Suren Dutta - my uncle

Suren Dutta my uncle (father’s first cousin) was the eldest of his family. His father died when he had still not completed his school education. Though his maternal uncle took over the responsibility of the family he felt the necessity to earn and help in sustaining his siblings and mother. He left his village, went to Assam and in due course began a business. But by nature he was a man who wanted something other than this family life. He had by then began to look for someone who could help him in his quest. I believe he made contacts with the well-known spiritual figure of Baradiya Loknath Brahmachari and others. (About Loknath Brahmachari it is said that he had traveled up to France on foot. He had also gone to Mecca and it seems he called the “Kaba” Macceshwar, a shivalinga for him. It was just after the French revolution that he had visited France and according to him it was the dance of kali that took place.) Regarding Kaku we have heard that whenever he visited his mother he offered “Power” flower at his mother’s feet with a satsanga pranam.

By then something very unique happened in his village. Bimala-di (of weaving department) and Kedar Mesho - Namita’s father were already in touch with Sri Aurobindo Ashram. As far as I know Namita’s father and Yogananda-da were disciples of the same spiritual personality. Yogananda-da came to Pondicherry, was accepted as a Sadhak and that showed the way to others like Bimla-di, Namita’s family, my uncle and aunt. When Kaku came to know about the Ashram he decided to take the leap, for he felt that the Ashram could be his future home.

From the inception of the Ashram and even much later even to visit the Ashram one needed the permission of The Mother and The Master. Kaku was permitted to visit the Ashram and he arrived in Pondy sometime in August 1946. As it is said it was his “Agastya Yatra”. After he became an inmate of the Ashram the members of his family knew that he would not return. So what to do with his wife who had no children! She too was sent away for who shall look after her in later days! Her husband’s family didn’t know that it was really a boon in her life. What a wonderful life she led here!

Kaku was given work in the Bakery under Jatin-da who was in charge of Bakery and Laundry. Just for the newcomers it may be interesting to know how these departments functioned. The bakery had four or five inmates. Of them Kaku had the responsibility to mix the yeast in the evening, arrive at 2 am in the morning to mix the yeast and flour. A little later arrived Bhavani Prasad-ji and Madan-da to help him. When the dough was ready then came two or three others and all five or six put the dough in the moulds and with a handled spatula like tool put them in the oven. After this hard manual work Kaku wanted badly a cup of tea. Living in Assam he had become an addict of that drink. But being new he neither had the facility nor the permission to make a cup of tea in his room. So he would hurry to Padmasinidi’s department which boiled water to distribute it to the houses for morning bath. He took one glass full of this hot water and returned to his work.


Madan-da and Bhavani Prasad-ji kept an eye on the baking as the ovens were fixed with wood. Bhavaniprasad-ji was a silent worker. He kept to himself and went from one duty to the other while the general bread was baking they would prepare a special bread to be sent to The Mother. This was a work which all the three participated.

After the bread for Dining Hall was ready it was Madan-da who arranged the baskets with leaves and kept them ready to be taken to Dining Hall. He was also in charge of distributing to some Ashramites an extra loaf or two with The Mother’s permission. Then he kept aside a couple of loaves for the young students. At 11.30 after the bell they invaded the Bakery and Madan-da stood with his bread cut into pieces and distributed them among those hungry lot.

Bhavaniprasad-ji had to take that special bread to Pavitra-da’s room on the first floor. Every morning when full load of bread had been put in the oven Bhavani Prasad-ji collected bits & pieces of the dough fallen on the floor, collect all that remained on the body of the mixing container, went and sat on the footpath and making small balls of the dough threw them in the air. Dozens of crows surrounded him, their breakfast was getting served!

Kaku left Bakery at about 10-10.30 am and till evening it was his time. Most of the days in the afternoon after some rest he took up a Bengali book and read it; there were some which he read again and again.

After Jyotin-da’s demise the responsibility of the two departments were handed to two Ashramites: Kaku to look after the Laundry and Bhavaniprasad-ji The Bakery. For Kaku it was just shifting from one duty to another, for both were The Mother’s work.

Those who have come in sixties or there after have seen Kaku in the Laundry. Everyone could approach him with a request and he always obliged the individual. There came a time when it became necessary to regulate the number of clothes washed and pressed. For this he took Togo’s help and that’s how now we have to give for washing and pressing a fixed number of clothes.

As I have already mentioned he was a man most apt for any kind of manual work, which he did all through his life in the Ashram. His manual work reduced considerably after he shifted to the Laundry. One thing I felt most positively about him is that he believed implicitly that to do the Mother’s work is and should be the priority of one’s life. For him his work was his sadhana.