launched by filmmaker and RD Barman’s uncle Abhijit Dasgupta, titled “Save the House of SD & RD Barman, Convert it to a Museum”, has gathered over 4,190 signatures in just three days.
“We were promised a museum. They renamed the road to Sangeet Sarani in 2021. But beyond that, nothing,” Dasgupta said Kolkata media. “If the Ministry of External Affairs can help restore a Satyajit Ray linked home in Mymensingh, why can’t our state protect this house, which connects Tripura’s royal heritage to India’s musical history?”
Despite multiple promises by civic authorities and cultural stakeholders, the structure continues to deteriorate. Walls are cracking, interiors are hollow, and an air of abandonment hangs over a place that once echoed with melodies.
The Barmans ancestral connection to Tripura’s Manikya dynasty with SD Barman being born a royal prince in Comilla (then part of Tripura state), makes this house not just a Kolkata landmark but also a symbol of Tripura’s artistic legacy. Many in Tripura view the house as a cultural bridge, linking the northeast to India’s mainstream musical evolution.
Yet, even as fans, musicians, and historians raise their voices, the state remains mute.
“Time is running out,” warns one supporter from Agartala who signed the petition. “If we lose this house, we lose a living monument to the cultural heritage of both Bengal and Tripura.”
The petition continues to circulate, but the question remains: Will the legacy of SD and RD Barman be preserved for future generations, or allowed to fade with the falling plaster of a forgotten home?
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