British Heritage will install a Blue Plaque at the house of Sister Nivedita in Wimbledon to commemorate her 150th birth anniversary.
This is for the first time when the British government has recognised Nivedita's great service to mankind. Installing a Blue Plaque is the highest regard shown by the British Heritage to any person. The younger generation of Brits have shown keen interest in the life and work of Nivedita.
The plaque will be installed on October 28 which is Nivedita's birthday. Officials of British Heritage will be present on the occasion where a function will be held.
The initiative was taken by Sarada Basu, a former student of Jadavpur University who stays in England for many years. She brought Selendra Margot Gierdin, grand niece of Sister Nivedita to Kolkata. Gierdin was the first person from Nivedita's family to visit the city in February 2015, almost a century after her death.
Nivedita died in Darjeeling in October 1911. Basu got in touch with a few of her relatives who stay in England and Australia. Basu's great grandmother was one of the earliest students of Sister Nivedita.
Elizabeth Noble had opened a school at Wimbledon. Swami Vivekananda had visited the school in 1895 and appreciated her teaching techniques.
Margaret in those days had started a pre-school system for the kids.
She was the secretary of Sesame Club where British intellectuals of those days like Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, Sydney and Beatrice Webb, D H Lawrence were frequent visitors and delivered lectures. Margaret became famous as a teacher in England and she also wrote for several English newspapers. She came to Kolkata following an invitation from Swami Vivekananda in 1898. She opened a school at 16, Bosepara Lane in north Kolkata for girls belonging to middle-class families. She faced stiff opposition from Hindu conservative families who believed that their daughters would either become widows or would be difficult to get them get married if they were sent to a school run by an English.
Nivedita took the leading role when plague broke out in the slums of north Kolkata. She stayed in the area and went ahead with her service. She raised funds for the work and wrote articles and letters in different newspapers drawing the attention of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the British government.
It may be mentioned that the street that leads to the Art Institute in Chicago where Swami Vivekananda had addressed the World's Parliament of Religions in 1893 has been renamed after Swamiji.
A replica of the Art Institute has been built and the text of Swamiji's speech has been inscribed.