Getting down from a crowded local train at Dakshin Durgapur railway station, I saw dark clouds setting in. I came out of the station and searched for a rickshaw or cycle-van (a popular mode of transport in rural India). Finding none, I began walking through the village roads. I am in a village of South 24 Paragans district, 35 kms from Kolkata. This district and the neighbouring Sunderbans are some of the poorest districts of India. After walking 2 kms in the mild rain, I reached ‘Sri Ramakrisha Sevashram’ (SRKS) to meet Mr. Sudhanshu Biswas.
Drying myself with a towel, I inquired why there was no transportation from the station. Mr. Biswas replied with a smile “When there is no demand, there is no supply”! His simple reply, or rather its inverse, also answered my unasked question as to why this 95 year old freedom fighter chose to spend his last four decades here. Instead I asked him what was the main objective of SRKS.....
