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Swami Vivekananda's Home - A Heritage Site

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HinduThought, "Ashok Chowgule" <ashokvc@c...>

wrote:

Swami Vivekananda's Home - A Heritage Site

Author: Srijata Saha Sahoo

 

Publication: Press Information Bureau

 

October 1, 2004

 

URL: http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=4154

 

 

 

Kolkata has added another glory to its cultural heritage. Just

before

the 'Puja', the renovated ancestral home of Swami Vivekananda at 3,

Gourmohan Mukherjee Street, in North Kolkata, was opened to the

public

amidst much fervour and devotion and the cultural centre adjoining

has

been formally inaugurated by the President of India, Shri A.P. J.

Abdul

Kalam.

 

 

 

It took nearly five years to complete the restoration work of

Swamiji'

ancestral home, though the decision of turning it to a

memorial-cum-museum was taken in 1962. The edifice standing on 30

cottahs of land along with the newly constructed research and

cultural

center, the textbook library and the social and philanthropy

building

would soon turn into a notable site like Belur Math. According to

Swami

Bishokananda, who was in the charge of this project, the President

has

not only inaugurated the research-cum-cultural centre, he has also

formally opened the textbook library meant for students of Higher

Secondary and those who are pursuing graduate and post- graduate

studies.

 

 

 

The 18th century building was in a dilapidated condition, worsening

day

by day. The Ramkrishna Mission acquired it, along with an adjacent

plot,

in May 1999 through State government. A committee was set up-

comprising, among others, conservation engineers of Archaeological

Survey of India sto advise on the renovation and coordinate with the

agencies involved in the process.

 

 

 

The Centre, the State government as well as public donation to

Ramakrishna Mission, funded the Rs. 20 crore restoration project in

which the Central grant was Rs. 9 crore 90 lakh.

 

 

 

Ramakrishna Mission restored Swamiji's ancestral house without

changing

any of its original architectural features. It houses Swamiji's

birthplace, meditation hall (first floor) and museum, where some of

the

articles used by Swamiji, his father, mother and brothers are

preserved.

 

 

 

Swamiji was born in this house on January 12, 1863 as the eldest

son,

Narendranath, of Viswanath Dutta and Bhubaneswari Devi. His great

grandfather Rammohan Dutta originally built the house.

 

 

 

During Swamiji's time, the house was surrounded by a garden and

beyond

that there was a large open space. But in later years, owing to the

city's

growth and its ever increasing buildings, the approach road to the

house

got narrowed into a lane, now known as Gour Mohan Mukherjee Street.

 

 

 

Earlier a massive doorway opened to the street outside. The spacious

courtyard was bordered on two sides by the main building, which had

two

parts. To the right was a single-storey structure having rooms for

men-folk. Facing the doorway and across the courtyard, was the

two-storey ladies' apartment. The ground floor of this was used as a

kitchen and dining hall. Above this were dwelling chambers. The roof

of

this building served as the place where the ladies met, talked and

moved

freely. It was a small temporary shade on this roof that Swami

Vivekananda was born. This is now being turned to a beautiful

shrine,

where a rosewood simhasan carrying the photograph of Swamiji has

been

placed.

 

 

 

The untimely demise of his father made Vivekananda take the

responsibility of his mother and his two younger brothers-

Mahendranath

and Bhupendranath. Mahendranath was an avid traveller, while

Bhupendranath, was a patriot and was deeply involved in the Indian

freedom struggle for which he had to take refuge outside the

country.

Their rooms too have been preserved with due honour.

 

 

 

In one of the rooms in the ground floor, several musical instruments

like tabla, khol and tanpura were displayed. Swamiji sang well and

had

lerned the Indian Classical music from his father as well as

renowned

singers of the day like, Pt. Beni Adhikary and Ustad Ahammad Khan.

He

even wrote poetry for which he often composed music himself. Swamiji

quite often played these instruments.

 

 

 

The textbook library comprises books prescribed for college

students.

Textbooks following the syllabii of five Universities, viz. the

Universities of Calcutta, Jadavpur, Burdwan, Rabindra Bharati and

Kalyani are kept here. The library already has 5,000 titles on

different

branches of science, commerce and arts. The research center named

Vivekananda Research Centre is meant for conducting studies on

various

aspects of Indian culture, history, spirituality, the message of

Shri

Ramakrishna, Swaradama and Swami Vivekananda. It will have three

main

departments - Ramakrishna-Vivekananda studies, Religious Studies and

Cultural and Scientific Studies. The building where philanthropic

activities will be carried on is Rural and Slum Development Centre.

This

center will undertake studies on the problems of unemployment,

health

and sanitation in rural areas of Bengal.

 

 

 

An eminent British historian has described Swami Vivekananda as 'one

of

the main moulders of the modern world'. Indeed, many thought

processes

and social attributes of the 20th century show direct or indirect

influence of Swamiji, although it may not have been always

recognized as

such. He was essentially a man without frontiers and must be

honoured as

one of the architects of global unity in the years to come. The

present

generation is fortunate enough to be able to maintain his birthplace

as

a heritage building.

--- End forwarded message ---

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