Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/82

 Gangadhar Tarkavagis was exceedingly pleased at the uncommon intelligence displayed by young Isvar Chandra, and loved his little pupil dearly. In addition to the usual daily lessons in grammar, the professor used to teach him, every day, some Udbhat Slokas (extempore verses composed at different times by different bards), of which there are an infinite number in the Sanskrit language.

To attend his school, Isvar Chandra had to walk from Barabazar, the residence of Jagaddurlabh Babu, where he was putting up, to Pataldanga, where the Sanskrit College was located, a distance of over two miles. For the first six months, his father, Thakurdas, used daily to accompany him to school at nine o'clock in the morning, and again bring him back at four in the evening, for fear lest the little boy should miss his way. This had also the effect of preventing him from mixing with bad boys, who loitered on their way, or wasted time in seeing sights, or doing mischievous deeds of different kinds. At the end of the six months, he won a scholarship of five rupees a month. When he was familiar with the roads he had to pass, and had a sufficient knowledge of the boys he was to keep from, he was left to walk to the College by himself.

In his early years, Isvar Chandra was a dwarf, that is to say, he was not tall to his age. His stature was diminutive, but his head was larger in proportion to the other limbs. His school-fellows, therefore, humorously gave him the nickname of