A Day full of learning, enlightenment, excitement, thrill - a day that makes me proud of my bloodline..a visit to the prestigious ISI (http://www.isical.ac.in/).. a tour of their museum.. a day that again made me aware of who Samarendra Nath Roy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
A day that makes me jubilant that with some sleuthing and belief we could find Jethu's childhood home! 33/2, Beadon Street! The house where my Thamma's father stayed.. a house where my Thamma grew up! a house where all her sisters had spent large parts of their lives! a house where Mago had stayed with the li'l Jethu and Baro-Jethu .. the joy and thrill on Jethu's face was worth entering that huge iron gate unexpected.. when we found that house, Jethu was transported back in time.. he became that child who had left that house at the age of 8 years! I can do anything to see Jethu that happy! The Hooghly (?) or Foogly(?) Bank in the compound of the house that Jethu used to visit with his Dadubhai (i.e. my Thamma's father who passed away when Jethu was 4) is a piece of history, today, but the remnant remains.. as Jethu was showing it to us, I could feel that Jethu was seeing his Dadubhai there.. The stairs down which Jethu loved running down are still there, and Jethu didnt even try to hide the joy of standing on those stairs with me and Anjoli Roy. he even imitated a running pose of which Anjoli has taken a picture... the entire portion where Dr. Shashikumar Sengupta (my Thamma's father) stayed remains the same (at least from the outside it seems so).. the ground floor where he had his chamber stands stoutly as does that upper floor where he had his bedroom adjacent to the room in which S. N. Roy (his son-in-law, my Thakurda's elder brother) and Mago (Bani, i.e. Shashikumar's daughter, my Thamma's elder sister) stayed with their sons.. those rooms also seemed to stand there so that Jethu could visit after 64 years of leaving that house and see them (from the outside, at least) .. "Is anybody there??"..I asked as I entered the courtyard. some ladies looked down from the verandahs, not answering.. two elderly ladies from the topmost floor asked whom we wanted to see.. I dint know what to say.. we didnt want to see anyone.. I said that my Grandma's father used to stay in that house! and he had passed away in 1946! they didnt reply.. as i looked down, I heard, "Was he a doctor? An eye doctor?", one of those two ladies were asking! I had goosebumps.. "Yes, He was!".. "We have not seen him, we were not even born.. but, we have heard about him from our mother!" "He used to stay in that part", she showed us the left portion of the house. I asked Anjoli to call Jethu who was still not inside the house. By the time Jethu came, I had told that lady who was doing the talking that Mahatma Gandhi had written a letter to that address, i.e. 33/2, Beadon Street, to express his condolences to S. N. Roy (Kalinath's eldest son) when Kalinath Roy, the Chief Editor of The Tribune, had passed away in 1945. That lady didnt seem to know that part i.e. my father's and Jethu's parental side of the story..
Then, in came Jethu..looking upwards.. with a Namoshkar... the lady suddenly said "I have seen Bijoya Sengupta, his second daughter! She used to come here for years, for the Durgapuja, and I have seen her in my childhood".. I was thrilled at this sudden mention of my father's and Jethu's Mejomasi, my Thamma's Mejdi.. Jethu asked expectantly, "Have you never heard the name of Bani? Rani-Bani! Shononi?".. that lady started mumbling, "Yes, I have heard those names.. the one who went off to America?".. Jethu pounced his fists, "Yes! Bani's son I am.. I was taken off to America!"
That lady said, "everybody who knew people of that era has passed away.. the few who remain will come during Puja.. do come during that time..".. I mumbled, "Okay, I will come" knowing that Jethu and Anjoli wont be here till the festivities..
Jethu recounted so many anecdotes about his childhood and Baro-Jethu's as we came out of that courtyard and stood in the compound! History, as it always fascinates me, took me in its grip. I could imagine the young Thamma in that house, and the little Jethu too! After photo-sessions and visiting and re-visiting Jethu's favorite steps and the Foogly Bank, we came out of that large iron gate. The left pillar had two stone plates with the address "33/2, Beadon Street".. a house where my Thamma and Mago spent a large part of their lives, a house where jethu had spent his young childhood, an abode for dadu S. N. Roy for 7 years and for Kalinath Roy in his last years, an address where M. K. Gandhi had written a condolence note to on the death of the Chief-Editor of The Tribune!
A visit to the wiki-page on Samarendranath Roy (my grandfather's elder brother) leaves me stunned! The date of S. N. Roy's passing away! 23rd July, 1964! Today, exactly after 50 years of his passing away, i.e. on his 50th Death Anniversary, Jethu (his son) visits the ISI, the place that has had his footprints as a brilliant statistician, and 33/2, Beadon Street, the house that had been his residence for 7 years from 1943 to 1950 when he migrated to the US with his wife and kids! Jethu has been to Kolkata so many times .. but never has he been to the ISI!.. Jethu has been to Kolkata so many times! but, never has he been to the Beadon Street house! What funny games life play! Jethu didnt remember the date. ANjoli and Me didnt know the date by heart. Even when the wiki-page was opened in the afternoon at Chhotoburo's office, none of us noticed it! Jethu, accompanied by his youngest daughter Anjoli Roy and niece (me), inadvertently pays homage to his father S. N. Roy on his father's 50th Death Anniversary by visiting his father's workplace and residence (of sorts) on the very day of his father's passing away! What game-planning this Universe does (Joya Roydidi)! Feeling so humbled and happy that I could pay my minutest accidental tribute (obviously planned by the Universe) and was present at ISI and at Beadon Street, too, on the 50th passing-away anniversary of dadu S. N. Roy with S. N. Roy's son and grand-daughter! Kudos, life! Kudos, Coincidences!
A day that makes me jubilant that with some sleuthing and belief we could find Jethu's childhood home! 33/2, Beadon Street! The house where my Thamma's father stayed.. a house where my Thamma grew up! a house where all her sisters had spent large parts of their lives! a house where Mago had stayed with the li'l Jethu and Baro-Jethu .. the joy and thrill on Jethu's face was worth entering that huge iron gate unexpected.. when we found that house, Jethu was transported back in time.. he became that child who had left that house at the age of 8 years! I can do anything to see Jethu that happy! The Hooghly (?) or Foogly(?) Bank in the compound of the house that Jethu used to visit with his Dadubhai (i.e. my Thamma's father who passed away when Jethu was 4) is a piece of history, today, but the remnant remains.. as Jethu was showing it to us, I could feel that Jethu was seeing his Dadubhai there.. The stairs down which Jethu loved running down are still there, and Jethu didnt even try to hide the joy of standing on those stairs with me and Anjoli Roy. he even imitated a running pose of which Anjoli has taken a picture... the entire portion where Dr. Shashikumar Sengupta (my Thamma's father) stayed remains the same (at least from the outside it seems so).. the ground floor where he had his chamber stands stoutly as does that upper floor where he had his bedroom adjacent to the room in which S. N. Roy (his son-in-law, my Thakurda's elder brother) and Mago (Bani, i.e. Shashikumar's daughter, my Thamma's elder sister) stayed with their sons.. those rooms also seemed to stand there so that Jethu could visit after 64 years of leaving that house and see them (from the outside, at least) .. "Is anybody there??"..I asked as I entered the courtyard. some ladies looked down from the verandahs, not answering.. two elderly ladies from the topmost floor asked whom we wanted to see.. I dint know what to say.. we didnt want to see anyone.. I said that my Grandma's father used to stay in that house! and he had passed away in 1946! they didnt reply.. as i looked down, I heard, "Was he a doctor? An eye doctor?", one of those two ladies were asking! I had goosebumps.. "Yes, He was!".. "We have not seen him, we were not even born.. but, we have heard about him from our mother!" "He used to stay in that part", she showed us the left portion of the house. I asked Anjoli to call Jethu who was still not inside the house. By the time Jethu came, I had told that lady who was doing the talking that Mahatma Gandhi had written a letter to that address, i.e. 33/2, Beadon Street, to express his condolences to S. N. Roy (Kalinath's eldest son) when Kalinath Roy, the Chief Editor of The Tribune, had passed away in 1945. That lady didnt seem to know that part i.e. my father's and Jethu's parental side of the story..
Then, in came Jethu..looking upwards.. with a Namoshkar... the lady suddenly said "I have seen Bijoya Sengupta, his second daughter! She used to come here for years, for the Durgapuja, and I have seen her in my childhood".. I was thrilled at this sudden mention of my father's and Jethu's Mejomasi, my Thamma's Mejdi.. Jethu asked expectantly, "Have you never heard the name of Bani? Rani-Bani! Shononi?".. that lady started mumbling, "Yes, I have heard those names.. the one who went off to America?".. Jethu pounced his fists, "Yes! Bani's son I am.. I was taken off to America!"
That lady said, "everybody who knew people of that era has passed away.. the few who remain will come during Puja.. do come during that time..".. I mumbled, "Okay, I will come" knowing that Jethu and Anjoli wont be here till the festivities..
Jethu recounted so many anecdotes about his childhood and Baro-Jethu's as we came out of that courtyard and stood in the compound! History, as it always fascinates me, took me in its grip. I could imagine the young Thamma in that house, and the little Jethu too! After photo-sessions and visiting and re-visiting Jethu's favorite steps and the Foogly Bank, we came out of that large iron gate. The left pillar had two stone plates with the address "33/2, Beadon Street".. a house where my Thamma and Mago spent a large part of their lives, a house where jethu had spent his young childhood, an abode for dadu S. N. Roy for 7 years and for Kalinath Roy in his last years, an address where M. K. Gandhi had written a condolence note to on the death of the Chief-Editor of The Tribune!
A visit to the wiki-page on Samarendranath Roy (my grandfather's elder brother) leaves me stunned! The date of S. N. Roy's passing away! 23rd July, 1964! Today, exactly after 50 years of his passing away, i.e. on his 50th Death Anniversary, Jethu (his son) visits the ISI, the place that has had his footprints as a brilliant statistician, and 33/2, Beadon Street, the house that had been his residence for 7 years from 1943 to 1950 when he migrated to the US with his wife and kids! Jethu has been to Kolkata so many times .. but never has he been to the ISI!.. Jethu has been to Kolkata so many times! but, never has he been to the Beadon Street house! What funny games life play! Jethu didnt remember the date. ANjoli and Me didnt know the date by heart. Even when the wiki-page was opened in the afternoon at Chhotoburo's office, none of us noticed it! Jethu, accompanied by his youngest daughter Anjoli Roy and niece (me), inadvertently pays homage to his father S. N. Roy on his father's 50th Death Anniversary by visiting his father's workplace and residence (of sorts) on the very day of his father's passing away! What game-planning this Universe does (Joya Roydidi)! Feeling so humbled and happy that I could pay my minutest accidental tribute (obviously planned by the Universe) and was present at ISI and at Beadon Street, too, on the 50th passing-away anniversary of dadu S. N. Roy with S. N. Roy's son and grand-daughter! Kudos, life! Kudos, Coincidences!
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