HERITAGE BUILDING

Heritage status demanded for Sabitri Lodge

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 21: Demands being risen from different quarters to declare the age-old Sabitri Lodge at Patakura in Cooch Behar as a heritage building and the government to renovate it. Heritage Society of Cooch Behar is getting ready to proceed with the demand. Once, the great patriot Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das stayed here for several days. Now, the decayed building is known to all as Bhoot Bungalow.

 

Sabitri Lodge was the residence of Kumar Gajendra Narayan (Senior), who was the great grandson of Maharaja Harendra Narayan. Kumar Gajendra Narayan was a barrister. He had gone to England with the then Maharaja Nripendra Narayan (at that time who was a minor boy) in 1878. After being qualified as Bar-at-Law at the age of 25 he joined Calcutta High Court in 1881. He had married the second daughter of Brahmananda Keshav Chandra Sen on 13 August 1881. The elder daughter, Sunity Devi was married to Maharaja Nripendra Narayan and following that marriage the Brahma society of Bengal got divided.

 

The construction of the residence began in 1885-86. Bangababu, a follower of Keshav Chandra Sen sent lime for the construction from Dhaka by waterway. Sabitri Devi wrote the story of the house building in her autobiography. Gajendra Narayan named the house after his beloved wife as Sabitri Lodge. There were a prayer hall and a dinning room on the first floor and living room and bathrooms in the ground floor.

 

A normal school was set up at Sabitri Lodge to teach moral education to the boys and girls. A technical school was established in 1908 for local womenfolk. Arya Naree Samaj and anti-liquor consumption society were also launched here. The building turned into a shelter for the preachers of Nava Bidhan sect of Brahma society.

 

After the demise of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan on 18 September 1911 the situation turned bad for Kumar Gajendra Narayan. He and his family members had to go on exile following a complaint of theft. On behalf of them renowned barrister Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das came to fight the legal battle. He had to stay at the lodge for many days. After four years the royal State government withdrew the charges but Gajendra Narayan never returned to this house.