Saraswati Mandir, also known as Sarika Sadan or Narmad House, is a
writer's house museum in
Surat
Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...
,
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, India. It was built by
Gujarati poet
Narmad
Narmadashankar Lalshankar Dave () (24 August 1833 – 26 February 1886), popularly known as Narmad, was an Indian Gujarati-language poet, playwright, essayist, orator, lexicographer and reformer under the British Raj. He is considered to be th ...
in 1866. In 2015, the house was renovated and converted into museum and memorial house dedicated to Narmad.
History
Narmad
Narmadashankar Lalshankar Dave () (24 August 1833 – 26 February 1886), popularly known as Narmad, was an Indian Gujarati-language poet, playwright, essayist, orator, lexicographer and reformer under the British Raj. He is considered to be th ...
lived at Surat and he bought land opposite his ancestral house in Amliran street
in
Gopipura neighbourhood of Surat at the cost of . He started construction of new house along with renovation of old one in January 1866 which was completed in September 1866.
He named it ''Saraswati Mandir'' and used it for writing and research. The construction of house exacerbated his financial problem.
The house was later purchased by Jatashankar Trivedi. Subsequently, it was purchased by Gajendrashankar Lalshankar Pandya as his eldest daughter Sarika insisted to purchase it.
He expanded the house and constructed extension in the southern one-third part and added tin roof above the house. He renamed it ''Sarika Sadan'' after the name of his eldest daughter.
After his death, his wife Kailash continued to reside there.
They wanted to sell the house but the local residents and Narmad's fans opposed and wanted it to be converted into museum or library.
The
Surat Municipal Corporation
Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) is the local civic body responsible for the administration of Surat, Gujarat which has come into being under the Bombay Provincial Municipal Act, 1949. The Surat Municipal Corporation was established on 2 Oct ...
purchased it and handed over it to Kavi Narmad Yugavart Trust which was dedicated to publication and preservation of works of Narmad, on 24 August 1992, the birth anniversary of Narmad. They partially restored and converted it into memorial but later handed it back to Surat Municipal Corporation. The house stayed neglected
until some renovation in 2010s.
The Surat Municipal Corporation started renovation, restoration and preservation of house to its original form in 2014.
They removed the extension and replaced decayed wooden parts, roof and flooring.
The renovated house was converted into museum and articles and information about Narmad's life, family and works are put on display. The ground floor has the
bust of Narmad. It also houses his books and some furniture used by him. The project cost .
The museum was opened to public on 24 August 2015, the 182nd birth anniversary of Narmad.
Replica
The replica of ''Sarika Sadan'' was constructed at the
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University at the cost of and named ''Narmad Smriti Bhavan.'' It was also opened on 24 August 2015.
It houses handwritten manuscripts and some belongings of
Narmad
Narmadashankar Lalshankar Dave () (24 August 1833 – 26 February 1886), popularly known as Narmad, was an Indian Gujarati-language poet, playwright, essayist, orator, lexicographer and reformer under the British Raj. He is considered to be th ...
.
Architecture
The original single storeyed house was spread in an area of .
It had framework made of wood and the walls made of bricks. The walls were plastered with
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
. Its floor was tiled with
Kota stone with shiny finish. It had sloped roof with
Mangalore tiles.
See also
*
List of tourist attractions in Surat
Surat is a city of the western Indian state of Gujarat, the eighth largest city and ninth largest urban agglomeration in India. Surat is the 2nd cleanest city of India and world's fastest growing city. Surat is also famous for its food, besi ...
References
External links
Short documentary on house before its renovationSlideshow on house after its renovation narrated in Gujarati by its former owner's son.
Short Documentary on Sarika Sadan by SCET students
{{Surat topics
Museums established in 2015
Houses completed in 1866
Poetry museums
Literary museums
Biographical museums in India
Tourist attractions in Surat
Culture of Surat
Writers' centres and houses
Historic house museums in India
Museums in Gujarat
Buildings and structures in Surat