Netaji’s birth anniversary celebrations in Kodalia

Preparations for Netaji’s birth anniversary celebrations have started in full swing in a sleepy locality of Kodalia where stands a house flaunting a board that reads: Ancestral House of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. People in the adjoining houses claim that Netaji had visited this house at least thrice. This house has found a mention in the list of declared heritage sites by the West Bengali Heritage Commission.
Way back in the 18th century, ancestors of Netaji had reportedly settled down in this place. Today, there stands a small two-storied building with a barn in the front yard. A distance away is a `thakur da lan’ where the Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja are celebrated every year. There is also a small puja room where ‘Narayan Seba’ is carried out daily by a family priest. The practice was started by Prabhabati Bose, Netaji’s mother, in 1935. Santosh Ghosh, the caretaker of the house, said a huge number of visitors will turn up on Monday . “My father too was a caretaker of the same property . Every year, people visit the place on January 23.But now all the rooms are un der lock and key . It’s been three years since this property is lying this way ,” Ghosh said.
Just opposite the `thakur dalan’ is a door with a plaque mentioning `Haranath Lodge’.A few steps ahead is a library built by Netaji’s father Janakinath Bose that has been dedicated to his grandfather Haranath Bose. In the main house, a post, neatly painted in the tricolour, has been readied for Monday’s flag hoisting session.
The roof upstairs, he claimed, is leaking. “People would come and go inside the house. In order to stop that, a brick wall has been constructed to block the door upstairs. If one has to know more about this place, it’s best to ask Debidas Chowdhury who lives next door. He knows all the history of this place,” Ghosh said.
Chowdhury, who was born in 1933, said Netaji had visited this house thrice. “Once before my birth in 1924. The other two occasions were in 1937 and 1939. I was hardly four years old when he had come during the Durga Puja in 1937. During his 1939 visit, I remember he gave a brief speech for 15 minutes where he had said in order to gain independence, he would have to leave the country,” Chowdhury said.
A lot of action is visible right in front of the library too.Work is on in full swing for a pandal that will host a programme by Netaji Krishti Kendra. From a sit-and-draw competition to a cultural event in the evening, a long list has been drawn up for the day-long events.