Tucked away into the eastern fringe of the Narkaldanga Main Road, Seva Nagar is home to over 130 slum-dwellers. Many of them have migrated all the way from Bihar to this corner of Calcutta in search of a livelihood. Most of them are employed as sweepers by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. The rest earn a living by working as servants in the homes of their affluent neighbours, who reside across the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, which bisects Seva Nagar and Salt Lake.
Three decades ago, you could have easily confused Narkaldanga with any other Calcutta slum. Its residents lived amidst unbearable filth, sharing the place with pigs, which flourished on the ubiquitous mounds of waste. Issues like health, hygiene and education had been sad victims in their daily scrounge for survival.
Until 1971, when Mastermoshai came to live here. And rechristened the area Seva Nagar.
Kalyan Das was appalled when he discovered the inhuman conditions in which the sweeper community -- which ensured that Calcuttans woke up each morning to clean streets -- lived. Stunned by what he saw at Narkaldanga, Das decided he would bring about a change in their lives.
It was to be a difficult task.
For Das belonged to a respected lineage and his ancestors, upper-caste landlords in Midnapore, had abhorred any kind of contact with those who did menial chores. His parents, though, were more enlightened. They did not believe in untouchability.
"In fact," recalls Das, "I had to face scathing criticism from my villagers in Midnapore when I once touched the feet of a Harijan. She used to clean the toilets in my house. I always touched my mother's feet before leaving for school. One day, as I bowed down to touch my mother's feet, this lady was standing next to her, talking. I felt that ignoring her while touching my mother's feet would amount to an insult. So I decided to extend her the same respect."
What prompted him to work with the underprivileged, when he could easily have enjoyed a cozy life in Midnapore?
Das says, "When India was freed from colonial imperialism, I was only a year old. It pained me that I could never contribute to the freedom struggle. The regret I had not done anything for my motherland perhaps played a crucial role in pushing me into social work. Besides, my uncle, Sudhanshu Shankar Das, had sacrificed his life while fighting the British."
He decided his struggle for true freedom would begin at Nalkaldanga.
It wasn't, by his own admission, an easy task to convince the slum-dwellers about the importance of cleanliness and literacy. The fact that he was a stranger did not help. What came to his aid were his obvious sincerity and good intentions.
It was enough to convince Lal Chand Hari, a sweeper who was equally concerned about the future of his people.
"Lal Chand Hari," recalls Das, "appeared a little apprehensive about the money factor. He unhesitatingly told me their income was too meagre for them to afford my services. When I assured him that any work I did would be voluntary, he was ecstatic. Together, we began the task of bringing about a change in the lives of these people."
Das had to undergo tremendous physical pain and humiliation in his effort to change their lifestyle. He even worked in Calcutta's Bara Bazar area as a daily-wage labourer to understand, for himself, how manual labourers spent their day. "Since I came from a different background," he smiles, "it was not easy to get used to the strenuous work routine. But, unless I experienced their life firsthand, I knew there was no way I could convince them I understood their problems."
Besides imparting education -- a blend of formal and non-formal teaching -- Das also made himself responsible for the all-round development of the community. His advice is now taken on every issue -- from health problems to marital discord to fixing alliances.
The community centre -- which he runs with the help of four teachers -- now looks after 18 Seva Nagar orphans. Some of his former students have now earned a degree. A few others have turned out to be good artistes. For Das places great importance on cultural activities. A band that he has recently formed has already performed at many government functions, including the Independence and Republic Day parades.
Das's labour of the last 29 years has drawn the attention of many voluntary organisations like CINI, Asha and CRY. They now provide him with a certain amount of financial support. CRY has also honoured him with a fellowship.
Today, for Das, the people of Seva Nagar, who are shunned as untouchables at his village in Midnapore, are as much his family as his wife and two daughters, Pratisruti and Arundhati.
"Mastermoshai is like God to us," says a grateful Seva Nagar resident, Deepak Hari. "We haven't seen God, but Mastermoshai's presence makes us feel we are seeing Him every day. What he has done for us cannot be described in words. The entire community is indebted to him for life."
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