I had to spend a few days in Kolkata due to circumstances that prevented me from going to Bangladesh. With some time on my hands, I thought it would be nice to visit some tourist spots. I heard that the house of the novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wasn’t too far away, near Naihati railway junction station. So, I took my nephew Anup and went there on August 19, 2024.
While I can say that I’ve visited Bankim Chandra’s house, it wouldn’t be entirely accurate. Our visit was more of a quick glance, a casual look around. Did we delve into the archives and library, those repositories of stories that spring from one of the most profound sources of human life? No. He was a literary emperor!
His Anandamath novel poem ‘Bande Mataram’ was adopted as India’s national anthem by the Indian National Congress in 1937. Durgeshanandini, the first meaningful novel of Bengali literature, after the publication of this novel, a new era was introduced in the genre of Bengali fiction. How much is known?
Anyway, like a pilgrim, I ran with a happy heart to the home of this sage, the supreme master of modern Bengali literature. Built in the style of a palace, a literate house of high taste. It is not allowed to take pictures inside the library, museum or house, so you have to stand outside and pose. I don’t like posting pictures of myself over and over again, but how can I bear witness to something great? Thanks for reading.
Toronto, Canada
