widowed mother worsened as his maternal grandfather Ishwar Chandra incurred huge debts due to the oppressive Permanent Settlement Act and ended up bankrupt. In 1850, when Kedarnath was 12, in accordance with the upper-class Hindu customs Jagat Mohini married him to a five-year-old Shaymani Mitra of Ranaghat, hoping to sever Kedarnath's connection with the ill fate of his own family with the good karma of the in-laws. Soon after the wedding Ishwar Chandra died, leaving the entire responsibility for his troubled estate on the widow with two young children. Kedarnath recalls: These hardships made young Kedarnath question the meaning of life and ponder over reasons for human sufferings. He felt unconvinced by conventional explanations and started doubting the reality of the many Hindu gods and goddesses worshiped in village temples. Exposed to contradictory views ranging from religious beliefs to tantric practices, exorcism, superstitions and avid atheism, Kedarnath found himself in a state of disappointment and philosophical confusion. It was at that time that an encounter with a simple old woman who advised him to chant the name of Rama that unexpectedly made a profound impact on him, planting the seed of Vaishnava faith that he maintained throughout his life. New challenges and responsibilities caused Kedarnath to visit Calcutta for the first time. The trip, albeit short and unpleasant, further developed his curiosity for European life and customs. Back in Ula he continued struggling to maintain the property inherited from his grandfather, which took a toll on his education. Finally, in 1852 his maternal uncle, Kashiprasad Ghosh, a famous poet and newspaper editor, visited Ula and, impressed with the talented boy, convinced Jagat Mohini to send Kedarnath to Calcutta to further his studies. In November 1852, leaving his mother and sister behind in Ula, Kedarnath moved to Ghosh's house on Beadon Street in the middle of Calcutta. Education in Calcutta Calcutta was a multicultural city, very different from Kedarnath's experience. A graduate of the prestigious Hindu College of Calcutta, his maternal uncle Kashiprasad Ghosh was a champion of Westernisation, editor of the English language Hindu Intelligencer journal that propagated the ideas of the bhadralok, and a patriotic poet praised even by the British. Kedarnath stayed with Kashiprasad Ghosh until 1858 and became steeped in the lifestyle of the bhadralok and immersed in studying a wide range of Western philosophical, poetic, political, and religious text. Kadarnath studied at the Hindu Charitable Institute