Early Life
Ramtanu Lahiri was son of Ramakrishna Lahiri. They belonged to a deeply religious family attached to the dewans of the Nadia Raj. Some of them were also employed as dewans or occupied other high positions in the Raj. At that time, Krishnanagar was amongst the more enlightened towns of Bengal, and Kolkata had just started growing. His father, Ramakrishna Lahiri, was a person of limited means, earning a living in the service of the landed aristocracy and from some property he owned.
As per the traditions of the age, Ramtanu Lahiri attended the local pathsala and tol and learnt Arabic, Persian and some English. The environment of song, dance and drinks, in the palace, was not considered ideal for a child to grow up. His elder brother, Keshab Chandra Lahiri, took him to Kolkata at the age of 12. He taught him at home but desired to place the young boy in David Hare’s school.
In those days, there was such a mad rush for learning English and the opportunities were so limited that young boys used to run alongside David Hare’s palanquin, pleading “Me poor boy, have pity on me, me take in your school.” The number of aspirants were so many that David Hare could hardly do anything much.
Keshab Chandra Lahiri managed to line up Gour Mohan Vidyalankar, a person close to David Hare, to plead with him for the admission of Ramtanu Lahiri. He did accordingly and took the young boy to David Hare, but he refused to oblige. Then, Vidyalankar advised Ramtanu to run along David Hare’s palanquin, along with the other boys. The youngster did so for around two months, sometimes even without having any food in the morning. Ultimately, he won over David Hare with his determination. Ramtanu Lahiri was admitted as a free student in the school established by the School Society. The school later became famous as Hare School, and was known as Colutola Branch School for some time.
Young Ramtanu did not have a place to stay in Kolkata. His elder brother mostly lived in Krishnanagar. He crowded in with other boys in Vidyalankar’s house for some time and later found a place in a relative’s house. In 1828, Ramtanu Lahiri passed Entrance with flying colours, winning a grand scholarship of Rs. 14 per month, good enough in those days to manage a living in Kolkata. He joined Hindu College.
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