The Jharkhand government has taken up the renovation of Brahmasthal, a meditation spot located atop Tagore Hill in Ranchi that is associated with the family of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Built over a century ago in the Morabadi locality of the city, the place has decayed considerably and needs restoration and upkeep.

“The government has sanctioned Rs 60 lakh for the renovation of Brahmasthal. A platform will be attached to it and there will be electrification and beautification of the surrounding area,” said S. D. Singh who had earlier been involved in the restoration of the famous Maluti temples in Dumka district.

Singh has been asked to oversee the revamp of Brahmasthal.

The renovation that will be executed through the district administration is expected to be completed within two months, he said.

The work was formally initiated by local MP Sanjay Seth on Saturday.

Although Rabindranath had never come to Ranchi, Tagore Hill — a small hillock earlier known as Morabadi Hill — was named so because of its association with the Nobel laureate’s elder brother, Jyotirindranath, who lived there during the sunset years of his life.

Many in the Tagore family liked Ranchi because of its sylvan surroundings and serenity as found those days and the first Indian ICS, Satyendranath Tagore, would come here regularly.

Accompanying his brother Satyendranath during one of his trips to Ranchi, Jyotirindranath, who was then living a lonely life following the untimely death of his wife Kadambini, also liked the place and thought of living there.

As he wrote in his diary, Jyotirindranath had bought the hillock and the land surrounding it in October 1908, built a house named Shantidham on the hillock and also Brahmasthal, a place for meditation complete with a concrete canopy supported by pillars, atop it. He also lived there till his death in March 1925.

Jyotirindranath, though overshadowed by his illustrious younger brother Rabindranath, was a writer, music composer and painter.

Sitting in Ranchi, he translated Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s notes on the Geeta from Marathi to Bengali and also translated the work of Moliere from French to Bengali, besides doing sketches and paintings that were later published as a book from London.

Although the government later renovated the house and rebuilt the stairs leading to it, Brahmasthal started decaying and needed more attention. The surroundings of the hillock were encroached upon.

There was a demand that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) grant the place a heritage status and maintain it properly but the same was turned down.

Acting upon a public interest litigation filed before it, Jharkhand High Court, in an order issued earlier this month, asked ASI to reconsider its decision, an agency report said.