Sarat writes to Manindranath 1931
These three little documents give slight glimpses of the relationship between Saratchandra Chattopadhyaya and his friend Manindranath Roy. In reverse chronological order, the first is a 1931 note from Sarat to Mani on a domestic matter about the transport of a table (or perhaps a writing-desk?) by rail; the second is a 1925 diary entry in English by Manindranath that speaks of travel to Shibpur and Sarat coming to breakfast, and then of going with him to the “Ram Mohan Library” ; the third is a 1919 letter to Manindranath from Sudhindranath Tagore (son of Rabindranath’s elder brother) which makes reference to the literary journal Bichitra and also asks of news of Sarat.
The 1931 note (translation by KM):
“Mani, I have asked Tulu to bring the table by train. If by this time the man Bipin has already taken it away that makes it more problematic. Unfortunately, this man intervened unasked and created all the trouble. If you can, please retrieve it from Bipin and deliver it at Howrah station. The rest will be done by Tulu. Dada (Elder Brother) 23 Ashar 1339 P.S . If there is no chance of getting it back for whatever reason please let me know . I will ask carpenter to make another one as soon as possible.”
The 1919 letter (translation by KM):
“My dear,
Have received your letter. How can a great friend like you be forgotten! I can hardly say how happy we are to have met you. But you know the difference between Hazaribagh and Kolkata. The hazards we face here are as stressful as those in the brick-and-mortar jungle! I have so many worries to attend to that I have had no scope thus far to invite you to my place to enjoy your peaceful company. I do not have the necessary peace of mind yet. I shall obviously contact you as soon as I get a little bit settled. Please, never think otherwise even if I am silent for a while. I shall never forget you.
You are still a member of Bichitra but there has been no meeting for a long time. I have also got no such information. However, if there had been one or two it might have been missed due to postal irregularity. I have informed Bireswar about it. I hear you have joined Grace Brothers, is it so? How do you find things there? I hope all is well at your end. Do you meet Saratbabu these days? We are so so . Yours, Sudhindranath Tagore”
Sarat visits Surendranath 1927
https://independentindian.com/2008/06/19/sarat-chandra-vists-surendranath-roy-1927/
Death of Sarat 1938 (sraddh invitation to MihirKumar)
The novelist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarat_Chandra_Chattopadhyay … had been a family friend. He died 15/1/1938; my father, then with the Tatas, invited to his sraddh 26/1/1938
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