The travels of Bengalis in the past
Sumana Dam
Rajnarayan Bosu's Atma Charita (Autobiography) was published in 1909 by Kuntalini Press.
Rajnarayan Bosu (1826-1899) was an Indian thinker, writer, social reformer, and orator. He translated and wrote several original works. The revolutionary Satyendranath Bosu was his nephew, and the sage Aurobindo Ghosh was his grandson.
This autobiography, though unfinished, was written about 24-25 years after its inception, around 1875. The information in this excerpt pertains only to the travel details in the autobiography.
In 1840, he enrolled at Hindu College from Hair School. During his college years, in 1843, he met Ramgopal Ghosh (leader of the Young Bengal Group, businessman, orator, and social reformer, born 1815 – died 1868), who had also studied at Hindu College and was a prominent figure among the students there. That year, during the Durga Puja, Rajnarayan Bosu traveled with Ramgopal Ghosh on his beautiful small steamer, "Lotus," to view the ruins of Rajmahal and Gour. Before this, Ramgopal had visited places like Landour and Mussoorie, which were considered adventurous at the time. When Rajnarayan Bosu's mother learned of his participation, she initially refused to let him go, but he told her he was simply going to visit Ramgopal's country home in Baghati. Later, he informed his parents about the true plan. With great enthusiasm, they reached Ramgopal's home, where, instead of bags, they carried cloth bundles and boarded the steamer to reach Tribeni. Tribeni, along with places like Balagarh and Shantipur, was once a healthy retreat, where people from Kolkata went to escape the city's climate. However, the author laments that these places had become breeding grounds for malaria. Baghati, a village near Tribeni, was where they spent a few days enjoying the local Durga Puja. Then, they traveled toward Murshidabad, enjoying daily meals with tea, biscuits, eggs, dal, rice, and fish curry, and in the evening, English or Hindustani meals. They would also engage in bird hunting with guns on the riverbanks during the day. After passing through Oxford Bengal and Nabadwip, they arrived at Bilvagram, where they were joined by Madanmohan Tarkalankar, a poet, Sanskrit college professor, and advocate for women's education. Upon reaching Murshidabad's ghats, their steamer collided with a large boat belonging to the Nawab, damaging their smaller steamer. The ensuing dispute made them feel unsafe, so they decided to leave for Rajmahal. At Rajmahal, they toured the ruins of the Muslim Nawabs' buildings, including the famous Kalapathar Singh Dalan, which was once the Nawab's court. Later, when a rail route reached Rajmahal, many of these architectural structures were destroyed. They continued their journey on the steamer, enjoying the dances and songs of the hilly people near the confluence of the Mahananda and Padma rivers. As they navigated this route, fearful of pirates, they kept watch on deck at night with swords in hand. On the Mahananda River, villagers gathered in large numbers to view the steamer, as they had never seen one before. Whenever they ventured into a village, the villagers would run away in fear. One night, while anchoring on the banks of the Mahananda River, they heard a tiger's roar. While crossing a turbulent stream at Bholahat, they narrowly escaped danger. Upon reaching Malda, they crossed dense forests full of wild animals, traveling on elephant back to see the ruins of Gournagar. At Gour, they saw the ruins of the Kotwali and Dewan Khana. Fortunately, they did not encounter any wild beasts. They saw several large tanks filled with crocodiles and a monument-like tall tower. They were told that royal astrologers had once used it to study the stars.
In 1846, during Durga Puja, Rajnarayan Bosu traveled to Burdwan by boat with Devendranath Tagore, passing through Uluberia and Damodar. This event is mentioned in Devendranath Tagore's autobiography.
During Durga Puja in 1847, Rajnarayan Bosu again traveled with Devendranath Tagore. Devendranath's family accompanied them, and while passing Nabadwip and Chupi, an unusual storm struck near Patuli. At this time, a message came that Dwarkanath Tagore had passed away in England.
In September 1849, Rajnarayan Bosu traveled to Assam with Devendranath Tagore via steamer, passing through Gangasagar and the Sundarbans. While navigating the Sundarbans' canals, they saw deer grazing on the banks through a telescope from their steamer. One night, they heard the roar of a tiger. Rajnarayan Bosu was accustomed to Bengali food, and when he was offered foreign food, he felt uncomfortable. After a heated episode, he arrived in Dhaka, where he was relieved to eat fish and rice at a friend's house after requesting permission from Devendranath.
Later, in 1860, Rajnarayan Bosu traveled to Rajmahal with Devendranath Tagore. The rail route had opened, but they still traveled by boat. Except for the Kalapathar Singh Dalan, which was being used as a railway office, no other historical structures remained.
In Deoghar, Rajnarayan Bosu later built his home in the west. From 1867, he frequently traveled westward for various purposes, visiting places like Bhagalpur, Allahabad, Agra, Lucknow, and Kanpur. In Agra, he visited the Taj Mahal, and in Kanpur, he went to the Balmeeki Tapoban in Bithur. However, he did not provide any descriptions of his visits to these places.
