and aunt, the Burmese princess Badrunnessa was brought to Calcutta as a royal war-prisoner. Unfortunately, a grave tragedy befell Mr. S. Wajed Ali's life only two years after his marriage, when on 26 October 1931, Mrs. Badrunnessa Ali died a day after the birth of her only child. Her body was buried in the 'Gobra graveyard'. An English nurse was appointed to take care of his new-born child, Sheikh Badruddin Ali (Zaib-un-Nissa was also quite young at the time). The founding of the magazine 'Gulistan' in December 1932 was an active and busy chapter of S. Wajed Ali's life. He built up around this magazine a cultural and literary circle embracing the cream of contemporary Bengali society. Its cover bore the vision behind its creation 'the pioneer of Hindu-Muslim unity'. The writer's list of 'Gulistan' bears evidence of the nobility, width of scope and seriousness of the magazine: Kazi Nazrul Islam, Dr. Mohammed Shahidullah, Kazi Abdul Wadud, Kedārnāth Chattopādhyāy, Tārāśankar Bandyopādhyāy, Pramathanāth Bishi, Buddhadeb Basu, Sajanikānta Dās (of Śanibārer Chithi fame), Kaviśekhar Kālidās Rāy, Bārindranāth Ghosh, Pabitra Gangopādhyāy, Poet Kader Nawaz, Poet Nirmal Dās, Anurupā Devī, Prabhābatī Devī Sarasvatī, Indirā Devīcaudhurāni, Manilāl Bannerjee, A. K. Jainal Abedin (Navayug), Humayun Kabir, Comrade Abdul Aziz, Phanindranāth Mukhopādhyāy, Dhīrāj Bhattacārya, Saurīndramohan Mukhopadhyāy, Abbasuddin Ahmed etc. At these heady times, S. Wajed Ali's residence at 48, Jhowtalla Road, was the usual venue for the Gulistan-centred literary evening gatherings. The contemporary elite of the intellectual, literary and art world of Calcutta were often present in those sessions. Besides being the founder of the 'Gulistan' magazine, S. Wajed Ali was also the publisher and editor of the English language magazine: 'Bulletin of the Indian Rationalistic Society'. Retirement On 31 October 1945, S. Wajed Ali retired from the position of third presidency magistrate and restarted his independent legal profession. At this time he still resided at his residence at 48, Jhowtolla Road. S. Wajed Ali was a soft-spoken person with a reserved and contemplative nature. He was a unique and distinctive personality of his time with his aristocratic bearing, wide grasp of knowledge and intellectual pursuits. Regarding his personality Syed Ali Ahsan has justifiably commented: "S. Wajed Ali possessed an exceptionally generous nature. With such a magnanimous, righteous, broad-minded and pleasing personality, he was well loved by all he came into contact with...' 'He had an extraordinary depth of perception'. While never loud nor offensive, he was