Balkrishna Poddar

A Mission Accomplished

The story of a crusader

Balkrishna never dreamed of a comfortable life. Though born in an affluent family, a flourishing business, money and fame were not what impressed him most when he graduated in commerce at the age of seventeen. He joined a Law College in Bombay. A brilliant student from school days, he completed his first term in law and won an open merit scholarship. But the achievements in his academic career could not influence his mind. He was still undecided about his future when one day he suddenly discovered what he wanted to do in his life.

Balkrishna was already in contact with the Mother through his elder brother Navajata and his father, Sri Ramnarayan Poddar. When he realised that his destiny was to serve the Mother, Balkrishna lost all interest in studies. He wrote to the Mother seeking her consent for joining the Ashram. He got the permission and in 1953 he came to Pondicherry at the age of nineteen to begin a new chapter in his life.

The Mother met him the day he arrived at Pondicherry and gave him the charge of SABDA. Young Balkrishna was ecstatic over his new assignment. Not only did he get the opportunity of serving the Mother but also the chance of working with the books of Sri Aurobindo. The best way to express his gratitude, he thought, would be to devote all his life's energy to this work. From that day there was only one mission in his life: to make available the books of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother to as many persons as possible.

The first SABDA showroom began in a hall of the present Park Guest House. It was virtually a one-man organisation with Balkrishna himself attending to all the work: cleaning, arranging the books, sales, packing, delivery, accounts. But he never considered himself to be alone. He couldn't have, for in those early years the Mother was personally guiding him constantly. All the decisions regarding sales and distribution were taken after consulting her. All proposals for supplies to be made to the centres were placed before her for approval. She even signed the money order coupons and monthly accounts statements of SABDA.

After having settled in his work, Balkrishna looked for avenues to spread the words of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. In 1955 he organised the first exhibition of the Ashram publications at Annamalai University. Subsequently he arranged several such exhibitions at colleges, schools, public libraries and even at temples so that the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother could reach the common reader.

In 1957 he married Sunanda, an ex-student of the Ashram school. The same year he went to Africa, following the advice of the Mother and taking with him the books which by then had become an inseparable part of his life. He displayed the books at his residence which was always open to interested readers. He travelled extensively in the East and Central African cities, carrying the books on top of his small Volkswagen car. In these cities he organised several book exhibitions and also gave many talks. Due to his unceasing efforts a considerable awareness and interest was generated in the minds of the people about the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Balkrishna came back to India, as the Mother gave him the work of organising the Bombay branch of Sri Aurobindo Society and SABDA. He remained in Bombay during the years 1960-61, systematized the functioning of the Society and SABDA, and then again went back to Africa.

He finally returned to Pondicherry in 1967 at a time when the preparation had begun for publishing the complete works of Sri Aurobindo. A mature and experienced Balkrishnabhai (as he was lovingly called by others) got involved in its printing and distribution. Simultaneously he worked for establishing a network of outlets all over the country through which Ashram publications would be available. Many of the book shops which he appointed at that time continue to sell these books even today.

Thus SABDA began to grow under his dynamic leadership. Never content with his achievements, Balkrishnaji tried even harder to make SABDA a more suitable vehicle for carrying on the work given by the Mother. He attended several seminars and workshops on publishing, export policy, copyright laws and visited other publishers to learn from them various intricate matters of the trade. He also got SABDA registered with the Federation of Indian Publishers, CAPAXIL, and similar other policy-making organisations. This brought SABDA into the focus of the national and international book trade.

Though he gathered sufficient knowledge about the trade, he never treated the Ashram publications as a commodity for trading. The works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were not for him mere printed books but a means of spreading the Divine Consciousness and Grace. He paid special attention to the packing of these books whenever they were despatched, whether in small packets or in bulk. The handling, storing and the high quality of packing that is maintained at SABDA bears the testimony of his reverential attitude towards these books.

Gradually SABDA branches began to function in the metropolitan cities. In Calcutta with collaboration of the Sri Aurobindo Pathamandir, in Madras at the premises of the Personal Book Shop and in Delhi at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi branch. Balkrishnaji encouraged and guided many other centres in smaller places to display and sell the Ashram publications. Many of them responded and gradually a network of such centres selling these books was established. Thus the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother reached all corners of the country.

A young Balkrishna arranged the exhibition of the Ashram publications way back in 1955, at a time when book fairs were a rarity. Later when the Calcutta Book Fair and the World Book Fair at Delhi began to take place every year, SABDA was a regular participant. Subsequently, SABDA took part in several book fairs all over the country. Through them Balkrishnaji saw great possibilities in reaching the common readers, especially at places where these books were not available before.

Balkrishnaji made several trips abroad to attend the international book fairs in which SABDA took part. After the fair was over he would travel to other countries, especially Europe and America, spreading the words of his Masters. He went to participate in the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1973 and again in 1986 when he also attended the London Book Fair. In 1982 he went to attend the Singapore Book Fair and in 1989, just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the Moscow Book Fair. Between 1982 and 1986 he undertook three promotional tours when he travelled to countries such as Mauritius, Japan, Australia, USA and many other countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. In several places he helped to set up book sales at local centres. He contacted intellectuals, professors, librarians and also held discussions with people from the book trade. He negotiated many translation rights with interested publishers. Consequently several of Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's works were translated into foreign languages such as French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian. His tours abroad opened up new possibilities for SABDA, for not only did he collect large orders from the countries which he visited but he also established the right distribution channels at many of these places. As a result, the orders for books began to flow regularly, giving a major boost to the exports of SABDA.

The early 1980s saw SABDA in the thick of activity. The new showroom of SABDA named 'Kripa' had already begun to function opposite the Ashram main building. There was also a separate section for storing, packing and despatch. Branches and sales centres of SABDA were established all over the country and in many parts of the world. By then SABDA was handling over 1000 titles in more than fifteen Indian and foreign languages. Hundreds of books were being sent every day to individuals, centres, libraries and booksellers in different parts of the country and the world. In order to cope with this added volume of work and to provide proper service, Balkrishnaji evolved an almost foolproof operational system which has remained one of the factors in the efficient functioning of SABDA. He was able to infuse his own enthusiasm into the staff of SABDA. He also introduced a remarkable degree of professionalism into the working of the whole organisation. Each person was trained by him and assigned a task with full responsibility and freedom while Balkrishnaji was always there to guide and help. His pragmatic outlook made SABDA an efficient organisation to smoothly carry on its solemn work: the distribution Sri Aurobindo's books.

If the 1980s saw SABDA expand, the 1990s saw it make deep inroads. The efficiency of the organisation was enhanced further as Balkrishnaji introduced computers. The programmes were mostly developed by him and constantly upgraded to meet the new demands which followed soon. Under Balkrishnaji's guidance, representatives from SABDA travelled to all parts of the country, including far-flung places such as Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. They visited universities, colleges, government departments, public libraries and booksellers to consolidate the work initiated by their Director some forty years ago.

His tireless efforts over all these years made the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother easily accessible to millions of readers. At present, all university libraries, all leading public libraries, all state libraries, all district libraries, hundreds of schools, colleges and other institutions have several books of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Many leading booksellers in big cities and even in smaller towns deal in the Ashram's publications. Books from SABDA are now exported to over forty countries in the world. Besides, hundreds of readers are catered to individually through the efficient mail order service of SABDA.

The mission of SABDA was clear from beginning when the Mother gave the name: Sri Aurobindo Books Distribution Agency. All his life Bakrishnaji strove to fulfill this mission by constantly opening and strengthening avenues for distributing Sri Aurobindo's books to all parts of the country and the world. As the achievements of SABDA would testify, he carried out his work in the most effective manner. In his early years with SABDA, Balkrishnaji worked under the direct guidance of the Mother. Evidently he was able to follow her guidance all through his life. For what else could possibly explain this phenomenal achievement in a single lifetime.

Sunanda

In Memory

Sri Balkrishna Poddar

(4 December 1933 - 12 May 1994 )

The man who spearheaded SABDA is no more. After a prolonged ailment, Sri Balkrishna Poddar, the Director of SABDA, breathed his last in the Ashram nursing home on 12 May 1994 at 7.45 pm.

At the age of nineteen, a young and energetic Balkrishna joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The Mother immediately entrusted him with the work of SABDA. Under Her guidance, he set out to make available to all the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and strove to fulfill this mission all his life.

All those who knew him, admired him for his single-minded dedication to his work and loved him for his affectionate and amiable nature. His life was a living example of a silent, devoted and disciplined worker.

Though Balkrishna ji is physically no more with us, he continues to live on in the work he initiated and helped to grow. His memory will be a constant source of inspiration to all of us at SABDA.