Santiniketan is a town in Birbhum district, about 150 km north of Kolkata. Founded by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, it was expanded by his son Rabindranath, and became a university town with the creation of Visva-Bharati University by Rabindranath in 1921. Even today, its art school Kala Bhavan is considered a nursery of Indian art. But for the nearly 1.5 million tourists who visit annually, there is more to Santiniketan, including Rabindra Bhavan, founded in 1942 by the poet’s son Rathindranath after his father’s death. This houses a museum, archives, library and a majority of Rabindranath’s manuscripts, correspondence, paintings and sketches.
Other buildings of interest are the Uttarayan Complex, Kalo Bari, Upasana Griha, and Ashram Complex. Also don’t miss Sinha Sadan, the building in which Oxford University conferred its honorary doctorate on Rabindranath. Santiniketan is home to numerous fairs and festivals at different times of the year, and other nearby attractions include Ballabhpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Amar Kutir, and the vibrant Sonajhuri haat or village market. Well connected to Kolkata by both road and rail, Santiniketan offers accommodation for all budgets. " Without exception, traditional styles tend to be heavily Indian, with little or no Western influences. Facial and physical features are often exaggerated to highlight expressions. Around the idol-making workshops, countless smaller stalls sell craft decorations, ornaments and weapons for the idols in gold and silver foil, glittering ‘zari’ and brocade, white shola, or even thermocol.