The house where Swami Vivekananda was born

Swamiji was born in this house, located at 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street, in north Calcutta,  on January 12, 1863 as the eldest son among the male children of his parents, Narendranath, of Viswanath Dutta and Bhubaneswari Devi. His great grandfather Rammohan Dutta originally built the house. The 18th century structure of the Ancestral House Swami Vivekananda Kolkata was falling to pieces, worsening day by day. Ramkrishna Mission Acquired it and after five years of restoration work , restored it, without changing any of its original features. it is now a memorial-cum--museum, which also has a newly constructed research and cultural centre, a text library, and a social and philanthropy building.   

Kolkata is the breeding ground of intellectuals, and great men. With five Nobel laureates hailing from this wonderful city, Kolkata boasts, and rightly so, of being a city that belongs to the old-fashioned, the intellectual, the spiritual; leader, the great scholar and the progressive thinker- indeed, of anyone with an enormous zest for life. This ‘City of Joy’ is also referred to as the ‘intellectual capital’ of the country, and has given us such great men and women as Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, and has been the home of such great people as Mother Teresa. One great thinker, philosopher and leader of this city, was Swami Vivekananda, and the Ancestral House Swami Vivekananda, Kolkata, is one of the frequently visited tourist destinations. Located at 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street, in North Kolkata, the Ancestral House Swami Vivekananda, Kolkata, was the residence of the patriot monk, and the great intellectual beacon of India who spread the message of peace worldwide. As, Swamiji was one of the foremost disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, the Ancestral House Swami Vivekananda, Kolkata, is one of the most priceless locations, and one of the most important attractions in Kolkata.
. The Ancestral House Swami Vivekananda, Kolkata, houses Swamiji’s birthplace, with the chamber where Swami Vivekananda was born turned into a place of worship with a photograph of Swamiji. The house also has a museum, where some of the articles used by Swamiji, his parents, and his brothers are conserved. That Swamiji was not just an erudite scholar, and was also an excellent musician is proven by a room that contains classical music instruments like Tabla, Tanpura and Khol which were used by Swamiji.

Truly, a trip to the Ancestral House Swami Vivekananda, Kolkata, is a must-do, for it reveals the true personality of this great man, and speaks volume about him. The Ancestral House Swami Vivekananda, Kolkata, is open from 9:00 am to 12:00 Noon, and from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Kolkata has added another glory to its cultural heritage. Just before the 'Puja', the renovated ancestral home of Swami Vivekananda at 3, Gourmohan Mukherjee Street , in North Kolkata , was opened to the public amidst much fervour and devotion and the cultural centre adjoining has been formally inaugurated by the President of India, Shri A.P. J. Abdul Kalam.
It took nearly five years to complete the restoration work of Swamiji' ancestral home, though the decision of turning it to a memorial-cum-museum was taken in 1962. The edifice standing on 30 cottahs of land along with the newly constructed research and cultural center, the textbook library and the social and philanthropy building would soon turn into a notable site like Belur Math. According to Swami Bishokananda, who was in the charge of this project, the President has not only inaugurated the research-cum-cultural centre, he has also formally opened the textbook library meant for students of Higher Secondary and those who are pursuing graduate and post-graduate studies.
 The Ramkrishna Mission acquired it, along with an adjacent plot, in May 1999 through State government. A committee was set up- comprising, among others, conservation engineers of Archaeological Survey of India sto advise on the renovation and coordinate with the agencies involved in the process.
The Centre, the State government as well as public donation to Ramakrishna Mission, funded the Rs. 20 crore restoration project in which the Central grant was Rs. 9 crore 90 lakh.
Ramakrishna Mission restored Swamiji's ancestral house without changing any of its original architectural features. It houses Swamiji's birthplace, meditation hall (first floor) and museum, where some of the articles used by Swamiji, his father, mother and brothers are preserved.
 During Swamiji's time, the house was surrounded by a garden and beyond that there was a large open space. But in later years, owing to the city's growth and its ever increasing buildings, the approach road to the house got narrowed into a lane, now known as Gour Mohan Mukherjee Street . The narrow street that Naren once walked was covered in scaffolding, with stacks of everywherebricks. Underneath was the enormous 28-room, 21,600-sq,ft. mansion built by his great grand father, a renowned legal practitioner. It stands tall in the midst of a 43,200 sq.ft. lot, its beatiful rose coloured brick walls interpersed with several arched windows and doorways. During Naren's time, the building was divided down the middle by his father and his uncle, with each family occupying  a side.When R.K.Mission took the house and lot  over, it was a home to 75 families and 45 small bussinessman which indicates its immense size. The Mission relocated every person free of charge, making sure all were satisfied with their new places.
Swami Parthamaharaj the monk was in charge of the reconstruction.     
Earlier a massive doorway opened to the street outside. The spacious courtyard was bordered on two sides by the main building, which had two parts. To the right was a single-storey structure having rooms for men-folk. Facing the doorway and across the courtyard, was the two-storey ladies' apartment. The ground floor of this was used as a kitchen and dining hall. Above this were dwelling chambers. The roof of this building served as the place where the ladies met, talked and moved freely. It was a small temporary shade on this roof that Swami Vivekananda was born. This is now being turned to a beautiful shrine, where a rosewood simhasan carrying the photograph of Swamiji has been placed.

The untimely demise of his father made Vivekananda take the responsibility of his mother and his two younger brothers-Mahendranath and Bhupendranath. Mahendranath was an avid traveller, while Bhupendranath, was a patriot and was deeply involved in the Indian freedom struggle for which he had to take refuge outside the country. Their rooms too have been preserved with due honour.

In one of the rooms in the ground floor, several musical instruments like tabla, khol and tanpura were displayed. Swamiji sang well and had learned the Indian Classical music from his father as well as renowned singers of the day like, Pt. Beni Adhikary and Ustad Ahammad Khan. He even wrote poetry for which he often composed music himself. Swamiji quite often played these instruments.