NARAIL, Oct 30: The ancestral house of Dr Nihar Ranjan Gupta lies in a dilapidated condition in Itna village under Lohagora upazila of the district.
In 1990 the paternal ancestor abandoned house of the novelist was used as the academic building of the Itna Government Primary School.
On November 24, 1993, artist SM Sultan and then deputy commissioner of Narail Ali Hossein declared Mr Gupta's ancestral home as Shishuswargo-2 where children took lesson on fine arts. The activities of the children's organisation ceased after the death of Mr Sultan in 2003.
Even the birth and death anniversaries of the novelist are not observed here properly, said villager Ali Asgar Raja.
Novelist Nihar Ranjan Gupta was born to Satya Ranjan Gupta and Labangalata Devi on June 06, 1911 at his father's work place in Kolkata.
Dr Nihar Ranjan Gupta got recognition as a novelist at the age of 18 when he composed his first novel 'Rajkumar'. He wrote about 200 books including novel, drama and literature. Among his books-Chaudhuri Bari, Kagojerful, Lalu Bhulu, Dosti, Kalobhromor, Ulka, Niltara, Debjani, Mayur Mahal, Nishipadmo, Kanyakumari, Meghkalo, Badsha, Chinnopatra, Kangkabati, Kalongkini and Padmini are remarkable. He created his detective character 'Kiriti Roy'.
Mr Gupta died on January 20, 1986.
Itna union council chairman Nazmul Hasan Tagor said, "We wrote a letter to the Department of Archaeology to preserve the ancestral home of the novelist. The department hanged a sign board in front of the building a long time ago. But no initiative has yet been taken."
Lohagora UNO Monira Parvin said, "Measures are taken to save the novelist's ancestral property."
Deputy commissioner of Narail Md Emdadul Haque Chaudhury said, "We urged the Ministry of Cultural Affairs to preserve the memories of Nihar Ranjan Gupta."
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