Bristol: The city of Bristol in the UK on Sunday paid tributes to the life and times of Indian social reformer Raja Rammohun Roy, who died in the UK city on September 27, 1833.
Chris Davies, Lord Mayor of Bristol, led a service at the tomb where Rammohun Roy's remains are interred. The service was attended by several people from across Britain, including members of the Brahmo Samaj, London.
Davies recalled that the local council has been honouring the memory of Rammohun Roy every year for the last 76 years, and him intricate Indian-style tomb was a symbol of close links between Bristol and India.
Jitender Kumar, first secretary (Community Affairs), represented the Indian high commission in London.
Carla Contractor, a local historian who has worked for over two decades to preserve and cherish Rammohun Roy's legacy in Bristol, recalled his many achievements and qualities of head and heart.
The service included renditions of Rabindranath Tagore's poetry and prayers by the local Unitarian church. It was recalled that Rammohun Roy called himself a 'Hindu Unitarian'.
Roy came to England in 1831. However, 10 days after arriving in Bristol, he fell ill with meningitis and died on 27 September, 1833. His remains lie buried in the sylvan Arnos Vale cemetery on the outskirts of the city. The tomb is covered by a canopy ('chhatri'), which has become a prominent symbol of the cemetery.
He was initially buried in the grounds of Beech House, where he lived, but 10 years after his death, his friend Dwarkanath Tagore had him re-interred in Arnos Vale.
His epitaph at the tomb reads: "Beneath this stone rest the remains of Raja Rammohun Roy Bahadur, a conscientious and steadfast believer in the unity of Godhead, he consecrated his life with entire devotion to the worship of the Divine Spirit alone.
"To great natural talents, he united through mastery of many languages and distinguished himself as one of the greatest scholars of his day.
His unwearied labour to promote the social, moral and physical condition of the people of India, his earnest endeavours to suppress idolatry and the rite of Sati and his constant zealous advocacy of whatever tended to advance the glory of God and the welfare of man live in the grateful remembrance of his countrymen."
Acknowledging Rammohun Roy's contribution to modern India, his statue was installed in 1997 - the 50th year of India's Independence - at a prominent location in the Bristol city centre. The statue was built by the renowned Kolkata-based sculptor, Niranjan Pradhan.
The statue was inspired by Rammohun Roy's portrait by Henry Briggs and which hangs in the art gallery in Bristol.
The statue is 8.5 feet (1.5 metres) high, made of bronze and weighs approximately 900 kg. It cost 13,000 pounds.
The tomb was renovated in 2008 following the intervention by the mayor of Kolkata, and financial support extended by an Indian entrepreneur, Adutya Poddar.
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