footbridge idea to the Rock was dropped); the de-silting around the jetty platform areas to enable bigger crafts to approach the shore, and so on. The biggest and ever-present challenge, however, was that of financing the whole operation. Ranade's belief in the success of the Rock Memorial mission was so strong, that he never slowed the pace of work when funds were in paucity. He brushed aside the discouragement of others whose belief was not as strong and started a fund-campaign. Ranade believed that as the Vivekananda Rock Memorial was a national monument; every Indian should be invited to contribute to its construction. He approached almost every state government and asked for their contribution, making a special effort to go to the north-eastern states of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh so that they could also feel a part of the national endeavor. The bulk of the contributions came from the general public. Ranade launched the campaign of one-rupee folders throughout the nation, which was used to mobilize the donations of the common man, starting from as tiny an amount as a rupee. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial was inaugurated in 1970 and dedicated to the nation. The Living Memorial The establishment of Vivekananda Kendra—the Living Memorial alongside the stone structure of the Rock Memorial—was mentioned in 1964. After the groundwork of about nine years, Vivekananda Kendra was officially founded on 7 January 1972 (the 108th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda by the Hindu calendar). On that day, as the sun rose, a saffron flag with Om inscribed on it was unfurled on the Vivekananda Rock Memorial to celebrate the founding of the Vivekananda Kendra: a spiritually oriented service mission of a non-monastic order. The tradition of penance was to be continued by young men and women coming as Karyakartas of Vivekananda Kendra to spread the following message of Swami Vivekananda: The twin objectives of Vivekananda Kendra are man-making and nation-building. Ranade decided that Vivekananda Kendra was to be a cadre-based organization. Young men and women whose hearts long to serve the nation would be provided the opportunity and the right platform to serve God in man. When Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial was blueprinted, it was modeled by E. Thanumalayan, a student of the S. T. Hindu College, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. He modeled it with paraffin wax. The Memorial is the fusion of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu architecture and the design of