CUTTACK: ‘‘My dear father,...I am confident that Swaraj is at hand...I am prepared for the worst and feel it would be a great privilege to be allowed to suffer for a cause which I hold dear...’’ Presidency Jail, December 17, 1921.
‘‘My dear father,...I have discontinued Kaviraji, despite strong faith, owing to unsatisfactory management...
So far they have not been able to account for certain persistent symptoms, continued loss of weight, afternoon temperature, pain in the spine and night sweating...’’ Mandalay Central Jail, January 26, 1927.
These and several other rare letters written by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to his father Janakinath Bose from prison cells in India and Myanmar (then Burma) to his father would be unveiled through a new gallery on ‘Prison Life’ at the Netaji Birthplace Museum on the occasion of his birth anniversary tomorrow.
The gallery has been designed as a jail cell of the pre-independence era, complete with the outward brick walling and the long lock-hold. Between 1921 and 1927, Netaji was lodged at various jails from Presidency to Mandalay to Insein Central Jail and Rangoon Central Jail.
The letters reveal various facets of his personality, as he comes across a dedicated fighter for the motherland, a sincere and concerned son while giving out a conspicuous love for Cuttack, where he was born and brought up through his early years, as well as his physical condition. While enquiring about health of his father, mother, brother and family, he also does not forget to ask about the weather and happenings in Cuttack.
Along with the prison gallery, the museum authorities would also throw open the renovated family stable with two horses and a carriage, a gallery on prominent visitors and a refurbished Interpretation Centre, Museum in-charge JP Das said. Meanwhile, the closure of the main entrance gate of Janakinath Bhawan, which has been converted into the museum, has fuelled resentment among the locals. Changing the original entrance was an affront to the Oriya bazaar locality, where the brave son of the country was born, residents petitioned Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.