Voyage from Village to Versity

By Anandamoy Manna

This book depicts the journey of a village boy from his village to becoming a University professor. This book will be an inspiration for underprivileged people to achieve their goals by successfully crossing all their hurdles in life. It also throws some light on the society's economic condition of the mid-20th century and early 21st century. There may be a few spelling and grammatical errors along with some information that might seem irrelevant to some, which may be forgiven. This autobiography has been penned by the author under his utmost belief in God and Divinity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers
• Release date: Nov 14, 2023

Book preview

Preface

This is the tale of journey of auto biography of a villager. The village ambience of his birthplace and consequences of cyclone and man made famine made disturbance in treading.

However by the grace of almighty all the hurdles were removed. As surface of water is not still but weavy, the amplitude varying in ponds and seas the journey was performed in education,service and serving mankind as Siva Jnane Jiva seva preached by Swami Vivekananda imbibed in him by his Guru, Thakur Ramakrishna and later inspired by Sri Sri Ma. Such wave nature had been faced. Some times association of people gave praise and sometimes distress in the way of life.

Jay Thakur - Ma-Swamiji.

Remembrance

Swami Akhsarananda

My Parents (Late Harisadhan Manna, Late Kamala Manna)

My Aunt (Late Bhabini Manna),

Late Asok Kumar Ghosh,

Late Brajanandan Sinha,

Late Bijoy Gopal Dhua, Late Dipak De

Part 1

According to the available ancient literature India existed since 3.891101million years ago before Christ when the famous Satya Jug began. India was under the reign of different dynasties at different times until Mongol invasion under Chingis Khan took place in 1221 AD.

Then different muslim dynasties reigned till 1765 when the English got first access in reigning certain parts of India which gradually culminated into British rule in India until 1947. On August 15, 1947 India got independence from British rule. Constitution of India comes into force on January 26, 1950.

India holds a strategic position in the map of Asia. On the west across Arabian sea and Indian ocean are Arabia and Africa while on the east across Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean are Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and the Indonesian Archipelago.

On the north the Himalayas separate India from Tibet, China, USSR. It is to the north of equator between 8°4' and 37°6’ north latitude and 68°7’ and 97° 25′ east longitude. The prolific fertility of the Gangetic belt acts as such an irresistible attraction to outerworld that hordes of people flocked into India through the mountain passes from time immemorial.

India measures 3214 Kilometers from north to south and 2933 kilomites from east to west. It’s total land area is 3287263 square kilometers having land frontier 15200 kilometers and coast line 7516.5 Kilometers. India possesses all major land forms hills, mountains, plateaus & plains. India is divided into states and union territories.

In one such state called West Bengal in the district of Bankura, Bishnupur subdivision, Joypur police station, Salda Anchal there exists village Nabasan by name. There lived twenty odd families living on agriculture.

Some cultivated their lands themselves, some used labourers for cultivating their land and some acted as daily labourers. Through middle of the village there stands an earthen road, called Kuli through which just a bullock cart can move connecting to other villages in the south and on the north it connects a metalled road named by Ahalya Bai Road through which buses, cars,trucks ply regularly. It is said that Rani Ahalya Bai arranged for construction of the road for the benefit of pilgrims to Puri and South in her time of reign. On the eastern side of the Kuli are the dwelling houses arranged serially, in the northernmost point there is a shrine of Ma Basuli, Dharma Goddess, and in the southernmost point there is a Shrine of Lord Siva named Baba Baidyanath in between these two main shrines there are two small shrines for Ma Sasthi and Ma Manasa.

On the western side of the Kuli there area series of ponds through the length of village and a large range tank called Khirdighi exsists in the west side of the ponds catering the need of irrigation to agricultural land.

On the eastern side of the dwelling houses there lies the land used for agriculture, the small eastern stretch of agricultural land consists of dojami, meant for double crops paddy during July- October season and then vegetable oil seed, wheat, during December to May.

After that stretch of dojami lies Sali jami where only one crop paddy is grown. In that village there lived a farmer family consisting of two brothers Ramsaran Manna, Harisadhan Manna their widowed oldest sister Bhabini Manna brother having a wife each consisting of five members.

This middle class, farmer family lived on agriculture happily. This dwelling house was mud built thatched with corrugated tin sheet. It was a two storied house consisting of four rooms with a veranda at south, there was another floor of small height where agricultural yealds except paddy were preserved in earthen pots.

The first floor could be reached by mud staircase but the second floor hall could be reached with the help of a bamboo ladder. There was a kitchen house consisting of three portions.

In first portion there was a husking pedal to produce rice from paddy. In the second portion there were two hearths, one having one oven and the other with two ovens. Another structure suitable for straining excess water from boiled rice.

Third portion was a small room meant for keeping cooked food. In the first portion where there was husking pedal, the rest place was used for eating. At that time is 1940's all cooking utensils were earthen.

Perpendicular to the kitchen room was another attached hall meant for cows waiting place at day time and a room use as parlour.

The complex is surrounded by a mud wall the thatched with the hay, within the complex there was Tulsi plant, the abode of my Lord Narayana On the south of the complex there was a large vacant place for thrashing out different agricultural crops and a mud built cowshed. On the eastern side of the complex there was a small pond meant for rough use. This dwelling house was connected with the Kuli by a small road through which a bullock cart can move.

The two couples had no children. At that time if any woman could not give birth to a children she was considered as sterile. The couples having no children were morose. The family possessed 22 bighas of land ( 1 bigha = 20 katha=1600square yard = 14400 square feet).

The family was well maintained with the yield of this land. From paddy rice was prepared in the home itself. The excess paddy was sold for the expenses of the family such as grocery, clothings,medicines and house-hold materials.

I was born on February 3rd, 1942, of Harisadhan Manna and his wife Kamala Manna. My birth had brought joy in the family as they were spending long time in childless condition. I was maned Anandamoy, the Bengali meaning of joyful.

After 2 years, my sister Durga was born on March 20, 1944. When my sister was 1 year old, my mother died of meningitis. My pisi( paternal aunt) had reared us. Some lady would come to our house to feed Durga with her breast milk.

That year was famous as was famous as Banglar Manwantar due to devastating storm, cyclone, and flood having following epidemic and associated man made famine as bulk of the yield crop was captured by British for the ration of their soldier posted in Bengal on the occassion of world war.

As my jethi (father’s elder brother’s wife) died, I understood that our family consisted of five members, my paternal uncle, my father, aunt(pisi) , myself and sister Durga.

We three (myself, Durga and pisi) used to sleep in a bed. A chatai (coarse mat made of date leaf) was spread on mud floor, over it kantha (patched cloth) and three pillows were spread. Pisi slept in the middle of the bed and with her face upwards, holding me by left hand and Durga by right hand. We used to hold her hands till we slept. Pisima told us later when I and Durga fell asleep only then my pisi would lie at ease. Such was her concern, love, attachment for me and Durga.

We had to depend on cow milk and sometimes on goats milk. We had heard that my aunty also reared my father when their mother, our grandmother died when my father was five years old. My aunt (wife of myfather's elder brother), also died before I am of age to understand worldly affairs.

When I come to realise things, I could feel that we two (myself and my sister Durga) were the beloved ones of our aunt, father and elder brother of our father(Jetha). We two were very close to each other playing and spending time with our aunt and whenever our father and jetha return from agricultural work we two used to stand at the main door as if greeting them with smiles. We ate lunch and dinner together, my aunt serving us food. I would see my father and Jetha mixed mixed rice with daal and curry, offered the mixture to God by holding it in front head and then put it to mouth. I asked them itsreason. They told that it is by the grace of God that we are having food, so before swallowing it we should sacrifice it we should offer it to the almighty by whose kindness we are getting food. We two were the gem of our father, aunt and jetha. My pisi always wanted us to be very near to her. Our father, aunt, jetha did not think about our study till I was 6 years old loitering and playing with my sister in front our aunt rearing as a mother. I called her pisi but my my sister called her ma till the last days of my pisi whom she my sister served continuously at her old age till death snatched her away fro us.

Every evening we would suour father, jetha, returning home after field work washed their leg, handsand mouth, bowed at tulsi plant and then spent some time with folded hands sitting on a rugsheet seat repeating silently the mantra they got from their preceptor.

Seeing all these we had become spiritual-minded from our childhood. One evening, My father, jetha, aunt sat together discussing our mode of studies. Near the shrine of Ma Basuli, there was a pathshala where a teacher would take classes in the morning and in the afternoon.Till then we enjoyed free life and did not show any inclination to go to pathshala.

My jetha had a friend named Kiranmoy Ghosh in adjoining north village Supur where lived in adjoining north named Sri Mohini Mohan Roy, looking after the health of the residents of near by villages. There was no medical graduate or diploma holder in nearby villages, hewas an aged experienced person without any formal medical degree or diploma and acted as a doctor.

He had compounder who was the postmaster of our post office Rahagram. In our localities a friend is called ‘sengat’ in Bengali and as a norm all the cousins of a sengat wre treated as sengat.

The cousin of my jetha’s uncles sengat Sri Bijoy Kumar Ghosh who was a physically handicapped bachelor, was the gurumosai (teacher) of own village pathshala.

Before attending pathshala a student should be given hate Khari, it was the norm. This hatekhari should be given by a so called prominent and educated person. On the north of Supur there was a village called Rajagram where lived Zamindars who were kayastha by caste.

If a Kayastha teacher would give hate- Khari then it was treated as bestway. My hate- khari was performed by Sri Harisadhan Raha. He was a kind hearted person, was kind enough to come to own house and give my hate-khari.

My guru the person who against hate-Khari to a child his education preceptor and sat on a rugsheet at Tulsitola where all home pujas are performed by own priest named Gouri pada Mangal, my aunt showed evening lamp every evening moped in the morning along with the whole compound of the house. After bowing their and to the guru the function started.

Bengali letters and bengali number were written on a slate. I held the slate and pencil as showing by my guru and he held my right hand holding the slate pencil with the right hand made me write with the above mentioned letters several times. There ended the function. My aunt fed me and my guru. My guru was offerred one ser of rice and my robalan (in Bengali it is called haritaki and a one rupee coin.

I had no intention to go to pathshala for study leaving behind my sister and aunt at home. Then they made a plan to make me attending the pathshala. It was winter season, at that time cake of date molasses was available which I like most.

My father told me that I need not read at the pathshala instead the gurumosai would give daily a cake of date molasses when I would eat which others would read and write. This I liked in the meantime my father gave some such cakes to our gurumosai which he kept in earthen pot hanging on a rope shelf.

There was no sitting arrangement in the pathshala for the students even for the teacher. We used to carry a seat made of palm leaves (in bengali it is called a chagrhi) and the books covered by a piece of cloth and bound by a cord.

In this way one month passed and the cakes are not available in the market but by that time, I had grown the affinity to attend the pathshala for study. There I studies four years starting with Pratham Bhag, Dwitiya Bhag, Dharapat, first book of reading. Where I read bengali text, english text, history, geography, arithmetic and hygiene. I was then prepared for admission to class V in High school. But the school was a bit away and amodar nod(river) was to be crossed,

Considering all these factors my teacher, jetha and father decided to study one more year in the pathshala. During the study at the pathshala we had several occasions to go to near by school Kuchiakol Radha Ballav Institution situated at Digpar village on the bank of a amodar nod.

During the festival of Saraswati puja there was jatra performance at the school premises every year during that period.

The school had earned a name in school education in Bankura district. It was the second oldest school in district established in 1862 after the establishment of Bankura zilla school in 1840. Its legendary teaching staff attracted students from far away and very good results were performed at the entrance, matriculation and school final examinations securing all candidates serving first division in some years, 1st portion in the district and division and is 1873 securing 1st portion in the state of Bengal which included not only Bengal but a large portion of Bihar and Orissa.

For the far away students there was a hostel for hundreds of students. Farmers from near by villages would sell rice, vegetables to the hostel authorities. My father and jetha used to sell excess potato, onion, gourd, pumpkin.

One of the cook Jadav Thakur belonged to our village. He asked us to attend the jatra. He wanted me to be a student of that school.

He was a bachelor, living in a small house near Kuatola(Bengali word meaning a place where a large masonary well quenching the thirst of the village where ladies fetched drinking water for their families).

He used to go the hostel in the early morning for cooking, cooked and served food to the boarders and some outside teachers who used to stay at the hostel.

He then took lunch and rest in a room and in the afternoon cooked and served dinner at night along with cook and helpers and return home at 9pm everyday.

I had been gentle and good student in the pathshala, English, Bengali, History, Geography, hand writing, Hygiene and in the afternoon session we are to work out arithmetic and lastly one of us was to dictate multiplication table, others repeated it or the teacher asked is small arithmetic problems which we were to answer on thinking without working on slate sometimes. The teacher taught all of us so meticulously and sincerely that he attracted respect from all concurred.

In our family my jetha was elder brother of my father older than ten years and my aunt was the eldest who was 10 years older than my jetha and 20 years older than my father.

My father being younger would not involve in domestic matters, expenses and incomes from selling agricultural product, he even did not want to know all the internal domestic financial situations.

He simply listened to his elder, brother, all financial matters was handled by my jetha. My aunt did all the domestic work of cooking, serving, washing, moping, bringing water from pond for cooking and from masonry will for drinking, cooking, entertaining family members, guests, relatives supplying items to the beggers with handful of rice.

We had no maternal uncles but my mother had maternal uncles. Their family looked after us as their own grand children. My uncles, father and assist had two maternal uncles the elder one Purschandan, Nandi loved and very very much. I and my sister used to visit their houses with our aunt and jetha mainly on different occasions.

I still remember my mothr’s grandmother whom we called boroma she was too old at our childhood that when we used to go her house with my aunt she embraced us by holding our hands on her both sides.

She could not well at that time and touched tenderly our dadus and didas (mother maternal uncles and their wives) would love us very much. In my childhood Iwas have and thin (till now I am of suchstature.

Our dadus were three brothers. We did not see our eldest dadu, he died. He had two sons Subal chandra De and Kinkar Chandra De, they were our maternal uncles, the name oftheir village is Ashurali, but the locality in which they lived were called Sindrepat.We had to go there on foot crossing Amodar nod, agricultural field, a small forest, then we caught hold of a road which led to their village.

In that village there was a shrine of Lord Shiva called Bhutnath. We used to gо to the shrine whenever we could with our dadus.

On the way there lived an ayurvedic practitioner named Amulya Bagdi a friend of our dadus. He used to do charms and incantations.He exercised us for our welfare.

On the east of Ashurali there was a village called Panua and Chhanua. Our chhotodadu's father-in-laws house was in Panua. We had gone there on occasion. In chhanua there was a shrine of Lord Panchananda we had a promise of hair offering to the Lord Panchananda.

We made my hair offering there after spending one night at Panua.

In Sindrepart there was shrine of Ma Manasa. On the occasion of Dasahara there were grand worships and jatra.

We used to attend that festival now and then. There were festivals held in honour of the Lord Bhutnath in Ashurali and Lord Baidyanath in our village in last week of the month of Chaitra called gajon in Bengali.

On way to Ashurali there was a village called Chatra where a Mohanta lived an ascetic managing property endowed for the support of an idol Ramji.

There a festival was held Raban kata Rath after Durgapuja when a jatra festival along with the Killing of Ravana by Ram were observed, My father, jetha, aunt had two maternal uncles in a villages east of Nabasan called Santra.

The elder one was Purna Chandra Nandi. He loved me very very much. We had another relative Sripathi uncle, a cousin of my father. We used to go their houses frequently on the occasion of Ras-jatra in a village Madanmohanpur with our aunt or jetha.

In village life, on the occasion of any marriage ceremony held in a family, all the family members were invited and the relative presented a pot of sweets and a sari or a dhoti for bride or bridegroom as the case may be.

In this way going and coming to relative house was popular in rural areas. In this process some of the nearby families of the relatives were also got acquainted with me and friendship was developed among boys of my age.

We had another relative in the village Tentulmuri where my father's cousin lived. In all these villages my friendship developed with others. I fell ill in Satra, then a doctor Parimal Ghosh visited and cured me and after that whenever I visited dadu Purna chandra Nandi I visited Dr. Parimal Ghosh also.

My dadu was affectionate that I used to accompany him always, while bathing, defecating, taking meal going to shop or field. He loved me so much that in later years when I was away from home for studies, whenever visited home he would come to see me. Later years while I started earning I used to offer him bus fare. Outside my family I got tremendous love from him.

In choudhuripara we had another relative Surja jatha, another cousin of my my father.

During my later pathshala days when I became conversant with arithmatick I used to accompany my father and jetha when they were going to sell paddy to whole-sale dealer of paddy by the side of metal road near Rajagram Sashibhusan Raha instiution established in 1882.

My father and jetha did not have any formal education beyond pathshala which was in vogue at their time so they took me for calculation of paddy sold. I was treated as a good boy in the pathshala, attentive as well as well behaved, right in calculation.

At that time we used palm leaves for hand writing by pen made up of reed and home made ink made up of soot and juice of a kind of creeper. Later on we used to make note book of full scape paper and write with a handled pen, a nib attached to a handle.

There were several wicked students who skipped the pathshala, they were searched and fetched by other students and gurumosai would cane them with twig of a bamboo or stinging plant. I had never faced such circumstances. I still remember two students who faced all these frequently.

In our village there were several festivals such as dasar gajon, of Lord Siva Baidyanath every year and gajon of Ma Basali after decades. In dasar better known dusshera several boys would take bari, and earthen vessel containing engraved earthen snakes, they would dance at some places of the village road where water was showered by elders, the place became muddy and the boys rolled over that. In the end they returned home after bathing in the the pond.

In village we used to invite all relatives and friends to attend the gajon festival every year. Let me give you an idea of that. We said that at the north end our village there lies the shrine of Lord Siva Baidyanath. The shrine is brick-built room with a flat roof and wooden door facing south. Every day the priest of our village would worship Siva. Occasionally devotees come to offer worship at that time nearly 9 to 10 am in the morning.

There is a terrace of about 3 to 4 feet wide surrounding the room. Gajon of Baidyanath is held every year in the last week of month of Chaitra.

From the First day of chaitra a brahmin cooks monui (it is bengali name of cooked rice with in glass). After the preparation, the brahmin dedicates monsi to the Baidyanath, Siva and then distribute.

We, at our childhood, flocked there with a bowl to get the monsi prasad. That tradition is going on till today. The gajon festival would continue for at least four days. On the first day male devotes performKamnetola, on the second day they perform Gamir Kata,on the 3rd day they perform Ratgajonat night and on the fourth day which is the last day of the month of Chaitra sometimes calledChaitra Sankranti, they perform Dinsgajon".

Male member of some families of Nabasan and surrounding villages would become devotes (in bengali he is called vakte), at that devotee period they leave their families and houses, wear new dhoti and take a new napkin, and a ratton stick (bet in bengali) before Kamnitola day they come to the shrine with flowers and wood apple leaves.

After bathing they are then converted to devotes by the the priest who worships Siva and offer a garland made up of a bunch of threads surrounding the next of teach of the devotes. They spend whole day at the shrine, return home in the evening to take habisya (boiled rice, vegetables with ghee) and come back to the shrine. Kamnitola is performed on Tuesday or Saturday night in such way that the fourth day falls sankranti. One devote becomes Patvakti (Bengali name of head of the devotes) he should belong to certain families.). The expenditure of the gajon is borne by the villagers.There are medium-sized drum party, fire work, on this occasion.

On Kamnetola night the vaktes, viewers, and musical instrument parties and the priest start from Siva Shrine walk through the kuli with playing on musical instruments to the northern end of Nabasan, where shrine of Ma Basuli is located.

Behind the shrine there is a pond called Biswas pukur (named after Biswas family of nearby Supur village) where ghatpujo is held near the steps to get down the pond. After that all the vaktes get down into the pond, fill up an earthen pot with water cover it by a sanctified napkin rolled up to cover the mouth of the earthen pot tightly and the pot is then placed on the head of the patvakte. All other vaktes surround him with their rattan sticks and walk towards the shrine of Baidyanath whimsically sometimes moving forward and some times backward. The viewers use to surround them along their travel.The Kuli is lighted by artificial light (called daylight or hajak light). Now the Kuli is lighted by electric light.

When the vaktes return to the shrine, the priest takes the pot from patvate’s head and keep inside the shrine. There ends the function. Next day the function is gamir kata. That afternoon the vaktes assemble at the shrine and walk to the near by village Hatgeria with chanting Siber charane seba lage joy baba mahadev".

During their devotte period they frequently chant this. The musical instrument parties accompany them and the viewers to that village. There is a tree called gamir gachh specifically earmarked for this function.

The priest perform worship beneath that tree and a branch is cut by a vakte and bring it to the shrine keeping it over their heads all the way. That day’s function ends there. Next morning a blacksmith from adjoining village Futkora come to Shibmaro and prepare minisal from that gamir wood which every vakte’s wife or mother) carry it in a sieve on the head, this day is the day of Ratgajon.

In the morning a part of the ceremony is held when a procession led by devottes accompanied with musical party consisting of drum, trumpet, flute etc go to Rajagram where zamindars live. The devotes (vaktes) invite them to gajon ceremony along with respectable persons of nearyby villages. They are considered as the villagers honoured guests. After inviting when they return the ladies of each house would take low wooden seat, a pitcher full of water, a napkin and a basket containing fruits available at that time and area such as banana, cucumber, guava, wood apple, custard apple,water melon etc. as they can procure on the Kuli rasta along which the vaktes are returning, the ladies specially housewives would kneel down in front of patvaktes stands on wooden mat, she would wash his legs with devotion, wipe away water from legs, bow down to the patvakte and offer fruits which the patvakte take in in his napkin.

This would follow for all the vaktes. All households perform this sacred duty to appease Lord Bidyanath Siva, pray for the welfare