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His Life and Achievements: 45<br />

Another incident before his death though a small one, shows<br />

how greatly he felt for his suffering fellow-men. It was a week before<br />

his death. He got a remittance of Rs. 800. That was all he had. He<br />

directed at once that a tube-well should be sunk in fishermen's quarters<br />

of the town, which are always infected when any epidemic is on. This<br />

was done. Like Maharaja Harishchandra he gave his all to his fellowmen.<br />

Like Christ he loved them and suffered for them.<br />

• • •<br />

(5)<br />

MADHU BABU - AN ORIYA<br />

AS WELL AS AN INDIAN<br />

COPABANDHU CHOWDHRY<br />

I was a boy of nine reading in a High School. I had seen and<br />

heard of Madhu Babu, but I do not remember to have enjoyed any<br />

personal contact with him before that. One morning as usual we were<br />

all astir as Madhu Babu had come to our house. Unless called by<br />

my father to his presence, we used to satisfy ourselves with mere<br />

glimpses of him. That day he suddenly put me a question pointing<br />

to a wooden safe that was standing nearby, "What is that ?" I replied<br />

"It is a safe ". " Tell me what is a safe. Define a safe." I gave some<br />

definitions which could well be applied to a wooden box or to a wooden<br />

almirah. Then he explained to us how we should be very particular<br />

in knowing things and defining them properly. That was an ideal lesson<br />

on "analysis and synthesis" and though that is the first reminiscence<br />

of that great personality yet it is one which I treasure in my mind<br />

with no small gain to my own growth...<br />

I was a grown up young man. I was once on a visit to the<br />

Utkal Tannery. Mr. <strong>Das</strong> showed us round and personally explained<br />

to us the uses of the different machines and practically worked with<br />

his own hands to show how a piece of hide is changed into a pair<br />

of soft leather. Then followed one of the finest sermons on the<br />

development of our hands and how the hands and how the hands<br />

make a man. This practical sermon deepened that faint picture in my<br />

young mind of Mr. <strong>Das</strong> or our Oriya artisans Madhu Babu...

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