Skip to main content

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.


#netaji #ancestralhome #subhaschandrabose #jankinath #kodalia #haranathlodge #subhasgram #villagestories #ruralindia #ancienthistory #ancientpast #folktales #folklores #myths #mystictales #unsungstories #abandonedsecrets #theunheardsecrets
Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown23 January 2021 at 16:15

    Correct usage of phrases at appropriate places..keep up the good writing little girl 🙂

    ReplyDelete
  2. Naina Sethi23 January 2021 at 16:40

    Superb ritika

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Unheard Secrets23 January 2021 at 19:10

    Thank u so much

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rekha Sethi23 January 2021 at 20:14

    Excellent Excellen
    Giving such a detailed information on Netaji on his birthday is really a good task... Keep writing like this... Thank u for this wonderful piece of information...

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Unheard Secrets23 January 2021 at 20:58

    Thank u so much

    ReplyDelete
  6. avi9424 January 2021 at 09:13

    Befitting tribute to one of the greatest leaders on the face of this country 👍

    ReplyDelete
  7. Unknown24 January 2021 at 09:25

    Bharat mata Ki jai

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ROHA- FROM RICHES TO RUINS

In the vast territories of Kutch , on top of a forlorn hillock stands the fort of Roha . Once the biggest jagir in the region,it now stands  neglected and forgotten. A close observer in the tragic death of 120 princesses , the seat of brave rulers, home to famous artists, a once burgeoning and rich principality, this is a story of riches to ruins as tempests of fate took charge of Roha and reduced the stone fortress to whispers in the wind. Roha was considered as the biggest jagir   (estate) in Kutch , consisting of 52 villages. But now it stands aloof, silent and abandoned. This glorious Roha fort was established in 1510 by Khengarji-I's younger brother, Sahebji , on receiving the jagir of 52 villages. The place henceforth came to be known as Roha . Pramod Jethi , the curator of Aina Mahal , Bhuj , stated that Sahebji's 8th generation, Thakur Noganji Singh completed this fort in somewhere around 1730 . Other renovations we're further implemented by...
Post a Comment
Read more

TEJAJI-THE UNSUNG HERO

Stories form a very important part of our culture. These small folktales get somewhere hidden beneath the great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata , which is relived again in those small lanes in the form of folklores. The story of a brave warrior who is considered the pride of Rajasthan . This unsung legend is still worshipped in the town of Nagaur , Rajasthan , who laid down his life for the sake of protecting his villagers. Localites believe Tejaji to be an incarnation of God, who will free them from all troubles and pain. The folkgod of Rajasthan , Tejaji was born in the year 1704 in the family of Dhaulya Gotra Jats . His father Taharji was the chief of Khadnal district and his mother was Sugna who is believed to have conceived Tejaji by the blessings of Naag devta (snake god). Since his sacrifice for life was associated with cows, the people of Nagaur built several cowsheds in his memory, instead of temples. The local folks believe that Nagaur never face...
13 comments
Read more

Viseshakacchedya Vidya- The Soul behind SHRINGAR

In ancient times, cosmetics were used not just for enhancing outer beauty, but to attain punya , ayush , aarogyam and anandam . Do you know that cosmetology, that is, the skill of using cosmetics, has always been a part of our culture. This ' chatushashti ' art forms like painting, dance, drama, music and sculptures is a part of 64 arts ( chausath kala) which were used to be practised since ancient times. It is believed that the ancient science of cosmetology was born in Egypt and India. Things related to cosmetology, were used during the Indus Valley Civilisation as well. In those times, both women and men were equally conscious about  their appearances. In the timeframe of Indus valley civilisation, kohl (kajal) was applied on the eyelashes and below the eyebrows. During those times, the method of preparing kajal was quite natural. Aside from its asthetic appeal, kajal was originally worn as a form of protection for the eye. The belief was that darkening around the lids cou...
Post a Comment
Read more