Before the year 1972, Bengalee Association, Bihar knew nothing about the existence of a house of Bidyasagar somewhere in Bihar in a village named Karmatar (then Dumka district). Neither it had any plan to advance the cause of Bengali education in Bihar by bannering the face known since childhood with an epithet of ‘Joshure Koi’ (Anabas of Jessore, or the twister, ‘Koshure Joi’) due to his big head. Rabindranath has always remained the foremost universally revered figure and self-identity for a Bengalee. To push matters through the bureaucratic warps in the secretariat of Bihar government, Rabindranath’s name helped much more than Vidyasagar or Rammohun for the leaders of Bengalee Association.
Nor it had any inkling that someday this legend of childhood struggle for learning against poverty, great writer of legendary Bengali primer ‘Barnaparichay’, educator, social reformer, acclaimed ‘Sea of kindness and compassion’ and stern hero of national self-respect will give it an opportunity to be proud with the possession of his retreat which was also his later ‘workstation’ – rather signifying the outreach of Bengal renaissance – of this ‘Karmaveer’.
It was the month of September in the year 1972. In Patna, renowned physician, leader of the toiling people and later three times MLA from Patna Dr. A. K. Sen rang Guru Charan Samanta in the morning. Guru Charan babu, then a college teacher was a member of Citizen’s forum led by Dr. Sen and also an activist of Bengalee Association. Getting an idea of the matter involved, Guru Charan babu came to Dr. Sen’s house not alone, but with the general secretary of Bengalee Association and then editor, publisher of Behar Herald, D. N. Sircar, popularly known as Mantu Sircar or Mantuda. In the house of Dr. Sen, they met another person, Satyen Sen, then vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. He was also an activist in the campaign for abolition of illiteracy and involved with the publication of Vidyasagar’s works, much of which becoming unavailable in print by then. It was a time of renewed interest in Bidyasagar in West Bengal, with a concern that the memories of Vidyasagar have not been preserved properly either in his village Birsingho or in Calcutta. He proposed that Bengalees in Bihar should make an endeavour to find out an abode of Bidyasagar somewhere in an obscure village named Karmatar on Calcutta-Delhi main rail line, see in what state it is, who is its owner presently and try to get it preserved.
Bengalee Association, had first, to find a logic. What justification was there to make expenses from its meagre funds in this direction. His being moderniser of Bengali prose, would not strike the members, struggling for Bengali textbooks, Bengali teachers in schools and apathy of Bengalee middle class in persuading their children to learn Bengali, their mother tongue. His being a educator, opener of schools, female schools, moderniser of the courses of studies or being great social reformer legalising Hindu widow remarriage may make him a great Bengalee to make us proud, but Bihari-Bengalees could not be enthused to struggle for education in mother tongue by pointing towards his obscure house somewhere in the district of Dumka. Hence, though a cult-figure, except his being the writer of Barnaparichay (longest-existing primer in any language), and moderniser of the alphabets, no other work would go well with the then proclaimed aims of Bengalee Association, Bihar. That was thought out, then and there, and a decision was made that Guru Charan Samanta and Narendra Nath Mukherji will make a trip to the place to find out the whereabouts of the house. They went to meet Dr. S. M. Ghosal. Though Bibhuti Bhushan Mukhopadhyay, the famed litterateur from Darbhanga was the president of the Association then, Dr. Ghosal, himself a culture enthusiast, always extended his helping hand for all activities of Bengalee Association. He gave his car to the team, as no train from Patna on the main line stopped at Karmatar and also gave three hundred rupees to meet the travelling expenses.
A brief of the journey is available in the report submitted by N. N. Mukherji on 26. 9.1972. English translation of that report was published in Behar Herald dated. 31st March 2018.
After submission of the report by N. N. Mukherji, the general secretary of the Association, D. N. Sircar sent a letter on 5.10.1972 to Jitendra Nath Mallick of Mallick family of Calcutta who were owning Nandan Kanan at that time. the reply came promptly, on 23rd and it raised hope that the property could be acquired. In fact, the Mallick family was not able to maintain the property of Nandan Kanan properly. The ancestor of the family, to whom the property was sold by Narayan Chandra, the son of Vidyasagar, made the purchase as a mark of his respect for the latter. For that purpose, on the advice of one of his friends, he also gave some thousands of rupees to a doctor and asked him to go to Karmatar and open a free medical clinic there. But that doctor was a cheat. Later the Mallicks came to know that the doctor raised some more money locally at Karmatar on false assurances of opening a clinic and then vanished. Hence now they were eager to sell the property. After receiving the letter, an executive committee meeting of Bengalee Association, Bihar was held at Chapra on 26.11.1972 and Vidyasagar Memorial Committee was formed. Deb Kanta Barua, the then governor of Bihar was made the chief patron of the committee of eleven persons. Bibhuti Bhushan Mukhopadhyay was made the president and Satyendra Nath Chakraborty was made the secretary. Vice presidents were Satyen Sen, mentioned earlier and Partha Sengupta, Joint Secretary of Pashchimbanga Nirakkharata Durikaran Samiti, Calcutta. Some eminent persons of Jamtara and Mihijam including Arun Kumar Bose, a reputed lawyer and Hanuman Sao, the Mukhiya.
While the process of acquiring the asset at Karmatar was on, a letter was also sent to government of Bihar on 28th January 1973, signed by local eminent persons, businessmen, teachers, headmasters, lawyers and other residents of Jamtara and Karmatar, requesting the government to acquire the asset and develop it as a ‘National Memorial in the name of Vidyasagar’. It was also proposed that a ‘school for the adivasis’, ‘a school of crafts for the women’ and ‘vocational training centre for women’ be started there. A continuation of the same petition was sent on 6th February with some more signatories. Care was taken that only local residents should sign. Among the signatories of the first petition were, Arun Kumar Bose, Baijnath Gutgutia, Narayan Chakrabarty, Bibhuti Bhushan Choubey and Khagendra Nath Sarkhel (Secretary and President, Bengalee Association, Jamtara), Ganga Bishun Lal, C. M. Chaturvedi and many others. Twenty-eight names included leaders of various political parties and government, including railway, officials. The second petition had names of almost all the Mukhias of local gram panchayats.
It appears that government was not interested in acquiring the property itself. Hence on 29th April 1973 a meeting of Vidyasagar Memorial Committee was held at Jamtara presided by Bibhuti Bhushan Mukhopadhyay. Secretary of the Committee S. N. Chakrabarty, Secretary of Bengalee Association, D. N. Sircar and others were present. In the meeting, the ongoing negotiations with the present owners of Nandan Kanan was reported. The sending of petitions by local residents (as mentioned above) was also reported. On 29th April the Committee paid a visit to Nandan Kanan and “took detailed measurements of the land and the building so that professional advice regarding the valuation could be obtained.”
Though professional valuation was obtained on 8th June 1973, which vindicated the price quoted by Mallicks, then owner of Nandan Kanan, earlier, continuous persuasion of the matter had made the sellers agreeable to settle the deal for Rs. 24,000/- only, but they insisted that the deal should conclude latest within March 1974 (their letter dated. 23rd May 1973, recd. On 1st June 1973 at Patna).
On 26th September 1973 a public meeting was organised by Patna branch of Bengalee Association, Bihar at I.M.A. Hall, Patna to observe the birth anniversary of Pundit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The meeting was presided by Prof. Rangin Chandra Haldar and inaugurated by Pundit Harinath Mishra, Speaker, Bihar Bidhan Sabha. In that meeting an enlarged Vidyasagar Memorial Committee was constituted:
Patron : Shri R. D. Bhandare, Governor of Bihar
President : Shri Bibhuti Bhushan Mukhopadhyay
Vice President : Dr. Satyendranath Sen, Vice Chancellor, Calcutta University
-do- : Dr. S. M. Ghosal
Secretary : Shri S. N. Chakravorty
Members : Pandit Harinath Mishra, Speaker, Bihar Vidhan Sabha
Smt. Aziza Imam, M.P.
Shri Dhruba Gupta (Dumka)
Shri Hans Kumar Tiwari (Gaya)
Shri Phanishwar Nath “Renu” (Patna)
Dr. Jogesh Chandra Banerji (Patna)
Shri Partha Sengupta (Calcutta)
Shri Hanuman Sao, Mukhia (Karmatar)
Shri Arun Bose, Advocate (Jamtara)
Dr. Parimal Banerji (Mihijam)
Shri Santosh Kumar Mazumdar (Patna)
Shri Narendra Nath Mukherji (Patna)
Dr. G. C. Samanta (Patna)
Shri D. N. Sircar (Patna)
Dr. Anant Lal Thakur, Shri K. P. Jaisawal, Smt. Mrinalini Ghosh, Prof. Gopal Haldar, Shri Chandra Shekhar Singh and others delivered speech in the meeting and paid their tributes to Vidyasagar (from the news published in Ananda Bazar Patrika on 28th September 1973)
On the suggestion of the Pandit Harinath Mishra, Speaker, made during his inaugural speech, the meeting adopted the following resolution:
“Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, one of the builders of Modern India, spent the later years of his life at Karmatar in Santhal Parganas in Bihar. He built a house of his own there and devoted himself to the service of the local people in various ways.
“The Vidyasagar Memorial Committee, sponsored by the Bengalee Association, Bihar has drawn up an ambitious scheme to perpetuate the memory of this great son of India. The Committee has decided to purchase the house of Ishwar Chandra, since sold out by his inheritors, to create a trust there and locate a health centre and vocational and training centre for the Adivasi women, a school for the Adivasi children and to sink a deep tubewell for supplying pure drinking water to the people of Karmatar. The Chief Minister of Bihar has assured full co-operation of his government in the implementation of the Memorial scheme of Ishwar Chandra.
“This meeting of the public men of Patna on the occasion of birth anniversary of Vidyasagar resolves unanimously that it would be in the fitness of things to change the name of the “Karmatar” Railway Station (E. Rly.] to “Vidyasagar” and urges upon the Union Government and the Union Ministry of Railways to take steps for the renaming of the Railway Station.”
In the meeting itself, a coupon of rupees one was launched to collect money from the public. First coupon was purchased by Pandit Harinath Mishra and there and then, in the meeting Rs. 2,536/- was collected. Drive advanced all over Bihar. In the meanwhile, in continuation of earlier request made to the government for adequate financial assistance, a letter to Education Commissioner, Government of Bihar by Secretary, Vidyasagar Memorial Committee on 6.11.1973, specified a sum of grant for Rs. 20,000/- only.
Bihar government finally sanctioned Rs. 15,000/-. But the grant was sanctioned on 30th March 1974 vide. Memo No. 516 signed by the Joint Secretary of the government. Fund was available in the first week of April. In the meanwhile, by taking temporary loans the purchase deal was finalised and registered on 29th March 1974.
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There are evidences of numerous correspondences and meetings with the government asking assistance in connection with the project. A report by the Secretary of Vidyasagar Memorial Committee, S. N. Chakravorty dated 9th February 1976, is comprehensive enough to get a sum-up of activities in the initial years. I quote it from Para 3 onwards:
3. The property was purchased in March 1974. Financial assistance from the government of Bihar to the extent of Rs. 15,000/- was received.
4. The Committee has the following projects in view which can be executed only with the help of the government: -
To start a Girls Middle School within the spacious compound;
To start a Women’s Vocational Centre in the same compound;
To start a Maternity Centre within the compound;
To instal a tank for supplying drinking water to the people of Karmatar within the compound;
Change the name of the Railway Station Karmatar to Vidyasagar;
To request the Government to construct a metalled road between Jamtara and Karmatar, a distance of about 19 KM; and
To operate centres for removal of illiteracy all over Bihar.
5. Negotiations till date with the Government of Bihar: -
SCHOOL
At the instance of the then Education Commissioner a preliminary survey was made to ascertain if there was a need for a Girls School. The people of Karmatar felt the need for such a school and on hearing that the Vidyasagar Memorial Committee had a project like that they handed over to it a representation. That with the report was submitted to the Education Department on 26.11.1973.
Advised by the Education Commissioner, the Committee wrote on 26.11.73 to the District Education Officer with a request to start a school within the compound. No reply was received.
The District Inspectress of Schools was approached on 25.4.74 with a similar request giving the details of the previous communication. No acknowledgment or reply was received from that end.
Education Department by their Ref. No. 1208-1209 dated 4.5.74 (copy to the Committee) wrote to the D.E.O., Dumka about our request but there has been no further development. Unless the Education Department takes firm action the project cannot materialise.
WOMEN’S VOCATIONAL CENTRE
There has not been any negotiation in this aspect so far.
Presumably, it will fall under the Small Scsle Industries Department. We request for assistance from the government.
MATERNITY CENTRE
There has not been any negotiation in this respect so far. This perhaps will come under the Department of Health Services. Assistance from the Government is earnestly requested. There is a great need for this project in that backward area.
SUPPLY OF DRINKING WATER
Bihar Water Development Corporation, 23, Pataliputra Colony, Patna – 13 was approached on 29.11.73 to sink tube-wells in the compound of ‘Nandan Kanan’ at Karmatar and was reminded on 12.1.74. There was no acknowledgment from the Corporation.
A representation dated 27.8.74 from the people of Karmatar to utilise the water of the rivers Gunidih and Mahajan by a suitable project for supplying drinking water was submitted to the Chief Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department by a letter dated 14.9,74. We supported the representation and personally explained the position. It was further pursued by representing before the then Minister-in-charge. No acknowledgment or reply has been received.
CHANGE IN THE NAME OF RAILWAY STATION OF KARMATAR TO VIDYASAGAR
On 16.11.73 representation was made before the late L. N. Mishra, the then Railway Minister, to change the name as per resolution unanimously adopted at a public meeting at Patna on 26.9.73.
The Eastern Railway and the Railway Board were approached with similar requests.
Both of them replied that this request had to be supported by the Government of Bihar and agreement by the Home Ministry of the Union Government.
A representation dated 9.3.74 was submitted to the Chief Minister to support our proposal and drew his attention on 8.4.74. The Government of Bihar recommended the change. A reminder was sent on 6.12.74.
Chief Commercial Superintendent, Eastern Railway and the Secretary, Railway Board were reminded on 14.1.75 that the change in the name had not been effected.
Railway Board’s attention was again drawn on 2.4.75.
The Railway Board wrote on 31.3.75 that they had received no advice from the Home Ministry of the Union Government and advised us to move the State Government.
Attention of the Secretary to the Chief Minister was drawn on 25.6.75 explaining the position and not having received any reply a reminder was sent on 15.1.76.
A representation has been made to the Chief Minister separately narrating the position.
ROAD CONSTRUCTION BETWEEN JAMTARA AND KARMATAR AND NAMING IT AFTER VIDYASAGAR
We have not made any request yet though the same was conveyed in our representation dated 8.8.75 to the Chief Minister. The present road is only fair-weather. An all-weather road will considerably help to improve the economic condition in that backward area.
LITERACY CENTRES
A number of such centres are now functioning but want of funds is a great handicap. With some assistance more work can be effectively done.
……………………
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We have in hand a booklet named Gurudakshina dated 27th February 2011. Now it is commonly known among Bengalee people of Bihar and Jharkhand who knows about the existence of Nandan Kanan near Vidyasagar railway station in district Jamtara, that Gurudakshina is an annual programme of celebration of the day, 29th March, on which the house of Vidyasagar was purchased by the then Bengalee Association, Bihar and now maintained jointly by Bengalee Association, Bihar and Bengalee Association, Jharkhand through a joint committee, Vidyasagar Smriti Raksha Samiti.
In that booklet, there is a brief chronology of events given in Bengali.
1978 – On 2nd October 1978, Hon’ble Education Minister (Secondary) Shri Ghulam Sarwar, while inaugurating the Adult Education Programme of Government of Bihar at Karmatar, announced that the government has recognised Vidyasagar Balika Madhya Vidyalaya as Unfinanced [Vittarahit] Minority School. He accorded approval to Bengalee Association to run 120 Adult Education Centres.
1978 – As a result of efforts made by the Association, after receiving consent from Government of Bihar, Railway Ministry renamed Karmatar railway station as ‘Vidyasagar’.
1993 – Shri Shyama Prasad Mukherji (our respected Shyamada), renowned lawyer of Patna, had arranged installation of a marble bust of Vidyasagar at Nandan Kanan. Shri Bimal Chandra Basak, Chief Justice, Patna High Court unveiled the bust.
1994 – From September this year till May 2000, the school [Vidyasagar Balika Madhya Vidyalaya] could be run due to financial aid by Bishwakosh Parishad, Kolkata. During that period, Partha Sengupta of Bishwakosh Parishad was the secretary of the School Committee. ‘Bhagavati Bhawan’ was constructed by the financial aid of Bishwakosh Parishad and Pather Panchali (Kolkata).
A building for the school was partly constructed by the ‘Vidhayak Fund’ of local MLA Shri Shashanka Shekhar Bhokta.
1994 – Shri Subhash Chakraborty, Hon’ble Sports and Transport Minister, Government of West Bengal, donated on behalf of ‘Friends of Stadium’, rupees one lakh to the Association to run the school.
2000 – After formation of Jharkhand state, the school is being run mainly by the assistance of Jharkhand Bengalee Association, Jamshedpur branch.
2008 – Ms. Chameli Chatterji of Jamshedpur donated forty thousand rupees to construct the room for Vidyasagar Charitable Homeopathic Dispensary. Dr. Chinmay Chakraborty renders free service there as a medical practitioner every Friday.
2009 – Smt. Ramala Chakraborty, on behalf of Pather Panchali, Kolkata has donated five lakh rupees to the School Deposit Fund.
2010 – Shri Parbati Kinkar Roy, Kolkata has donated rupees ten thousand to purchase medicines for the Charitable Homeopathic Dispensary.
This chronology raises some questions. Why the decade of 80s is completely missing in this chronology? Till which year the Adult Education Centres ran? How the Balika Vidyalaya ran during these years? One will have to go through the minutes of the state level meetings and conferences of Bengalee Association, Bihar and that of its Jamtara branch. But at present those are not available.
We have a book, Voluntary Effort in National Adult Education Programme in Bihar, An Appraisal written by Sachchidananda, K. K. Verma, Manohar Lal and Rajeshwar Mishra. The book, a research work of A. N. S. Institute of Social Studies, Patna was published in April 1981 by Debesh Dutta of Arunima Printing Works, Calcutta. In the chapter listing ‘Voluntary Agencies’ the name of Bengalee Association, Bihar, Patna is there in number 20. Year of starting NAEP (it was under this programme that Bihar government undertook opening of AECs) by BAB is given to be Feb. 1979. Though the chronology quoted from the booklet Gurudakshina mentions that the number of AECs approved by Hon’ble Education Minister (Secondary) Shri Ghulam Sarvar to be 120, the book being quoted now enlists AECs sanctioned to BAB to be 60. Total number of AECs functioning as on July 1979 are given to be 61. In which total number of learners are given to be 1835.
From personal memory I can recall that there was a list of eminent citizens of Patna, Kolkata and elsewhere who were regular donors for Nandan Kanan Vidyasagar Balika Madhya Vidyalaya during the 80s. But no further programme of development of the premises could be undertaken. On the one hand there was no further assistance or initiative from the government to Nandan Kanan project, on the other hand, there was another project rising during that period in Patna. As always in every organisation like Bengalee Association, the number of dedicated workers are handful. During the 80s of last century, the possibility arose of creating a Bengali Academy in Bihar. Firstly, to put pressure on the government, BAB itself formed a Bangla Academy and then, on 12th May 1983, Bihar Bangla Academy was established by Bihar government. First chairman was Bibhuti Bhushan Mukhopadhyay, already president of Vidyasagar Memorial Committee. General Secretary of Bengalee Association, Bihar, D. N. Sircar died in December 1981. Next man to him, Prof. Guru Charan Samanta was appointed Deputy Director of the Academy. That was a glorious period of the institution. With proficient guidance from the Directors, firstly Gopal Haldar and then Abhas Chatterji, IAS, Academy published many important books and organised international seminars. Though a stalwart like Prabhu Dutt Mukherji became the General Secretary and Bengalee Association, Bihar it appears that not much could be done to develop Nandan Kanan. In Jamtara also, the most active person behind Nandan Kanan project, Arun Kumar Bose was busy in other matters. He was nominated to be the candidate for MLA from Jamtara by one political party and was elected; though lost the seat after a legal battle. All these developments added to the woes of Nandan Kanan.
By the beginning of 90s, the team in Bihar Bangla Academy changed. Prof. Guru Charan Samanta was elected the General Secretary of Bengalee Association in 1991. Activities at Nandan Kanan appears to have received a thrust, as a result of which we see in the chronology quoted above that in 1993, a bust of Vidyasagar was installed in Nandan Kanan. We have a newspaper report published in The Hindustan Times, Patna dated 3rd October 1993, titled “Fitting Tribute” written by Purnendu Mukherjee. The report is being quoted in full below:
“FITTING TRIBUTE
“On the unveiling ceremony of the statue of noted reformer Vidyasagar at Karmatar on the occasion of his 173rd birth anniversary recently
“It was the morning of September 26. The sky was overcast and it had been raining since dawn. At about 9 O’clock the rain stopped. The crowd had been increasing steadily. One could see the century-old house, Nandan Kanan, surrounded by extensive grounds. A well decorated stage had been erected to the left of the house where a marble statue was covered with a piece of red cloth. The backdrop of the stage proclaimed “Vidyasagar Janmotsav, Bihar Bengalee Association”.
“Vidyasagar, who was the very epitome of the spirit of renaissance, the symbol of secular humanism, and the pioneer of modern education, had drawn away from the noisy urban life of Calcutta to spend his last days in this house in the small town Karmatar. One of the most active reformers of the nineteenth century, he had embraced the poor, simple and illiterate tribal people of this remote village as a close friend would. He would take a box containing homeopathic medicines, move from house to house providing free medical treatment. The tribal men and women used to come to his house every day and his courtyard used to reverberate with their song and dance.
“That day the statue of this legendary figure was to be unveiled by the Chief Justice of Patna High Court, Mr. Bimal Chandra Basak. Several intellectuals and political leaders from West Bengal and Bihar were to grace the occasion. The marble statue brought from Calcutta had been donated by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, president of the Advocates’ Association and a senior advocate of the Patna High Court.
“The people of Bengal and Bihar owe much to Vidyasagar. Bengal and Bihar became two separate states in 1912, but the children of the two states had gathered together on the same dais that day. Certainly, it was the bond created by Vidyasagar that had brought them together.
“Justice Bimal Chandra Basak dwelt on the relevance of the concept of justice in the concept of modern life and said that Vidyasagar had realised that only mass-education could lead to social justice.
“The artistes of Jamtara presented a cultural programme after which crowds of tribal men and women dressed in their best attire offered floral tributes to the statue – a sight enough to send a thrill down the spine and bring tear to the eyes. Vidyasagar is a god of action – “Karam-devata” – to them. They have been worshipping for generations the cemented dais marking the spot where Vidyasagar sat every day.”
After that we see that the funds started coming, institutions from Kolkata and Jamshedpur started to take interest in running the school and buildings began to be constructed. Turn of the century and division of the state in Bihar and Jharkhand prompted the Association to begin a new phase of Nandan Kanan project.
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State of Jharkhand was created on 15th November 2000. Till the year 2009, Bengalee Association, Jamshedpur branch and persons/institutions from Kolkata provided a good part of the required donations. The booklet of 2011 from which the brief chronology of past decades was quoted, also gives in a para the “Present condition” (i.e., in 2011). It says:
“There are approximately 150 students in Vidyasagar Balika Madhya Vidyalaya. Eight teachers (one trained) are working in the school since long on meagre wages.
“Effort is being made to run the school only through hard-earned donations.
“Application has been submitted (with forms etc.) to Jharkhand government to get recognition for the school as financed minority school.
“In absence of proper security, bricks of the outer wall of Nandan Kanan campus are being stolen; the campus has become insecure.
“Rupees four lakhs have been sanctioned for construction of building from the MP Fund of Shri Shibu Soren, MP, Jharkhand.
“Shri Mrinmay Das Bose (Chinsura, Hooghly, WB) is getting the lavatory constructed.
“Biswakosh Parishad and Al-Helal Mission, Kadambgachhi, Barasat, WB have donated rupees twenty-five thousand for repair of the house of Vidyasagar. They have informed that they are trying for more.”
The booklet also has a three-point future programme:
“Construct permanent wall of brick and mortar all around Nandan Kanan anyway, to stop encroachment.
“Collect donations to build a ‘deposit fund’ of rupees twenty lakhs to relieve the running of the school from the pains of sole dependence on donations.
Make Nandan Kanan a National Pilgrimage, to pay Gurudakshina to Vidyasagar.
The collections for construction of wall were made in right earnest and part by part, whole of Nandan Kanan premises are now walled and protected. But the school could not be saved, as local families having girl children got disinterested. Not only because of paucity of funds. Main reason was that the school was not English medium and the time has changed; number of English medium private schools are there now in Karmatar and nearby villages.
Opening of an English medium school at Nandan Kanan was also discussed, but it has not fructified.
But regular visits and programmes, particularly of Gurudakshina on 29th March, death anniversary of Vidyasagar on 29th July and his birth anniversary on 26th September changed the ground level situation in Karmatar during the last decade. Competitive programmes with school children, cultural programmes, sports, Prabhat-feri, sowing of saplings, seminars, medical and eye check-up camps etc. increased public attraction over the years.
That is why, when the programme of celebrating the 200th birth anniversary of Vidyasagar in a big way came at even the informal discussion level, many drastic changes began happening.
Firstly, Vidyasagar Smriti Raksha Samity was made a registered association, to make the framework of functioning disciplined.
An exchange of land was effected on the southern side of the campus, with the immediate neighbour, thereby getting motor access way inside the campus; the old small gate has been permanently closed. A gate has been constructed.
Then, during the preparations for 200th birth anniversary:
Nandan Kanan Parichalan Samity worked efficiently to pursue the district authority of the government and succeeded to get the inside lanes repaired, tiled, and beautified. Lights were also provided.
The block of Karmatar was renamed as Vidyasagar block with six villages/
Railway authority had earlier put a portrait of Vidyasagar on the platform. Now they have constructed a Vidyasagar Park outside the station premises and installed a bust of Vidyasagar there. Walls of the railway station have been decorated with pictures depicting episodes of life of Vidyasagar and his sayings. The station gate welcomes the people in the name of Nandan Kanan.
Within the campus, the house of Vidyasagar has now an exhibition on the life of Vidyasagar. There is provision for night rest and meals for the visitors. Regular visits by tourists, specially from West Bengal has increased its popularity. Nandan Kanan is now a known tourist destination.
District level government institutions and agencies now use Nandan Kanan as venue for workshops almost regularly.
It is hoped that the project Nandan Kanan will develop further in future.
