Ramakrishna Math and Mission to release journal on Sister Nivedita on June 3

Few people know that T K Cheyne had reviewed Sister Nivedita's Master As I saw Him in the prestigious Hibbert Journal of London or that she was the first to translate Rabindranath Tagore's Kabuliwala in English.

Drupadi Eshona, a well known literary research magazine in its issue titled Sister Nivedita sesquicentennial issue has reprinted the most important write ups related to her. Swami Balabhadrananda, assistant general secretary, Ramakrishna Math and Mission will release the 505 page journal at a function in the auditorium of Vivekananda Society on June 3.

The Hibbert Journal had published the book review by the famous scholar T K Cheyne of Oxford University in its edition in January 1911. Nivedita was very happy to read the review and congratulated Professor Cheyne.

Nivedita was first to translate Tagore's Kabuliwala in English. It was Jagadish Chandra Bose who broke this news to Tagore who wanted to know the translator's name.

Bose, in a letter written to Tagore from England, refused to divulge the name of the translator's name as per her request but confirmed that it was not Mrs Williams. William Rothenstein got a copy of the translation and the rest they say is history.

The literary issue has been divided into three parts. The first part consists of essays on the works of Nivedita by scholars including Swamis Balabhadrananda and Shibapradananda, Raikamal Mazumdar, Susobhan Adhikari, Goutam Halder among others.

The second part is the reprint of articles by those who had seen Nivedita working in Kolkata. The writers include Dr RG Kar, Saralabala Sarkar, Hemendraprasad Ghosh among others. A tribute to Nivedita by his younger brother Richmond Noble after her death is also included in the book.

An unpublished letter written by Jagadish Chandra Bose to Jesophine Macleod on October 10, barely three days before Sister's untimely death in Darjeeling has added weight to the issue. Jagadish Chandra in his letter to Macleod had informed her that Nivedita's condition was deteriorating fast.

The letter reads: "What can I say? Nivedita is in extreme danger. The illness has taken a very bad turn, and in spite of Dr Nil Rattan Sirkar and the best medical aid, the case is getting worse every day. Pray for us." A poem composed by CF Andrews popularly known as Dinabandhu Andrews which was published in The Modern Review in April, 1912 has been reprinted.

A letter of Sister Nivedita published in The Statesman on May 24, 1899 explaining why she had temporarily suspended the work in North Kolkata during the Plague which took the form of an epidemic has been incorporated in the issue.

Souren Samajdar has edited the issue and prepared the bibliography.