In 1897 Chitta Ranjan married Srijukta Basanti Devi, the beautiful and
accomplished daughter of the late Babu Barada Halder, Dewan of the
Bijni estate. In her Chitta Ranjan has found an ideal house-wife and a
noble partner in life. She is the best consoler in her husband's
distress, the most impartial critic of his poetry and now the constant
companion in his patriotic activities. Her face always beams with a
holy light of virtue and her eyes smile with a pure lusture. She is
highly educated though without any degree. In 1919 the ladies of
Amritasar in the annual session of the All-India Ladies' Conference
nominated her as their President. Basanti Devi naturally fought shy of
public appearance but she could not disregard the request of her
sisters of the Punjab in the hour of their trial and suffering. In her
address she greatly dwelt upon the building-up of the Indian womanhood
on Eastern lines. "Remember" she said, "the ideal of Indian womanhood
is Sati, Sabitri and Sita. If our experience so requires it, reform
Indian ideal to suit the present times but seek not to destroy the
eternal ideal of India. Our home shall always be the Indian home."
Chitta Ranjan earned a good deal in his life, but spent his all for
the cause of the suffering humanity. Charity gives him unmixed
pleasure. He who takes is blest but thrice blessed is he that gives.
For that pleasure consists in the fulfilment of one's life-mission. So
unlimited was his charity that when in this non-cooperation movement
he gave up his practice to serve his mother country he had no standing
income but a debt of about three lacs of rupees. For he never cared to
provide for the future. Had he wished it, he could have now become
one of the richest Zamindars of Bengal. But wealth has no charm for
those whose heart is moved by the sufferings of others. Even now when
he himself has taken the bowl of a beggar for the cause of his
country, the poor never return from his door disappointed. It reminds
us of a story we heard in our childhood that there lived once in our
locality a poor beggar, he was so kind-hearted that he used to give
away his day's earning to any of his fasting neighbours, while he
himself had to fast the whole day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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