Being funded by both the central and state governments, the house, Janakinath Bhavan, has been turned into a modern museum showcasing the life and times of Netaji Bose, who was born here in 1897.

Bose was one of the most influential and charismatic leaders of the freedom movement. Many believe that he never died in the air crash that was supposed to have killed him in 1945.

Developed by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), the museum has a media centre equipped with audiovisual, multimedia and projection system for screening video films on Netaji for visitors.

"We have spent about Rs.3 crore for the renovation. While INTACH provided Rs.1.5 crore, the state government gave an equal share besides around 12 acres of land along with the building," museum director B.K. Rath told IANS.

The museum has state-of-the-art lighting, innovative display system and high-tech security mechanism.

"We have tried to retain the ambience of the early 20th century while restoring the building and to make the museum a national memorial," said Orissa Culture Minister Debiprasad Mishra.

The 150-year-old two-storeyed yellowish building named after Janakinath Bose, father of Netaji Bose, took nearly three years to be renovated into the museum, which consists of an 18-room gallery.

The Netaji Birth Place Museum Trust had taken over control of the mansion from the Netaji Seva Sadan Trust Board as part of a joint project of the central and state governments in 2003 for converting it into the memorial.

The building and the memorabilia belonging to Netaji Bose have tremendous historical value.

The museum covers the story of Bose' birth, early life, the people in his early life, role in the freedom struggle, his days in the Congress and the Indian National Army (INA) and his commitment to India's struggle for independence, Rath said.

A collection of 23 rare letters, spread over 33 sheets and 39 pages, showcases the gallery. Bose wrote them to his parents from different places such as Vienna, Geneva, Shillong, Rangoon Jail, Mandalay Jail and Presidency Jail.

"The letters were found among the 600-odd old records and paper documents stacked in two separate iron wires in one of the rooms of Janakinath Bhavan," said Arundhati Mishra, the museum's assistant curator.

The first phase of restoring the main building called for repairing the lime-plastered 19th century brick-and-mortar structure that had developed dampness and cracks with roof and wooden staircase damaged.

Also included in that phase was the conservation of the building, completed in 2004, by using international standards vis-à-vis utilizing, as far as possible, the same type of material, which had been used earlier.

In the second phase, the ground floor rooms were organised into galleries - a study with a glazed cabin recreating the official chamber of Janakinath Bose, then an eminent lawyer of the city, early life gallery, political gallery and media room.

The first floor rooms were converted into galleries depicting Netaji Bose's involvement in INA, his birth room with some of the objects used by him in his childhood, a library and letters. Bose's aunt Bibhabati Bose had handed over the building, sprawling over an acre of land, to the state government in 1954. The Netaji Seva Sadan Trust Board home ran a maternity till it was taken over by the Netaji Birth Place Museum Trust in 2003.

However, the donation from S.K. Abdus Sattar Hazari, a 100-year-old villager from Fazalpur under Korei block of Jajpur district, shed light on a different aspect of the national leader.

Hazari has handed over to the museum authorities a homeopath box used by Netaji Bose to treat cholera patients in the area.

Besides, INA Lieutenant R Laxmidevi Naidu of Chennai, Captain C.N. Santhanam, and Achamaratra from Eranakulam have donated rare photographs, books and INA dresses.

The maximum contribution came from A.S. Sanyasi Rao, a man from Srugabarphukota village in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. Rao donated over 316 rare photographs, 160 books and journals.

"We have also requested the governments of Japan, Singapore and Burma, where Netaji Bose spent most of his times in later age, to donate to the museum," pointed out Rath.
-Indo-Asian News Service