The article in the Times of India’s Times City, on the 24th
of March, entitled “House that! Old but still shining” by Saikat Ray and Subhro
Niyogi caught the eye of many members of my mother’s side of the family. That
was because the article carried a photograph of a house that they once called
home. What the article calls “Sen Bari”, owned by the Sens of Senco Jewellers
fame, was once known as “Paul Bari”, home to the Pauls of Burdwan, and that is
not the only factual error in this story either. But let’s start from the
beginning.
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| Saroj Bhavan today |
The Pauls were landlords in the village of Gotan, Thana Rayna, in the
district of Burdwan in West Bengal. Harendranath Paul (1877 – 1961), the
2nd of three sons, shifted to Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1899. Of
his two brothers, one remained in Gotan and his family still stays there. The younger
brother, Gour Chandra Paul, became an advocate. Among his classmates was
India’s first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. He moved to Patna, Bihar and the
family has lost touch with him since. In Calcutta (Kolkata),
Harendranath initially joined the staff of Raja Subodh Mullick, doing mostly
clerical work. A palmist is said to have recommended that he quit his job, and
predicted that he would prosper if he started something connected with river
trade. Harendranath had observed the comings and goings of vessels on the
Hooghly and the Europeans engaged in the jute trade. He started by buying an
old ship and selling it for scrap, making a large profit. This gave him enough
capital to leave his famous employer and start his own business as a stevedore,
partnering with a certain Biharilal Chakraborty under the name Paul & Chakraborty
Private Limited in 1901. Within two decades he would make enough money to move
his family from rented accomodations on Madan Mitra Lane (no connection to
the current minister) to his own house, at the crossing of Guruprasad
Chowdhury Lane and Shankar Ghosh Lane.
