The Blue Monk

Aurobindo Ghose (Sri Aurobindo) was born on 15 August 1872. He was an Indian nationalist, poet and yogi . Many years later, India became independent on 15 August 1947, freeing herself from the atrocities of the British empire.  Sri Aurobindo was one of the first Indian Nationalist who stated clearly that the entire nation of India ( Akhanda Bharat ) should work together to free themselves from the British Colonization.  He resided at many locations in Calcutta including 23, Scott Lane.  I visited 23, Scott Lane in 2020. The building is located at the end of a narrow lane behind Bangabasi College (amidst Baithakhana Bazar in Sealdah ), somewhat hiding and not visible from the main street. Initially, I failed to pinpoint the exact location of this building as Google Maps clearly betrayed me and the house numbers in this region don't follow a linear order. Local people in this area consist of local residents, businessmen, publishers and wholesale dealers having scanty idea about t

The contribution of Annette Akroyd   to women’s educational reforms in Bengal is largely forgotten. She was born December 13, 1842, in Stourbridge, England to William and Saran Akroyd. Anette was a noted British Orientalist and a Victorian reformer. She was conservative and opposed to the Women’s Suffrage Movement ( the right of women to vote in elections by law).  To this end, she  served as the secretary of the anti-women’s suffrage league in England. Educated in Bedford College, Annette was very well-prepared to teach with her pragmatic no-nonsense outlook. Annette Akroyd with the students of Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya, 1875.  From Henry Beveridge’s India Called Them: 1947 Annette traveled to Calcutta, India in 1872 upon invitation from Keshub Chandra Sen, a notable leader of the Brahmo Samaj, a Hindu reformist sect . Sen wanted Annette to promote non-sectarian education to Hindu women. Within a year, she founded the “Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya”, located near Beniapukur Lane, Kolkata. The s

I am yet to figure out my favourite street at Montreal.  It is a difficult problem. And I think, I won't succeed in my attempt. Because there are too many options. The flavours of each street in Montreal changes with time (dawn or dusk), season (summer or fall), buildings around (churches or shops) or just on the mood of the person walking on the street. Talking about streets, I am a regular visitor of Mile-End District. The reason is quite simple. I drive there to grab my cup of coffee before the sun rises, or, simply to explore the landscape. One day, I was driving on Waverly Street (Rue Waverly) and was interrupted by a stop sign from nowhere and a signage called Groll Street (Rue Groll) - a significant street largely forgotten by many. That intersection grabbed my attention for good reasons and called for a second visit. Groll Street - Waverly Intersection Groll street resides at the core of my heart, named after Joseph-Arthur Groll, a businessman who bought a house in the vici

Montreal is a city of surprises. It never fails to surprise me when I am on a leisurely saunter. This time it was the Mile-End District on a very hot afternoon. If you already know about the Mile-end area, you may have walked on Waverly ( aka Waverly Street ). One cannot really ignore this green corridor and the beautiful houses on both sides of the street occupied by Jewish residents spanning many generations.  While walking here, I noticed some books on the sidewalk lying unnoticed in an organized manner. The books ranged from architecture to poem collections - both in English and French. I looked around to assure whether there is a price tag attached to the books. There was none. I wanted to pick up something on Montreal architecture but two other books caught my attention.  The Books on the Sidewalk Quite happily, I returned home with couple of them: 1. "Lenin and the Russian Revolution" by Christopher Hill, written exclusively for the general public and,  2. "The Y

I am not a born traveler. But, traveling to some of the places gave me the best moments of my life. I had to leave my beautiful hometown (Kolkata, India) which captures most of my childhood and period up to my graduation. In mid-20s, I lived in Delhi and Gurgaon for work. Then I moved to Canada. Traveling gave me an itchy feet and I just wanted to travel more.  I don't make rigorous travel plans. Travel mostly stems from my curiosity, inspirational stories shared by other travelers, or, travel documentaries. In fact, I try to watch at least one travel documentary a day (but that's a different story).  I don't chase popular destinations. N othing discourages me when it comes to traveling and I  enjoy all modes of travel (e.g car, metro, bus, bike, cruise etc.).  I live in Montreal, Quebec - a multicultural universe to be precise. Today, I have shared a story of an alley.  If you are in the Old Montreal, loitering at the famous  Jacques-Cartier Square or sipping coffee at “

  Introduction The concept of salvation is ubiquitous across most religions. The primary goal of all religions is to guide their followers to salvation using specific laws and techniques. In the Indian subcontinent, Hindu philosophy proposes that the Ultimate Truth can be realized by following the six schools of salvation (or,  Darshanas ). These schools belong to the orthodox ( astika ) classification because they accept the Vedas as a supreme source of knowledge. Conversely, the heterodox ( nastika ) schools of philosophy reject the Vedas. These include Buddhism, Jainism, Charvaka, and others.  In this essay, I have only focussed on the orthodox classification. The Orthodox Schools of Hindu Philosophy   Overview of the Six Systems: 1.  Nyāya This is the school of logic headed by Gautama. In India, this school flourished in the Nabadwip region of Bengal. Nyāya  focuses on the logic to delve in to the root of the problem using sixteen categories namely: Means of Right Knowledge ( Pram

Rai Bahadur Sarat Chandra Roy (1871-1942) was regarded as the Father of Indian Ethnography and the First Indian Anthropologist, undoubtedly a forgotten citizen of India. As a child, his father Purna Chandra Roy came to Bengal from Khulna (now in Bangladesh). The young Sarat passed his Matriculation Exam from City Collegiate School and graduated in English (Hons.) from General Assembly Institute (now Scottish Church College), followed by a Masters from the University of Calcutta. To continue further, he studied Law and obtained a Bachelor of Law (BL) degree from Ripon College (now Surendranath College).  Sri Roy started practicing Law in Calcutta but shortly after, he was advised to move to Ranchi (now capital of Jharkhand) due to health issues. In Ranchi, he rose to great heights and earned a good reputation in the Judicial Commissioner’s Court. Besides pursuing Law, he also turned into the oppressed tribes of the society. Gradually, he started documenting the social and cultural hist

Mirra to Mother The unsaid power of a woman Mirra Alfassa was affectionately referred to as "The Divine Mother" by her loved ones and spiritual seekers. She was a spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. Her efforts and teachings greatly reshaped the spiritual landscape of India in the light of the teachings imparted by Sri Aurobindo.  February 21, 2021 marked the 143rd birth anniversary of The Mother.  Hereby my post highlights some well-known and less known facts of Her life in the form of a short biography. Sweet Mother is an exemplification of Woman's role in spirituality. The Divine Mother   Childhood Mother was born as Blanche Rachel Mirra Alfassa on February 21, 1878 at 41 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris – second child of Maurice Alfassa and Mathilde Ismaloun. Her Jewish parents came from the family of bankers and being materialists, Mother was brought up free from religious or racial influences. She composed her first writing at the age of nine called “The Path of Lat

A Forgotten Civil Surgeon of India Krishna Dhan (KD) or Dr. Krishna Dhan Ghose, MD, MRCS (Eng.), LMS (Calcutta), was born on November 21, 1844 in Patna, India. Unfortunately, at present times, he only holds a position in the list of forgotten citizens of India. Moreover, most available resources identifies KD predominantly as an anglicized and atheist father of Sri Aurobindo Ghose. The reality is much diverse, as enumerated below. Dr. K.D. Ghose (Photo Courtesy: www.aurobindo.ru)   Early Life and Swarnalata   KD’s ancestral home was at Konnagar, in the Hoogly District of Bengal. He belonged to the twenty fourth generation  of the  Ghoses of Konnagar  who were the descendants of Makaranda Ghose, of “Soukalin” Gotra. KD’s father Kaliprasad Ghose was a civil servant in the East India Company. When K. D. was only twelve, his father passed away. His orthodox mother, Kailasbasini went to Benares with her widowed daughter, Biraj Mohini. KD used to visit them every six months. Despite childhoo

Who am I? My achievement does not define me. My introduction may sound too perfect or utterly pompous. I feel compassionate, enjoy long-drives and respond to pain sensations. I eat carefully and travel gracefully. I have succeeded and failed at times. I embrace freedom and independence. I enjoy reading, writing and communicating. I am rather someone just like you. Love and Humanity are the final end points of my life and “ Swadharma ” I am a Homo Sapiens evolving continuously and steadily. Welcome to my Blog.  Follow me on Twitter @bluemonkdiaries Feel free to drop me line at  thebluemonkdiaries@gmail.com In Peace and Love 💙. The Blue Monk (aka Abhishek Ghosh)