Victoria Memorial to get signs from the past

This personal collection of Gita Biswas, Netaji’s niece and Sarat Chandra Bose’s daughter, will be received by Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi on September 6, at a function to commemorate the 117th birth centenary of Biswas’ father.

“I had first expressed my desire to hand over my book to Teen Murti House in New Delhi, but Dr Chitta Panda, the curator and director of Victoria Memorial, was adamant that this piece of history should not leave Bengal. The Governor, who is the chairman of Victoria Memorial, was also amazed to see the book and told me that it should be preserved for the future generations,” said Gita Biswas.

The book is indeed unique. The delicate pages, yellowed with age, bear the signatures of almost all historical greats of India.

“Mahatma Gandhi used to take Rs 5 when he gave an autograph to anyone, but since I was Netaji’s niece, he took Rs 10 from me. Netaji, whom I lovingly called Rangakaka, wrote a whole letter to me in this book. Pandit Nehru signed in this book thrice, each time he came over to our house in Kolkata,” recalled Biswas.

There are also some letters written by Netaji, which belong to Chitra Ghosh, Biswas’ sister. “We have not thought about handing over the letters as of now,” she said.

“It is a privilege to be getting such a precious piece of history. The people coming to the museum will be exhilarated. This is happening just because of the Governor’s interest,” said Chitta Panda.

The museum authorities have also decided that if the public wants to have a copy of their favourite leaders’ autographs, they will do it for them.

“The book was in a tattered condition and hence we took the responsibility of its conservation. If the public wants a copy, it will be available in exchange of a fee,” said Panda.