When I was still a schoolboy, I listened to our elders telling forcefully about Prof Basdeo Bissoondoyal’s Jan Andolan, Mahayajna, Swayam Sevaks, long joolooss (processions) and sermons. A few, mostly teachers, would refer to his immense learning and books. Prof Bissoondoyal, they added, was one of the few Mauritians to master English, French, Hindi and Sanskrit; his books were published in England, France and India. With the celebration of the centenary of his birth, I would to pay homage to that great man who was indeed my mentor.

I was so fascinated by what his followers said that I had always longed to meet him and see his books. But this was only possible when a colleague of mine associated with his activities once asked me to accompany him to Vallonville Street, Port Louis, the home of the revolutionary scholar till his last days.

My last visit to Prof. Basdeo Bissoondoyal – Panditji as he was called with reverence - dates to a couple of decades. I had just taken up teaching. Arriving at his place, my colleague and I saluted Panditji who asked us to sit beside him. He was sitting in his wooden armchair partly woven from strips of rattan. On all sides in the veranda were piles of carefully arranged printed matter – magazines, newspapers, etc, which had turned yellowish with time. He immediately stopped reading while putting a book-mark between the pages he had come to. Not the least disturbed, he was pleased that I had joined teaching when my friend told him so.

However, Panditji explained that what we had studied in our coursebooks to pass exams was simply meant to help us earn a living. But he emphasised that it was essential that we had something more to feed our minds and souls. How? He advised us to put aside some rupees at the end of each month to buy books of winnowed wisdom of sages and seers. We clearly got the message.

It was the beginning of a long association with Panditji. Each meeting with him was an elevating experience, soul-searching, a voyage of discovery. He would talk to us about the history of our island yet to be written, literature, philosophy, scriptures among others. I always looked to him for advice. He would have answers to my questions so that when I took leave of him, my mind would be light.

This intellectual giant was, however, an absolute epitome of simplicity. He was so unassuming in his appearance and ways that you would never for a second feel that you were in the company of a luminary, a towering genius.

Pandit Bissoondoyal has indeed left us a rich legacy in his books of lasting value. Say what one likes, he was the precursor of our country’s independence. He awakened the working class – the insulted, the humiliated and the untutored - to the realisation that they were born with fundamental rights. Panditji for sure ushered in a cultural revolution during the dark days of colonialism.

<B>Kaviraj Sohur</B>