Kendrapara: Kendrapara district is known for its cultural prowess, ancient maritime tradition and as the seat of penance of ancient sages.
However, the place which once provided asylum to then Puri Gajapati Divyasingh Dev is now forgotten as his memorial built inside Bala Baba Mutt near Binod Bihari temple here is facing neglect.
The Gajapati was banished to Andaman and Nicobar Islands for killing some devotees and for the murder of a mutt chief and his disciple. Zamindar Radhashyam Narendra rescued him and brought him to Kendrapara and gave him asylum.
The memorial known as Raja Baba’s Samadhipith is facing neglect. A tunnel which runs behind the memorial is also run down. Residents and history buffs have been demanding their renovation in vain.
Residents said the memorial, if renovated, could shed more light on the ancient past of the district.
Sources said the 500-metre tunnel runs behind Raja Baba’s statue and is connected to the Gobari river. Historians claimed that the tunnel was built by Zamindars and rulers of Kendrapara to escape police raids.
As the tunnel has not been used for a long time it is now run down, said Bipad Bhanjan Das, the administrator of the Gopinathjew Temple Trust Board.
According to legend and senior residents, the Raja Baba is none other than Gajapati Dibyasingh Dev of Puri who was alive till 1904. This finds mention in the autobiography ‘Memories in Bengal Civilian’ written by John Beams, lawyer Ashis Kumar Senapati told Orissa POST.
Historian Janmejaya Choudhury says in an article written for ‘Odisha Review’ that a person known as Raja Baba who once lived in Kendrapra is none other than the former Gajapati Dibyasingh Dev.
While living in Kendrapara Raja Baba lived as a mendicant. Some people thought he was a saint and became his disciple. He spoke about himself to one of his disciples before his death.
John Beams and Choudhury say some pilgrims had died in a stampede during Dola and Gobind Dwadasi festival at the Singhadwar of Puri Srimandir in 1877. The British rulers held the Gajapati responsible for the stampede. Later, mutt chief Siba Das and his associate of Damodarpur were found murdered under mysterious circumstances in 1878.
The British police held Gajapati responsible for the cases, arrested him and produced him in Kolkata court. The court heard the matter and handed down life imprisonment (Kalapani) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Historian Ekadashi Padhi of Jajpur says that Gajapati died in Andamans while serving imprisonment.
However, Beams says that Gajapati managed to come back to Kendrapara and spent the rest of his life here. The tunnel was dug to help him escape if police raided the place.
Historian Dr Harishchandra Prusty said that Kendrapara has a maritime tradition. Gajapati was rescued from Andaman by some people of the district who were returning from a voyage.
Zamindar Radhashyam Narendra Dev provided all help to rehabilitate Gajapati inside Binod Bihari temple in Kendrapara. He said that both were run down and needed to be renovated.
Temple priest Narayan Satapathy said he performs puja before the memorial every day. Residents Ajay Kumar Samal, Nandakishore Parida, Ajay Kumar Rout and former councilor Hiranya Kumar Panda also requested steps to renovate the memorial.
PNN