Kanan Devi was like a banyan tree for all of us, nurturing anyone who reached out to her. She would figure out a solution for anyone who turned to her with problems. She had no educational qualifications and yet was such a well-read person. Such was her love for reading that she had a vast collection of books at home. During those days, there were no vacuum cleaners. Yet, she would dust each of them herself to ensure that there were no worms.

From very early on in life, Kanan-di had to struggle a lot. Her childhood was fraught with financial insecurities. She had first married Ashok Maitra who was the son of Brahmo Samaj educationist Heramba Chandra Maitra. He just couldn’t accept that his daughter-in-law could be from the entertainment industry. He was the kind of a person who would stand in front of Star Theatre and point at the opposite lane if someone asked him the direction to reach the auditorium. That marriage ended in a divorce.

In 1949, she married Haridas Bhattacharjee. He was then ADC to the Governor of Bengal. He eventually joined Kanan-di in her filmmaking venture and became a director. 

Having read Kanan-di’s autobiography and seen the lives of so many other heroines, I feel no spouse ever wants his actress wife to be more popular than him. Be it Kanan-di or even Suchitra Sen – the complexities in marriage remain the same. Some talk about it and walk out. Others don’t and stay on in that marriage.

Yet, Kanan-di had the ability to rise above the struggles that life threw at her. It is rare to come across someone like her. I have been fortunate enough to get the opportunity of observing her from a very close proximity. She loved me dearly. I acted in one of her films, Mejdidi (1950). I was a little girl back then. I have known her since that time. The studio where the film was shot is no longer there. Kanan-di too has passed away. 

I have fond memories of shooting with her at that studio. It was named Rupashri and was located on Jhautala Road near Palm Avenue. What a wonderful place it was! The pathways were paved with stones and each of us had a separate makeup room. Kanan-di, naturally, had a makeup room for herself. A massive fire once broke out in that area, incinerating Rupashri.

Few know that the entire ground of Calcutta Movietone once belonged to Kanan-di. While selling it off, she had laid down only one condition: the land will be used for building nothing other than a studio. Legally, no other building could have been erected on that land. That’s why a studio still stands there. 

I strongly feel it should have been named after Kanan Devi. Unfortunately, no one considered this option. It causes me personal agony when I reflect on this. But who can I turn to? There is no one!

When I write about Kanan-di, I need to mention Mahila Shilpi Mahal. It was an organization to help senior female artists and do other charitable work. It was a philanthropic exercise by and for actresses. The idea was to help actresses when they were past their prime to ensure no one disrespected her. We, who were part of the organization, would enact plays. The proceeds of that were used for this purpose.

We had acted in many plays. I remember Molina Devi’s performance in the play, Mishar Kumari. It was directed by Sarajubala Devi and Molina Devi. Banani Chowdhury was the co-director. The play was staged at Mahajati Sadan and Molina Devi had played the role of Abon. Usually the celebrated actor, Ahin Choudhury (Ahindra Choudhury), used to enact that role. Molina Devi dressed up as a man to play the part and brought the character to life with her mesmerizing acting skills.

Stalwarts like Hemanta-da and Pahari Sanyal would come to watch every show without a miss. Molina Devi’s portrayal of her role in ‘Nishkriti’ was outstanding too. Each show was houseful and no seats were available. Hemanta-da used to watch the play from the wings and Pahari Sanyal too would enjoy it. When Molina Devi performed, Pahari Sanyal used to shout and say, "Oh, my dear! How well have you performed!”

I had seen many elderly veteran actresses at Mahila Shilpi Mahal. They were provided monthly allowances. One such actress was Kusum Kumari. At that time she had grown really old. Her financial condition was dismal. She had wrapped her body merely in a sari and didn’t even have the wherewithal to afford a blouse. Whenever I think or speak about Kusum Kumari, I recall how she got her name. Her real name was different. I don't even know that. She used to travel in a horse carriage drawn by white horses. In those days, horse carriages were in fashion. Young men, completely swayed by her, used to throw flowers on her way. The white horse of her carriage used to walk over those flowers (read kusum). That’s how she came to be known as Kusum Kumari.

Kanan-di wanted to make sure that veteran actresses like Kusum Kumari were not left unattended during their old age. Mahila Shilpi Mahal remained functional for a long period of time. I remember it was operating smoothly before I got married. But afterwards, it had to be closed down. It pains my heart to say that the reason for this was politics. Everything gets spoiled wherever politics raises its ugly head. I would say the worst thing invented by our race is politics. Politics destroyed Mahila Shilpi Mahal. There were some who started meddling in internal matters.

I had asked Kanan-di why she dissolved the organization. In reply she had said, “It started at my residence and it is here that I ended it. I cannot tolerate such politics. I wanted women to have their own place so that they will be able to freely express themselves. No one will dare to insult them. I didn’t want to partake in politics. I only wanted to stand by the people in distress. I wanted to help them thrive. But I couldn’t do that”. 

Every Tuesday, a meeting was held regarding the operations of the organization. During that conversation, Kanan-di had asked me why I didn’t come and actively participate in the Tuesday meetings. She felt that my presence would have given her strength. “Why didn’t you come? I had no one by my side,” she had told me.

I had told her that it was only because of a clash of timings. On Tuesdays, my brother-in-law used to visit us at home. Despite wanting to be with her, I couldn't leave my home and go for the meetings.

Once the organization was disbanded, Kanan-di gave away the money kept for running Mahila Shilpi Mahal for miscellaneous charitable purposes, such as installing tube wells or digging wells. A house had also been purchased for Mahila Shilpi Mahal’s benevolent works. That she sold off later. No one wanted to live in that house. They wanted the money but didn’t agree to community living. Rather, they wanted to live in their own homes.

Kanan-di never pursued any other philanthropic endeavor again in her lifetime. All she said was: “I don’t belong to this era of politics. I won’t be able to tackle this”.

Many wonder why Kanan-di, despite being so benevolent, had to face so much in life. Having seen life, I feel that most women have to go through such trials and tribulations in life. Benevolence and goodness doesn’t guarantee a life without struggles. For those like Kanan-di, we get to know about the hardships. For many others, the struggles remain unspoken and they leave this world without ever being able to share the roller-coaster lives that they have led with grace.