THE NEST BEFORE 38/2 ELGIN ROAD

In Bengal, every Bengali who lives in the big city can point out his or her ‘desh-er baari’, the ancestral village from where the family migrated.

In Kolkata, one cannot escape the shadow of Bengal’s bravest son, Subhas Chandra Bose – ‘Netaji’ to his fellow Bengalis. Subhash Chandra Bose was born on 23rd January 1897 in Cuttack in Odisha to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Dutt Bose. In 1909, Janakinath Bose would built a house at Elgin Road in Calcutta, where Netaji lived in his formative years. It was this house that was the center of his political activities and it is from here that Netaji escaped from house arrest in 1940. As a result, it is this house that is most associated with Subhash Chandra Bose and is now a museum called ‘Netaji Bhawan’.

While the Elgin road house is thronged by Netaji’s admirers, not many from Kolkata have taken the hour-long drive to Netaji’s ‘desh-er baari’, in the village earlier known as Kodalia. Located around 25 kms south of Kolkata, it has now been renamed ‘Subhashgram’ In honour of its most illustrious resident.

In his unfinished autobiography An Indian Pilgrim (1997), Netaji traces the family’s lineage across 27 generations, to one Dasarath Bose, who founded the clan. Eleventh in descent from Dasarath was Mahipati Bose, who found favour with the Sultan of Bengal and was granted a jagir (estate or land grant) in a place near the Bose ancestral home. The village came to be known as Mahinagar.

Mahipati’s grandson Gopinath Bose served as Finance Minister to Sultan Hussain Shah in the Bengal Sultanate. Gopinath was given the title of ‘Purandar Khan’ and granted a jagir in a place that is still known as Purandarpur.

Back in the day, the river flowed close to Purandarpur but, as often happens in Bengal, the course of the river changed, leading to problems with communication, which prompted Purandar’s descendants to move to a neighbouring village called Kodalia.

The Boses who migrated to Kodalia probably lived there for at least ten generations. Twelfth in descent from Purandar was Netaji’s grandfather, Haranath Bose. Haranath had the family home built in 1760 on 10 cottahs of land, and it was named ‘Haranath Lodge’. Of Haranath’s four sons, Netaji’s father Janakinath migrated to Cuttack in search of a career in the 1880s. Netaji was born there on 23rd January 1897.

The Bose family was both rich and influential, and was responsible for a number of charitable and public works in the village. Among these was a charitable dispensary that started during Netaji’s time. About 3 km from the family home is a group of temples that still belong to the Bose family.

Spread over a large area, Haranath Lodge appears to have been built as a number of separate blocks. The Durga Dalan with its grand entrance is to the south-west of the residential quarters. It is a single-storey structure, with broad columns and a corrugated roof that is probably a recent addition.

The house itself is a simple, two-storey affair, with arches and wooden rafters holding up the roof. Cast-iron railings, typical for the time, are seen on the balcony of the upper storey. In the courtyard, a quaint little granary continues to stand, a testament to the days when agriculture formed part of the family’s income. 

In Subhasgram today, Netaji is everywhere. There are schools and libraries named after him and busts have been installed all across the village. Local residents are justifiably proud of ‘Subhaser Bari’ being in their village. To this day, on 23rd January, the house attracts visitors from all over India and even the world.

The famous Haranath Lodge could not stand stable with the test of time. However the State Archeology Department is in continuous effort to make it one of the major tourist attractions which could serve as a research area for History lovers as well. Until then, Haranath Lodge waits patiently, nestled in the vibrant green of Bengal’s lush countryside.

On this auspicious occassion of Netaji's birthday, lets take a short detour of his Elgin Road Residence:

Reliving through these pictures one could feel a real essence of Old Bengal Rajbari of a wealthy aristocratic family.

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