Sister Nivedita and Sister Christine’s house located at 16 (and 17) Bosepara Lane in Bagh Bazaar had become a rendezvous of sorts for many eminent Calcuttans of the day. Here we take a brief look at some prominent persons who came in touch with Sister Nivedita.
With Rabindranath Tagore
Nivedita’s relationship with Tagore, that was at once mutually respectful as well as strained and complex, warrants greater discussion, particularly because of latter’s gigantic stature in the Bengali (and Indian) society of the day.
Rabindranath had closely interacted with Nivedita over the years – at least till 1905-06. During one of their early meetings he had requested her to take responsibility of teaching his daughter in the manner of the English people. Nivedita rejected the idea and in ways particular to her scorned at the Poet’s notion of wanting to mould her daughter’s life on the foundation of foreign ideals. The Pestalozzian in her, knew well that any true education moves from familiar to unfamiliar and can be built only on one’s own familiar cultural ideals. Rabindranath had also offered her space in the Jorasanko House for conducting a teacher training school, but this too she declined.
While Swami Vivekananda was alive Nivedita had organised a tea party at her Bosepara house where she had invited the Swami and some prominent Calcuttans including Rabindranath. This is perhaps the only recorded meeting of the two titans of Modern India. The meeting went well though Nivedita had sensed some tension in the ambience not any worse than dhe was already prepared for, as there were several Brahmos on one side and Vivekananda on the other. Tagore regaled his companions by singing a few of his compositions.
In 1904, Nivedita and Christine along with the Bose couple, visited the Tagore’s country home in Silaiadaha in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). She stayed there for a few days at the year-end and probably a few days of the new year. She lived on the Tagore houseboat ‘Nagar’ on the river Padma, viewed sunrise from the sandy banks of the river, and visited the house of poor peasants of the area, who were mostly Muslims. She also saw the simple household items they had and with her keen aesthetic sense admired the beauty of their wares. The womenfolk were charmed by the artless affection the two ‘memsahibs’ dressed as ‘Sadhu-Ma’ showered upon them.
It was at Siliadaha that Rabindranath narrated to her the rough plot of a story he had in mind which he wanted to develop as a novel. This was Tagore’s much-acclaimed (and longest) novel ‘Gora’, which he began writing a few years later and published in 1909 (initially serialised in a journal). Tagore himself had a different ending to the story in mind but he later recounted in a letter that Nivedita was quite upset at the ending which was tragic and bore the victory of racial prejudice in the society. She, said Tagore, prevailed upon him to change it, making it idealistic and happier which he eventually did. It is widely thought that Nivedita herself served as a prototype for the male protagonist of the novel who had Irish parentage.
When Jagadish Bose and Nivedita were in England, the scientist persuaded his poet friend to allow his short stories which were then published as ‘Galpo-Guccho’ in English. He knew that Tagore’s poetry, songs and plays were very difficult to be interpreted in another language and believed that short stories stood the best chance. Nivedita had learnt enough Bengali to be able to translate three of Tagore’s ‘Cabuliwala’, Chhuti, and ‘Dena Pawa’ into English – becoming the first English translator of Tagore’s short stories. However, the British publication, Harpers, where Bose had sent these stories did not think their readers would be much interested in stories from Indian settings – this seems strange, particularly when the English readers were lapping up stories set in India from the Bombay-born Kipling. So the project did not see the light of the day at that time. Unfortunately, other than ‘Cabuliwala’ the translations of the two others were lost forever and ‘Cabuliwala’ saw itself in print after Nivedita’s passing away in the ‘Modern Review’. It is notable that by that time a few other Bengali writers had translated this story but Tagore chose to go with Nivedita’s translation almost unchanged.
Sometime around this Rabindranath had sent his son Rathindranath to an excursion of a group of young boys planned by Nivedita, to North India under Swami Sadananda, a disciple of Vivekananda. The aim of the excursion was to provide exposure to broader strands of Indian culture through visit to various cultural and pilgrim sites in North India.
Nivedita, Rabindranath, and a few other friends like the Boses and historian Jadunath Sarkar went together to Bodh Gaya in 1904. There they were the guests of the local Mahant at a time when a major controversy was on rage about claims on the place between Buddhists and the monastic lineage of Sankaracharya to which the Mahant belonged. While she was there, Nivedita seemed to have entered into the spirit of the past experiencing wonderfully intuitive insights about Indian history. She enthralled everyone with her powerful thoughts. The group meditated outdoors in the morning often regaled by Tagore with his songs.
They visited the village where it is supposed Sujata had offered food to the future World Teacher at a crucial moment of his life. Nivedita was enthralled at the ideal householder that Sujata personified five centuries before the Common Era and the lofty Indian values of serving the ascetics and spiritual seekers practiced in this land for millennia. At the time of leaving Bodh-Gaya, Nivedita become very emotional and on the last night of the stay wept profusely, brooding over the failure of the country in even being conscious of its past greatness and glory, and the present state of slumber in which it had fallen.
Around this time Tagore had also sent his son Rabindranath on an excursion trip to North India planned by Nivedita along with Swami Sadananda, a disciple of Vivekananda. However afyer 1906 or so interAction between Nivedita and Tagore had eeduced considerably. Also, Nivedita spent considerable time in the last four years of her life from 1907 to 1911 in the West.
After Nivedita’s death, Tagore wrote a long tribute to Nivedita published in the Bengali journal ‘Prabashi (origonally in Bangla)’.
“I had felt her great power, but with all that I understood that her path was not for me. She was a versatile genius, and there was another thing in her nature – her militancy. She had power and she exerted that with full force on the lives of others. When it was not possible to agree with her, it was impossible to work with her.”
While being aware of the differences in temperaments of both of them, Tagore clearly was deeply moved by her sterling humanism. He writes in the same tribute :
“He who had seen her, has seen the essential form of a human being, the form of the spirit. It is a piece of great good fortune to be able to see how the inner being of a person reveals itself with unobstructed and undiminished energy and effulgence, nullifying the obstruction of all outer material coatings or impediments. We have been blessed in that we have witnessed that unconquered nobility of a human being in Sister Nivedita.
Tagore, in the same article hailed Nivedita as Loka-Mata (Mother of the Masses) : “She was in fact a Loka-Mata. We had not seen before an embodiment of the spirit of motherhood which, passing beyond the limits of the family, can spread itself over the whole country.
Scholar Debanjan Sengupta has referred to a conversation just a few months before Tagore died. On 23rd May 1941, to an interlocutor, Tagore very candidly revealed his mind (decidedly thoughts greatly evolved as they were spoken with a distance of three decades of Nivedita’s death) about a very important dimension he thought was the motive-force for Nivedita’s life and work in India. The Poet is said to have remarked :
“Women possess a thing which exists in their hearts – that is Emotion. When it merges with character and takes a shape, it becomes something astonishing. Nivedita had exemplified this. She truly worshipped Vivekananda. Hence she effortlessly adopted his religion. Giving up her country, her kith and kin and all, she came to this country. She loved this country and the countrymen with all her heart. How profoundly true this love was cannot be described in terms of words. She had poured out her soul. This courage and self-dedication on her part astonished me. I often visited Nivedita. Whatever she had, she gave away to poor children. I am an eyewitness to the fact that bananas were kept hanging in her room and she quenched her hunger with them.”
Sri Aurobindo
Aurobindo had been in touch with Nivedita ever since their first meeting in Baroda in 1902 when she had urged him to relocate to Calcutta from Baroda where she thought his talents would be much more fruitfully employed for the nationalistic cause. He had read her book ‘Kali the Mother’ which had made a favourable impression on him.
During that time Aurobindo had been touch with several revolutionary societies that had come up in Bengal- particularly the large umbrella network called the Anushilan Samity, and was a member of a coordination committee of this network of which Nivedita too was a member.
At a later time, in 1910, the two again came in close association, when Aurobindo was released after the famous Alipore Case trial that ended his year long incarceration. He had, after a few months, gone into exile (first at Chandenagore and later a permanent retirement from public affairs to Pondicherry) he gave the responsibility of his journal ‘Karmayogin’ to Nivedita, who edited the last few editions till the paper was suspended by the authorities. In one such edition she gave to her countrymen what can be taken as her ‘Mantra of Nationalism’.
I believe that India is one, indissoluble, indivisible. National Unity is built on the common home, the common interest, and the common love.
I believe that the strength which spoke in the Vedas and Upanishads, in the making of religions and empires, in the learning of scholars and the meditation of the saints, is born once more amongst us, and its name today is Nationality.
I believe that the present of India is deep-rooted in her past, and that before her shines a glorious future.
O Nationality, come thou to me as joy or sorrow, as honor or as shame! Make me thine own!
Sri Aurobindo later famously remembered Nivedita as Agni-Shikha (Blazing Flame)
Gopalkrishna Gokhale
While Nivedita did not quite agree with the approach taken by those termed as the ‘Moderates’ in the National Congress of whom Gokhale was the pre-eminent representative, she, at the same time, never shied away from praising the latter’s efforts and helped him in any ways she could.
Many important figures of the National Movement in those times were close to Nivedita and though she clearly had a greater proclivity for what was the stand of those who were generally labelled as Extremists in the National Congress – chiefly represented by Tilak, Lajpat Rai, and B.C. Pal, on a personal level, she had a closer friendship with Gokhale. Gokhake used to stay in Calcutta for long periods on account of his membership in the Imperial Council and during those times he was quite a regular visitor to the Bagh Bazaar house. The Maharashtrian leader was also very friendly towards Christine who was closer to his temperament than the generally stormy Nivedita. When, in 1905, Nivedita was down with life-threatening meningitis, Gokhale, who was to become the President of the National Congress later that year, took turns with Sister Christine to nurse her.
Nivedita, with her characteristic candour, often expressed dissatisfaction towards the concessionary politics practiced by Gokhale, but praised him generously whenever he made an impact in the Council. For the furtherance of the national cause she presented him with several letters of introduction during the latter’s visits to Britain with leading opinion-makers there.
Shri V.V. Pendse, scholar and founder of the well-known educational and youth development institution Jnan Prabodhini in Pune, has collected and published 23 letters written by Nivedita to Gokhale. They began correspondence sometime in early 1903 and it continued for several years.
Even though their thoughts on the nationalist politics around the anti-colonial struggle might have been different, Nivedita and Gokhale, shared a close and mutually respectful friendship.
When Nivedita had passed away Gokhale recalled :
“Sister Nivedita’s was a wonderfully striking personality – so striking indeed, that to meet her was like coming in contact with some great force of nature. Her marvellous intellect, with lyric powers of expression, her great industry, the intensity with which she held her beliefs and convictions and last but not the least, that truly great gift – capacity to see the soul of things straightaway – all these would have made her a most remarkable woman of any time and in any nation.”
Sir Jadunath Sarkar
Nivedita had been in good terms with the eminent historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar and as mentioned before had travelled in a group with him to Bodh-Gaya that included the likes of Rabindranath Tagore and Jagadish Bose. Later Sir Jadunath remembered Nivedita in a moving passage :
“Many of our educated countrymen – I narrate it with shame – used to call on her at every hour of the day and disturb her meditation and work, thoughtlessly, out of a frivolous spirit of enjoying the fun of talking to a remarkable newcomer and a ‘pucca memsahib’ too! Some begged for money at the end, or letters of recommendation to someone in power! Very few offered her the assistance of their own labour or money.”
Subramaniam Bharati
A very powerful impact Nivedita had was on the great Tamil nationalist poet Subramaniam Bharati. Bharati when he was just 23, met Niviedita in Calcutta, and in that one meeting itself Nivedita stamped on his mind a great vision of “Bharatvarsha’. She also imprinted on his mind lofty ideals of conjugality and womanhood, which also made Bharati a champion of women’s empowerment in the later part of his short life of 38 years. Bharati retained and cherished this inspiration for rest of his life. He acknowledged Nivedita as his Guru and described, while dedicating a volume of his verse to her, what he gained from that meeting: “As Lord Krishna revealed his mighty form to Arjuna and explained the state of Atman, the Guru showed me the form of Bharat Mata in its completeness and taught me to love my country. I dedicate this slender volume at the flowery feet of my guru.” Bharati, it seems from a more detailed account on this meeting, was not just speaking figuratively – he, quite likely, had a very powerful experience and a vision that stirred his senstive poetic being to its depths.
That Bharati was immensely beholden to Nivedita is reflected in the verse he composed on her :
An offering to grace, a temple of love
As a sun that dispels the darkness in my heart,
As benevolent rain to my thirsty land,
As unbounded wealth to the destitute,
As a burning flame to the bondage of slavery,
Exists Mother Nivedita, at whose feet,
I bow in adoration.
Nivedita also contributed articles to ‘Bala Bharatam’, the journal edited by Bharati.
Dineshchandra Sen
Dineshchandra Sen is not a familiar name in Bengal of the present day, let alone in other parts of India. But he had made a momentous contribution in the general program that was most dear to Sister Nivedita which may be described as ‘self-awareness and assertion of India’s national soul’ through his masterly work ‘History of the Bengali Literature.’
Nivedita had worked closely with Dineshbabu when he gave shape to this work. She assisting him to write this book in English, helping Sen sift through vast material he had at his disposal, sometimes even overriding Sen’s own views and prevailing upon him when she thought some idea or presentation might possibly produce a negative notion about India among foreigners. When the work was complete she asked Sen not to mention her as a contributor in any way. Dineshhbabu, after Nivedita’s death, movingly remarked that he had only heard of selfless work in the Gita, but not seen anywhere except in Sister Nivedita.
Other leading luminaries of Bengal – Rashbehari Ghosh, Surendranath Banerjee, B.C. Pal, P.C. Ray among others, regularly interacted with Nivedita and held her in great respect. Rashbehari Ghosh in the Memorial Meeting held at the Town Hall after Nivedita’s demise said:
“If the dry bones are beginning to stir, it is because Sister Nivedita breathed the breath of life into them. If our young men are now inspired with a burning passion for a new, a higher, a truer and nobler life the credit is in no small measure due to the lady who has been so prematurely called away from us. An India united in civic purposes, proud of its past achievements, proud of its contribution to the civilization of mankind, and destined to render still higher service to humanity was the ideal for which she worked. And who can say she worked in vain? Who can say she has not made the steps easier for those who will follow her?”
Nivedita had close interactions with several eminent westerner of the time. California based researcher Gopal Stavig has extacted details of some such interactions.
Lady Minto
In the last years of her life, Nivedita had a visit at her Bag Bazaar house by two ladies – one American and the other British.
When the conversation between the visitors and the host had already proceeded some distance, the British lady revealed that she was the wife of the Viceroy, Earl of Minto. Nivedita was surprised but also charmed by the humble and gentle personality of Lady Minto who having heard of her work and life, was visiting her incognito. The Lady suggested that Nivedita’s school could receive a government grant, a suggestion to which Nivedita promptly declined. The Vicerine also invited Nivedita and Christine to tea at the Government House which the two Sisters accepted. Apparently, the goverment surveillance on Nivedita, like the watch over her interactions and movements decreased after this.
Lady Minto who had already visited Kalighat but did not carry too favourable an impression of the place, was suggested by Nivedita to visit the other great Kali temple north of the city at Dakshineshwar. Nivedita accompanied the Vicerine to the hallowed precincts of the temple and also took her to the room where Sri Ramakrishna lived and met all his devotees and visitors. Lady Minto was very happy with the visit. Nivedita had a positive opinion of her husband as the Viceroy after the disastrous stint of Lord Curzon. She thought (exoressed in a letter) thst Minto was trying his best to undo the great damage his predecessor had done.
When Nivedita passed away Lady Minto fondly remembered her in a letter to Sister Christine :
“It is with very real regret that I read in the newspapers of the sad loss that has been sustained in the death of Sister Nivedita. I cannot resist sending you a few lines of very deep sympathy, and not only for yourself but for all the Indian community for whom she was working. Sister Nivedita had a wonderful personality, and I look back to the few meetings I had with her with pleasure, and with real admiration for her enthusiasm and single-minded desire to assist others. The world is poorer for her loss, and for you her constant companion and helper the blank she leaves must be irreparable.”
Ramsay Macdonald
She also received another illustrious person several times at her Bagh Bazaar residence during this period. Her friend Henry Nevinson had sent with a letter of introduction Ramsay MacDonald, who, even at that time, was seen as a charismatic political figure from the Scot highlands, and had made a considerable reputation for himself as one of the pioneering leaders of the Labour Party which came into being around the turn of the century. He was greatly impressed by Nivedita’s personality and spent much time with her discussing India, not merely its politics but deeper matters like its life ideals, philosophical streams etc. MacDonald went onto become the British Prime Minister for two stints – first in 1924, and yet again between 1929 to 1935, leading the country through years of the Great Depression. Due to ill-health he stepped down from his post and within two years passed away.
William Jennings Byran
Sometime around 1906-07 Nivedita received an American visitor, William Jennings Bryan at the Bagh Bazar house. Bryan was a champion of Indian independence and published a book ‘British Rule in India’ severely criticizing the exploitative colonial regime. He also lamented the lack of efforts of the colonial government towards providing basic literacy and education to the poor classes of India. Bryan stood for The United States President election three times and served as the Secretary of the State under President Woodrow Wilson during the crucial years of the First World War.