Among the Not So Great

The Doctor

Nripen-da sat behind that big table in the first room — a big man, with a big smile and a bigger heart. He stood tall and straight. A good face with a straight nose, spectacled kind eyes ready to smile along with the lips. (It was pointed out to me that the upper lip hardly had the vertical depression at the middle, like what we normally have. Why do some have it? Why some not?) He carried a headful of wavy dark hair the colour and quantity of which did not change much through the years. He was a solid, handsome man. He was very approachable! The reassuring smile made it easy for children and the old alike. His voice was strong and it carried far. In fact it could be intimidating but seldom was it so. His dress was ever the same — dhoti “Bengali way” and kurta — all white, Ashram-given.

Nripen-da came to the Ashram in 1941. He was Chitra-di’s (Chitra Sen — captain in the Department of Physical Education and also of the Trésor Nursing Home) maternal uncle (i.e. mama). Chitra-di’s father, Nolini Sen, happened to lend Nripen-da a typed copy of Sri Aurobindo’s The Synthesis of Yoga. (Printed books were then hard to come by. The devotees had enough urge to get whole books typed to take home and read — a coveted possession.) Nripen-da read and was impelled to come to Them (The Mother and Sri Aurobindo). He was given charge of the Dispensary. The Ashram was small, both in extent and numbers. Most of it was limited by the Canal, the sea, Rangapillai St. and North Boulevard (Sardar Vallabhbhai Salai). So Nripen-da could and would walk to the patient when called or needed. Later he took to a cycle (pedalling — no motor). Much later, a car was given him. That (car) was the end of one era and the beginning of another. Nripen-da had also a younger community, so a healthier community to care for. I suspect too that we were more hardy and less concerned about ourselves.