Page:Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer - A History of the Renaissance in Bengal.djvu/41

 Babu Ramtanu Lahiri that first married into the Dewan family and settled in Krishnagar. We have been told, however, that some of them lived at Matihari, along with the Chakravarttis; and from thence they came here. Mr Lahiri’s great grandfather, Ramhori, permanently made Krishnagar his home. He had two sons, Ramkinkar and Ramgovinda, of whom the former was appointed Munshi in the court. He was childless, and so adopted a son, while his brother had five sons. Under the joint family system, Ramkinkar, as the only breadwinner, was called upon to support Ramgovinda with his wife and children. He submitted to the requisition at first; but soon finding it burdensome, proposed to his brother a division of the family possessions and liabilities, so that they might shift each for himself. Ramgovinda could not say nay to this; and the day of partition having arrived, the wily Kinkar divided the whole property, movable and immovable, into two lots, one consisting of things of high value, the other only of the family Shalgram Shila and some Debuttar land, and gave his brother the first choice. Ramgovinda, being of a pious turn of mind, gladly seized the second lot, willing rather to starve than part with his tutelary god. This step afterwards entailed upon him great poverty, with all its concomitant discomforts, but he had the consciousness of having done right. He had the reputation of being a religious man, and Bharat Chandra in the Annadamangal, alludes to his virtue and high worth.

Of the five sons of Govinda, Kasikanta was the second. He worked for some time under the Raja of Dinajpur. People speak of him as a man of commanding presence, inspiring awe in the minds of all who approached him. The apprehension of his displeasure deterred the children of his house from their juvenile follies. Once