Yogajanma Purusha — 'Gadjat Gandhi' Sarangadhar Das

Among the many great personalities born in India, one of the most remarkable was “Gadjat Gandhi” Sarangadhar Das.

- Nabin Nanda

He was born 17 October 1887 in the then little-known village of Harekrishnapur in Dhenkanal district, to Harekrishna Das and Manika Devi.

In 1905, he passed the matriculation examination and enrolled at Ravenshaw College for higher studies. While staying in the hostel, his roommate was Pandit Nilakantha Das, through whom he came into close contact with Gopabandhu Das and Acharya Harihar Das.

Sarangadhar lost his father at the tender age of 11. While at Ravenshaw, he also lost his elder brother Gadadhar and his sister Savitri to cholera. His middle brother Gangadhar managed the family’s farming back in the village and, despite strained finances, toiled to support Sarangadhar’s education.

After completing his studies at Ra-venshaw, inspired by Gopabandhu Das, Sarangadhar briefly worked as a teacher in Nilgiri. His larger aspirations, however, could not be contained by a teaching job. Hearing that a student-aid organisation in Calcutta was offering scholarships for meritorious students to study abroad, he applied and was selected to study Agricultural Science in Japan for two years with a monthly stipend of ₹25. Owing to his uncle Banamali Das’s good relations with the Dhenkanal royal family, the king also promised support, and Gop-abandhu Das and Acharya Harihar also contributed funds.