Madhusudan_Das

His Life and Achievements 11
in the rehabilitation of the growing industry but financial difficulties
stood in the way and nearly crossed this great pioneer worker. He
did not, however, give way but gathered together the broken bits
and, in Kipling's memorable words, started life again and worked do
novo with the vigour and ardour of youth.
In the difficult times ahead when a great march has to be made
up Orissa has need of devoted, wholehearted and loyal sons like
Madhusudan Das. May his soul rest in peace and may the race of
workers like him grow from more to more for the. glory and
advancement of the ancient and mighty land of Odra - the home of
arts and artisanship of culture and literature, and, above all, of rockbased
spirituality.
Mr. Das's early education and training was in Bengal and among
Bengalis and "Madhu Uriya" in the London Missionary Institute in
Calcutta was a well-known and well-beloved figure among Bengali
students. The feeling of comradeship was reciprocal and lasted all
his life as he told me in 1930 when I presided over the Cuttack College
Old Boy's Association's annual function and visited him at his well
appointed home. He spoke Bengali and English well without accents
and was an effective speaker and a powerful writer. He made his
mark in the Bihar Legislative Council and easily rose to his material
position as Minister. He soon made the P.WD. and the Medical
Departments, which were in his special charge, uncomfortable. He
reverted to his profession and to industry - his first love. His sacrifices
and efforts in the domains of industry were Herculean and he raised
the Utkal Tannery to high pinnacle of efficiency though, alas also
to a high pinnacle of financial disaster. He had allways a soft corner
in his capacious heart for Bengalis, many of whom he trained well in
his industrial venture. His dogged independence and sustained spirit
of sacrifice will ever be a shining beacon light in the growth of the
new developing national life of Orissa that has to learn the lesson
alike of fairplay, balance of judgment and. toleration without which
no national growth worth the name is possible. That was the lesson
and the motto of the life of Madhusudan Das so worthily spent.
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