Sriniketan
শ্রীনিকেতন
The site of the Institute of Rural Reconstruction founded by Tagore in 1922. Its craft workshops and the February Magh Mela reflect his ideal of reforming rural life through education.
Sriniketan lies about 3 kilometers west of Santiniketan. It was here that Tagore and British agricultural scientist Leonard Elmhirst founded the Institute of Rural Reconstruction in 1922, aiming to improve rural life in Bengal through agriculture, handicrafts and cooperatives. It remains a rural studies and crafts teaching base of Visva-Bharati University. Visitors can see the weaving, leatherwork and pottery workshops of the craft department, and the school walls carry murals painted by students and faculty from Kala Bhavana. Magh Mela is held every early February, with markets for farm produce and crafts as well as folk performances. The sights are spread out, so the site suits visitors interested in Tagore's ideas and rural crafts.
Opening hours
Workshop about 10:00 AM–4:00 PM; closed Wednesdays
Nearby sights
- Srijani Shilpagram
- Ballavpur Wildlife Sanctuary
- Kala Bhavana
- Amar Kutir
- Sonajhuri Haat
- Cheena Bhavana
- Uttarayan Complex & Rabindra Bhavana
- Visva-Bharati Ashram Area