(c). 3rd Posting - Kalna, Burdwan

I joined the SDO’s office, Kalna, as Deputy Magistrate & Deputy Collector on December 26, 1972. Kalna was politically disturbed at that time. Several political murders had taken place in a short span before I had joined. The Congress had come to power shortly before, by an ill-famous rigged election held under the President's rule. Siddhartha Shankar Roy became the Chief Minister. A dreadful Naxal movement had spread over the state at that time. What followed was one of the most virulent campaigns of combing areas, clearing of Naxal and Left activists. Thousands of Naxals were taken to custody and kept for years without trial, while hundreds were physically eliminated. The Marxist Communist Party, too, had resorted to coercive and violent politics to gain ground. Congress was hell-bound to suppress these movements. The diverse interests that had come into play had created a critical situation for law and order all over the state, and more particularly, in urban areas and some pockets of rural Bengal.

Kalna had five Development Blocks, Kalna I, Kalna II, Purbasthali I, Purbasthali II and Monteswar in four Police, Stations, Nadhanghat, Purbasthali, Kalna & Monteswar.

On arrival in Kalna, we put up in a privately owned rented house, which the SDO had arranged for us before we had arrived. It was a newly constructed house, good to stay. It was in a good locality called Vidyasagar para, but a little off from the central place of the town and the office.  Later, we shifted to a more secured and conveniently located house. This latter house was in a two-storied building fortified by high compound walls on all sides. It was in the centre of the town. The house-owners in both the cases were good people, and we didn't have anything against them. There were no Govt quarters in Kalna, except a bungalow (on the bank of the river Ganga) for the SDO.

The SDO's office was a little off from the centre of the town, 15-20 mins walk from our house. I had to walk down or take a rickshaw to the office. The office was on the bank of the river Ganga on a beautiful landscape. Officers and the staff at Kalna were dutiful and cooperative. I was the second officer, meaning next to the SDO in the administrative hierarchy. I held Executive court as the sub-divisional magistrate in the absence of the SDO and did other magisterial and administrative work, including block visits. I also held charge of the office of the Subdivisional Land Reforms Officer at times.

Of the judicial officers posted in the subdivision, Sri Bijan Behari Chaklanabis was the Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate and Sri Manas Sengupta was the Judicial Magistrate, first class. They were good people and very helpful to the administration. I had cordial and friendly relations with both of them. We were, so to say, family friends. Mr. Chaklanabis later became Law Secretary to the Govt of West Bengal and Mr. Sengupta a High Court Judge.  Besides the SDO and me, there was another officer named Ashok Ganai in the SDO's office.  Ashok was also a WBCS (Executive) officer, 3 years junior to me. Later, when his turn came, Ashok had joined the IAS on promotion but had reverted to the parent cadre of WBCS (Executive) subsequently.

Kalna was a temple town situated on the bank of the river Ganga or the Bhagirathi. The town was also known as Ambika Kalna after the name of the deity Kali or Ambika. The first reference to Ambika Kalna was found in a sixth-century text named Kubjika Tantra.  According to General Alexander Cunningham, the founder of the Archaeological Survey of India, Ambika Kalna was a frontier city of the Tamralipta Kingdom in the 7th century A. D. During the reign of Shashanka in the 7th century, a hyper naval base was founded at Kalna. 

Kalna housed the only Chaitanya temple built in Sri Chaitanya’s lifetime. It was the renowned abode of pilgrimage for the Baisnabites. It was a celebrated place during the Muhamedan rule in the 15th century 

Kalna reached its pinnacle of glory during the late 18th century under the patronage of the Maharajas of Bardhhaman, who built several magnificent temples with intricate terracotta ornamentation. Every edifice in Ambika Kalna oozes history. It bears the testimony of the diversity of India’s cultural and religious heritage. Here we have living glimpses of Jainism, Shakti Cult, Shariya Cult, Vaishnava Cult, Buddhism as well as Christian and Islamic Cult. (Info Source: Wikipedia)

 A major landmark was the Siddheswari Kali temple in the centre of the town. Besides the Siddheswari temple, there were several other temples and monuments, most with a historical background. Some of these were Rajbari, Sri Gouranga Mandir, and 108-Shiv temples. In Sri Gouranga Mandir, were retained Sri Chaitanya’s manuscript and his personal belongings. At the entrance of the Mandir, was a Neem tree  under which were giant footprints embossed on a slab of stone. . These were believed to be the footprints of Sri Chaitanya.

In 108-Shiv Mandir (built in 1809), the Shiv temples were constructed in two circles of 74 and 34 temples. The first circle had white and black-stone shivlings, and the second had all marble shivlings. Because of ingenious planning, all the shivlings could be seen from the centre of the temple complex.  

Other temples in Kalna were Naba-Kailasha Temple, Kalna Rash Mancha, Kalna Temple Complex, Pratapeswar Temple, Krishna Chandraji temple, Lalji Temple, Rupeswar Temple, Mahaprabhu temple, Mahismardini temple, Nityananda temple, Theravada Buddha temple.

We had visited a village fair at a place called BURO SHIVTALA, a little off from Kalna town. This was an annual fair where people from far and wide participated irrespective of their religious beliefs.  There was a large Shiva Lingam in a thatched hut centering which the fair used to take place.

While at Kalna, my first child, a daughter later named, Anindita alias Maman was born in a nursing home in Krishnanaga).  My expecting wife was staying with one of her aunts in Krishnanagar at the advanced stage of her pregnancy, while I stayed back at my place of work. 

It was a special kind of feeling to become a first-time father: I had enjoyed it to the fullest with my wife so long as I was here. I had, however, missed much of the joy of seeing her grow up while I could not give her much time, being busy in my official duties at the next place of posting. I was further deprived of this charm when she remained away from me with her mother at her aunt’s place where I had to send them to avoid scorching heat at the place, we stayed next.

My brother had come with my mother to Kalna after my daughter's birth. He had left after some time while my mother stayed with us.

We had amongst our friends at Kalna one Dr. Aravinda Nandy and his wife. Dr. Nandy was attached to Kalna Hospital. We became quite friendly and often visited each other’s house. Both Dr. Nandy and his wife were jovial. We also had a friend in Dr. Bera, a Child Specialist of Kalna Hospital. Dr. Bera was a bachelor. After my daughter was born, he attended to her health needs. We had another acquaintance Amal Sengupta, who was the Sanitary Inspector in Kalna Municipality. Sengupta, too, was very close to us and took care of the post-birth immunisation requirements of my daughter. He was a likable personality.

When my child was 5 months old, I received an order posting me as Project Officer of a centrally sponsored project, named 'Pilot Intensive Rural Employment Project' or "PIREP" in short in remote Nayagram Block of Jhargram sub-division in the undivided Midnapore district. I was initially reluctant to move to that interior place with a 5-months' old child. I met the Joint Secretary Home (GA), Mr. BC Sharma, to explain my difficulties in taking up the assignment. He told me that he had posted me on the consideration that the post carried a special pay[2], which could be useful for me. If, however, I had difficulty, he would get the order cancelled. Later, I learnt that it would be a short-term assignment; the project would be wound up on March 31, 1976. Considering this, I honoured the Govt. decision and left Kalna to take up the assignment at Nayagram on July 7, 1974. Till then, I did not have any personal knowledge about the place.

We had enjoyed our stay at Kalna, though it was short.

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