Bengal remembers Sister Nivedita on her 154th birth anniversary

Kolkata: The 154th birth anniversary of Sister Nivedita was observed with due solemnity across the state amid the pandemic situation.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: "Tribute to Sister Nivedita, social activist & educationist, on her birth anniversary. She believed that service to mankind is the true service to God. She played a significant role in the education of girls & took care of the poor during the plague epidemic in Calcutta in 1899."

She further tweeted: "The house of Sister Nivedita in Bagbazar, Kolkata, and 'Roy Villa' in Darjeeling, where she breathed her last, were renovated by #GoWB and handed over to Ramakrishna

Mission."

Her statues on Southern Avenue and at Sister Nivedita High School were garlanded on Wednesday morning. There were webinars where the speakers paid rich tribute and talked on her life and work. Following the initiative taken by Mamata Banerjee the house at 16 A Bosepara Lane, the house where Nivedita stayed and opened her school on November 13, 1898 in presence of Maa Sarada and Swami Vivekananda was acquired and handed over to Sarada Mission. A museum has come up at the site. Banerjee has also donated a full size statue of Nivedita which will be installed at Wimbledon. She was present at the function when a Blue Plaque was put up at 21 A, High Street where Nivedita had opened a kindergarten school.

Sister Nivedita had a very close connection with the Queen of the Hills. She had visited Darjeeling 7 times. She even breathed her last and was cremated in Darjeeling.

"Roy Villa," located on Lebong Cart road, Darjeeling, where Sister Nivedita had breathed her last on October 13, 1911, now houses the Ramakrishna Mission Nivedita Educational and Cultural Centre (RKMNECC).

An ailing Sister Nivedita accompanied by Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose and his wife Abala Bose had arrived at the Roy Villa on Lebong Cart Road, Darjeeling in October 1911 to spend the Puja vacation.

On October 13, she passed away in this house. She was then cremated at the Darjeeling crematorium. After returning from the USA in 1925, Swami Abhedananda set up a Ramakrishna Vedanta Ashram in Darjeeling and erected a memorial at the crematorium. The marble plaque at the memorial reads "Here repose the ashes of Sister Nivedita, who gave her all to India."

Lack of proper upkeep had resulted in the steady dilapidation of this memorial. In 2018 the Darjeeling Municipality had announced a renovation programme which failed to take off.

"Despite knocking on several doors nothing happened. We then approached devotees and well wishers. With the fund generated the memorial along with other memorials at the crematorium were renovated" stated Swami Nitysatyananda of the RKMNECC.

The floor and railing of the memorial along with her statue were repaired. A fresh coat of paint applied. A strong glass cover has been installed. Work was completed in February this year.

Both the Roy Villa and the memorial have emerged as pilgrimages for many visiting Darjeeling from all over the world.