13 Cornwallis Street: A house that connected the luminaries of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj

Yesterday, while passing by Bidhan Sarani I found a group of laborers trying to pull down a century-old building, opposite the Sadharon Brahmo Samaj. With the pressure of a growing population, and its consequent real-estate flourish in the city, such a sight is not so uncommon to us anymore. We keep losing our links to the city’s not so distant past in this manner, almost every day. Like most aficionados of Calcutta's history, I too have accepted this reality and resigned to its fate. Yesterday, though, I just could not ignore what I saw and move on. I realized the need to photograph this very important structure of our city's history, probably for the last time. In this post, we will travel back in time and attempt to explore the past of 13/1, Bidhan Sarani (originally 13, Cornwallis Street).

13/1 Bidhan Sarani can primarily be identified as the birthplace of Sukumar Ray. Leela Majumdar  in her biography of her illustrious brother mentions that Sukumar was born in a large building, opposite the Sadharon Brahmo Samaj, locally known as 'Lahababuder Bari'. Majumdar further mentions that Sukumar's siblings, with the exception Subimal, were also born at 13, Cornwallis Street. This includes Sukhalata Rao, Punyalata Chakraborty, Subinoy Ray and Shantilata Chowdhury, all established children's authors and illustrators. They all flourished around 'Sandesh', the periodical founded by their father Upendrakishore Roychowdhury. However, the story of 13, Cornwallis Street, is simply not limited to Sukumar and his siblings.

By 1878, the Brahmo Samaj, founded by Raja Rammohan Roy exactly half a century ago, was already divided into three factions. The newest among the three was formed that year by Shivnath Shastri, Dwarkanath Gangopadhyay Anandamohan Bose and others. The proverbial baton of social reform movements and cultural production had thus passed onto the hands of these 'firebrand' youths and would remain with them for the next few decades. The church of this new faction came up near the Kali temple at Thonthone (now 211, Bidhan Sarani). Prominent members of the Samaj soon began to settle in the locality around the Church, earning it the moniker 'Brahmo pally'. The house opposite to the church belonged to the Laha family. The Lahas were a prominent business family who owned three other mansions on the same road. They rented out 13, Cornwallis Street to the Sadharon Brahma Samaj for hosting important functions. As Rajnarayan Basu recalls in his memoir ‘Sekal o Ekal’, 13, Cornwallis Street was the venue for his famous speech, ‘Hindu Samajer Baishisto’. Radharaman Mitra also contemplated that Nabagopal Mitra, who was known for his ‘nationalist’ endeavors, had founded his National School’ in the same premises. Nabagopal’s venture however, like his other attempts, did not continue for much long. His National School soon gave way to Thakurdas Chakraborty’s ‘Calcutta Training Academy’. As Prashanta Kumar Pal resolves Rabindranath Tagore had initiated his school career here, at the Calcutta Training Academy, and not at Normal School, as the popular perception goes. Tagore’s experience though was not a very pleasant one, as he had later elaborated in his memoir ‘Jibansmriti.

13, Cornwallis Street had briefly housed another school called the ‘Brahmo Balika Bidyalaya’. This school was founded by Dwarkanath Gangopadhay, a renowned social activist and Brahmo leader, particularly known for his struggle to further the cause of women. David Kopf believed that Dwarkanath’s journal ‘Abalabandhav’ was probably the first in the world to devote itself solely to the "liberation of women". Brahmo Balika Bidyalaya was in fact the second school founded by Dwarakanath. He had earlier started the ‘Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya’ in 1873, which later merged with the Bethune School. A few years after the death of his first wife, Dwarkanath married Kadambini Basu, the first women graduate from the Calcutta University. Dwarkanath fought alongside Kadambini to secure her admission at the Calcutta Medical College. They eventually succeeded, and Kadambini became one of the first women to receive a degree in medicine in India. After their marriage, Kadambini and Dwarkanath settled at 13, Cornwallis Street. A few years later, Bidhumukhi, Dwarknath’s daughter from his first marriage, also settled there with her husband Upendrakishore Roychowdhury, on the first floor.

Dwarkanath, meanwhile, had also started campaigning against the poor state of the coolies in the tea gardens of Assam. Ramkumar Vidyaratna, another prominent figure in the Indian anti-indenture movement, and often Dwarakanath’s companion in these tea garden surveys, would also at times put up at ‘Lahababuder bari’, when in Calcutta. Both felt that their reports from these surveys merited publication and needed to reach the public. Consequently, Dwarakanath, with the help of his friends Krishna Kumar Mitra, Heramba Chandra Maitra, and Kali Shankar Sukul, laid the foundation of a periodical named ‘Sanjivani,’ to endorse the cause of the coolies. Sanjivani would later become a mouthpiece for the nationalists during the Swadeshi period, but its first copies were published from 13, Cornwallis Street.

Punyalata Chakraborty’s memoir also informs that Upendrakishore was already experimenting with photography and photo-developing, by setting up a dark-room, during his days in the house. Later, Upendrakishore was to attain fame for his contributions to printing and children’s literature, but by that time he had moved to Sukeah Street, and then to Garhpar. That journey though must be reserved for another blogpost.

Suggested Readings

Amar Datta, Assam-e cha-kuli Andolon o Dwarkanath

Chandak Sengoopta, Rays before Satyajit

Gagan Chandra Home, Atmasmriti

Hemantakumar Adhya, Sukumar Ray

Leela Majumdar, Sukumar Ray

Punyalata Chakraborty, Chelebelar Dinguili

Radharaman Mitra, Kolikata Darpan

 Upendrakishore's Portrait by Jyotirindranath Tagore, courtesy: Sourit Dey