Madhusudan_Das

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Shoila Bala Das, eldest child of Ambica Charan Hazra and
Prosannamayee, was born on the 25th January, 1875 at the
Bhowanipur (Calcutta) house of Madhusudan. As Mr. Hazra was
very close to Madhusudan, Madhusudan's wife Soudamini had
accepted Mrs. Hazra as god-daughter. After the death of
Prosannamayee in 1892, Shoila Bala, her sister Sudhansu Bala
and their three brothers came to Cuttack and became part of
Madhusudan's family. On 24th September, 1900, Shoila Bala
changed her surname from Hazra to Das, honouring the wish of
Madhusudan and enjoyed the position and rights of a daughter in
his house till her death. She was the first girl student of Ravenshaw
College, Cuttack, where she attended B. A. classes, but could not
clear all the papers of the said examination due to ill health. She
went to England to attend a course in teachers' training in 1906.
After her return in the next year, in collaboration with Madhusudan,
she tried and became successful in upgrading Ravenshaw Hindu
Vidyalaya from a primary school to a Girls High School, which was
eventually the first of its kind in Orissa. She was its Secretary and
Lady Principal. After handing over the management of Ravenshaw
Girls School to Government in 1913, Shoila Bala engaged herself
in other social and philanthropic activities. She became an integral
part of Madhusudan's later life and played the role of a hostess in
the family. Shoila Bala had functioned as an honorary magistrate
in Patna and for sometime a member of the Syndicate of Patna
University. After independence she was nominated to the Rajya
Sabha for one term. After her return from England, she published
a series of essays regarding her experience in the alien land. She
had also written on women education and their problems. The credit
for writing the first complete biography of Madhusudan goes to
Shoila Bala, though it remained unpublished till 1998. Her
authobiography A Look Before and After (1956) portrays a vivid
picture of her life and personality. The book Madhusudan Das as
Seen By Many Eyes compiled by her is being reprinted in this
volume with necessary alterations. She breathed her last in April,
1968, at the age of 93.