Saraswati Mandir, also known as Sarika Sadan or Narmad House, is a

writer's house museum Writers' homes (sometimes writer's, author's or literary houses) are locations where writers lived. Frequently, these homes are preserved as historic house museums and literary tourism destinations, called writer's home museums, especially when t ...

in Surat,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India. It was built by

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

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 the ...

in 1866. In 2015, the house was renovated and converted into museum and memorial house dedicated to Narmad.

History

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 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 Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

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, 182nd birth anniversary of Narmad.

Replica

The replica of ''Sarika Sadan'' was constructed at the

Veer Narmad South Gujarat University Veer Narmad South Gujarat University is a public university located in the city of Surat, Gujarat, India. Previously known as South Gujarat University, it was renamed as Veer Narmad South Gujarat University(VNSGU) in 2004 in honour of the famous ...

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.

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 ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Its floor was tiled with

Kota stone {{unreferenced, date=August 2010 Kota Stone is a fine-grained variety oKota limestone quarried at Kota district, Rajasthan, India. Hundreds of mines are located in or near the town of Ramganj Mandi and in the Kota district. The greenish-blue an ...

with shiny finish. It had sloped roof with Mangalore tiles.

References

External links

Short documentary on house before its renovation

Slideshow 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

History

Replica

Architecture

See also

References

External links