SC: Did you exchange this house like many did when they left the country?

AGS: Shankhanidhi House was our Mandir Bari or family temple. It was built in the Bangla year of 1307. It was a Debottor property (religious property which cannot be sold). So we did not exchange it.

SC: What was the main business of the Sankhanidhi family?

AGS: We were in the business of ayurvedic medicine. We also imported Hicks thermometers and alcoholic ingredients for medicinal use from London. We manufactured painkillers, antiseptic medicine, quinine-based medicine and ointment.

SC: When and how did your family obtain the name Sankhanidhi?

AGS: Actually our family surname is Shaha Banik. My great-grandfather and his brothers were awarded the title Sankhanidhi in Dhaka at a conference of Sanskrit pundits from Banaras. All the pundits were given two sankhas along with other items. So the pundits awarded the brothers the surname Sankhanidhi (mine of conch). It was used by the brothers and later by all the descendants of this family.

SC: Tell us about Shankhanidhi House.

AGS: The Temple at 38, Madan Mohan Basak Lane (now named Tipu Sultan Road) is our Thakurbari where our family deity Shri Shri Radha Binode Jiu was worshipped. My grandfather's old residence was attached to this temple house. My great grandfather, Bhajahari Saha, was friends with the Bhawal Raja, Tripura Raja and Kuchbihar Raja. They used to go hunting together. Gour Nitai Shaha Street, Bhajahari Shaha Street, Lal Mohan Shaha Street and Bhagabat Prasanna Shaha Street are the four roads of old Dhaka which are still under the name of our family members.

SC: What are your memories of the house?

AGS: I spent my childhood in Shankhanidhi House. We had a nat mandir (the front space of the temple) and inside the temple was a monikotha (where the idols were placed). There were deer heads, china stands and other valuable furniture adorning the rooms and the staircase. There was a billiard room and all kinds of musical instruments in the music room. We celebrated Pohela Boishakh, Akshay Tritiya or Chandan Jatra, Radhashtomi and many other festivals. Fairs were arranged in front of the house on the occasions of these festivals where people from all religions took part. There was a nahabat khana where prominent musicians played sehnai.

SC: When did you last see the house? How was it at that time?

AGS: Last time I saw Mandir Bari was in 1965. At that time there were the idols. Arati (worship) was performed. Our people also were there. I came to Bangladesh in 2002 at the invitation of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as a life member. But at that time I could not visit the house out of fear.

Now the place seems like a haunted house. The sheer indifference of the inhabitants to the architectural beauty of the place is disconcerting. They are using the house as if it is something they have got for nothing so they can use it in whichever way they please. They have partitioned the verandah, built brick walls where they seemed convenient. The ground floor contains several mechanical shops and the courtyard is an automobile workshop. The temple is a lube godown and remains under lock and key. Tears came to my eyes to see all this.

The house I made in Kolkata is a miniature of Shankhanidhi House. I built my house following that design because I can never forget what I left in Dhaka sixty years ago.

SC: Did your family own any other house in Dhaka?

AGS: I do not know the exact number of houses we had in the city. I heard that it was around one hundred. In Tipu Sultan Road we had several houses. A few contributions of the Sankhanidhi family to Dhaka city that I can remember now are the sundial and the ghat at the lily pond in Baldha Garden, the Christian cemetery in Wari, a dharmashala (free guest house) in Kamalapur and the Wari Club.

SC: You visited Dhaka in 1965 and 2002. What are the changes that struck you this time?

AGS: This time I was caught by surprise to see the speed in which the city is shaking off its old features and putting on new looks. I saw many significant old houses missing which I had found last time. They are being replaced by new buildings. It is happening in Kolkata also. This is depressing but times are cruel. When I see the vintage car rally in Kolkata then I feel how important it is to preserve old things.

SC: Why did you leave your country?

AGS: This is a big question. After partition there were lots of disturbances. There was insecurity. Safety is the first prerequisite of human life. We had to flee to Kolkata leaving all our properties.

SC: Do you hold anyone responsible?

AGS: My fate.

SC: Do you still think that your roots are in this country?

AGS: Of course my roots are in this country. Rangpur is my grandmother's home. Comilla is my mother's home. Khulna and Jessore are my in-law's home and Dhaka is my home. I was born here and I am proud of it.

SC: How do you feel when some people call your ancestral home 'enemy property'? Do you think you are an enemy to this country?

AGS: It hurts me. Why will it be called enemy property? How and in which way I am an enemy to this country?

SC: What is your desire regarding this house?

AGS: I want this house to get back its due respect like the Dhaka nawab bari (Ahsan Manjil). It is true that my ancestors built this house but now it is a part of the heritage of Bangladesh. It should be the concern of the Government of Bangladesh.

SC: How did you feel when Star City contacted by phone to know about Shankhanidhi House?

AGS: I felt like the parent who is seeing his dead child come back to life.

SC: How do you feel after seeing your ancestral home after four decades?

AGS: I cannot express my feelings. I am feeling like I regained a golden part of my childhood, which had been lost a long time ago. But I have not come here to claim anything.