SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S TRAVELS IN INDIA, 1886- 1893

109

purchased. It was converted later to a first class one with additional funds from Ajit
Singh.118.
Additionally, the Maharaja gave him rupees three thousand in circulatory notes119.
But it seems SV lost these before the Parliament of Religions. Hearing about this the
Maharaja sent five hundred rupees by telegram through Thomas Cook and Sons. On the
top of this, Ajit Singh promised to provide Swamiji's mother with one hundred rupees
every month till she lived. This 'promise was kept. Due to all these favours the Swami was
always grateful to the Maharaja, as expressed in a letter to him dated December 1, 1898.
Finally Jagmohanlal saw the Swami off on May 31, 1893, when the ship left the
Bombay port. Alasinga had also arrived from Madras to bid farewell. They both remained
on board until the signals went on for imminent departure. They prostrated themselves
before the Swami and left. Leaving the shores of India must have been an emotional
experience for the Swami- guessed, but not known, for he did not express them120.
This was the end of his Indian travels. I begin the story from Vancouver, British
Columbia, in Swami Vivekananda in the West (USA edition, 1993; Indian edition, K. P.
Bagch.i, 1994). For the connecting link between Bombay and Vancouver, the reader is
referred to an excellent piece of original record -- SV's letter to his Madras friends dated
July 10, 1893, written from Yokohamal2 1. For the voyage from Japan to Vancouver, not
much is available, saving three sentences in his August 20 letterl22 to Alasinga : 'From
Japan I reached Vancouver. The way was by the Northern Pacific. It was very cold and I
suffered much for want of warm clothing'.
Swamiji's itinerary, hosts, source of food and mode of travel
Place

Time of
the year

Gaya

March-end
/early April

Host, if
any

Shelter
obtained?

1886
Umesh Babu Yes

Buddha-Gaya
,
Gaya
early April
Antpore
December

Dharmasala Yes
UmeshBabu Yes
Baburam's
Yes
family

Deoghar
Shimultala

relative
relative

Food
obtained?

How did he
travel here ?

Yes

train
from Bally
walk/cart
walkicart
train/horse
carriage

Bhiksha
Yes
Yes

1887
early Spring

"

Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes

train
train/cart

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA IN INDIA

110

Swamiji's itinerary, hosts, source of food and mode of travel. continued

Time of
the year

Host, if
any

Varanasi
Ayodhya
Lucknow
Agra

unknown
unknown
unknown
unknown

end of 1887 or early 1888

Pramadadas Yes
unknovv11
?
?
unknown
<)
unknown

Ayodhya
Vrindaban
Hatras

August
August
September

Hrishikesh
Hatras
Calcutta

October
October
October/

Place

Antpore

February

Kamarpukur
(uncertain)
Jayrambati
(uncertain)
Shimultala

February

Deoghar
Allahabad

Allahabad
Ghazipur

Varanasi
Bhagalpur

February
between
June 26 &
July 4
end-Dec
DecemberJanuary

Shelter
obtained?

obtain~d

'?

How did he
travel here '?

Yes
Bhiksha
Bhiksha
Bhiksha

train
train
train
train

Bhiksha
Yes
Yes

train
train
train

Yes( Gupta)
Yes
Yes

train/walk
train/walk
train

Yes

Yes

walk

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

walk
(uncertain)
walk
(uncertain)
train

PumaBabu Yes
Yes
Govinda
Chandra Basu

Yes
Yes

train
train

Yes

train

Yes
occasional
bhiksha
Yes

train

train

Yes

train

1888
?
unknown
Balaram's
Yes
Sharat Gupta, Yes
Brajen Babu
Hut on ganges Yes
Sharat Gupta Yes
Grandmother, Yes
recovering illness
1889
Baburam's
family
Ramakrishna's
relatives
Sarada Devi's
relatives
Relative

1890
Yes
Govinda
Chandra Basu
January 22 to Satischandra Yes
:t\1ukhopadhyay/
early .r\pril
Gagan Chandra Roy
Yes
Pramadadas
early April to
April 20 or so Mitra
Yes
early Au&rust MaJllr.atha
Nath Chowdhury
till Jan 29

Food

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S TRAVELS IN INDIA, 1886-1893

Ill

Swamiji's itinerary, hosts, source of food and mode of travel, continued

Place

Deoghar
Yaranasi
Ayodhya
);ainital
Almora
Kamaprayag
Rudraprayag
Srinagar, U.P.

Tehri
Ganeshprayag
Dehra Dun
Hrishikesh
~1eerut

~1eerut

Delhi

.'\!war

AJmer
~1t. Abu
Jaipur

Time of
the year

Host, if
any

Shelter
obtained?

1890 continued
Yes
August
Relative or
PumaBabu?
September
Pramadadas Yes
Mitra
September
Janakibar
Yes
Sharan's ashram
September
Rarnaprasann.a Yes
Bhattacharya
September
Lata B. Shah Yes
September
Govt doctor Yes
September
Pumananda Yes
Badri Dutt Joshi
October
Ragunath
Yes
Bhattacharya,
hut on Ganges
till October 10 Raghunath
Yes
Bhattacharya
October
hut on Ganges Yes
October 14
Pandit Ananda Yes
-November 5 Narayan
November 6 hut on Ganges Yes
-November middle
mid-Nov
Trailokya Nath Yes
to mid-Feb
Ghosh, Settji's
garden

till mid-Feb
or end-Feb
ten days in
Feblrv1arch
4 5 weeks
till April 10
or so
Aprill4
April 14 to
July 24
July 25 to
August 3

1891
Settji's garden Yes

Food
obtained?

How did he
travel here ?

Yes

train

Yes

train

Yes

train

Yes

train/walk

Yes
Yes
Yes

walk
walk/coolie
walk/coolie/

Bhiksha

walk/coolie
dandi

Bhiksha

walk

Bhiksha
Yes

walk
horseback

Bhiksha

train/walk

Yes

train

Yes

resting

Seth Shyarnal Yes

Yes
Yes
Das
Yes
Guru Charan Yes
Yes
Laskar, Pandit
Shambhunath, Major Ramchandra
Yes
Yes
unknown
in Cave, &
Yes
Yes
Muslim Wakil
Ajit Singh
Yes
Yes

train
train
train

train
train
train

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA IN INDIA

112

Swamiji's itinerary, hosts, source of food and mode of travel, continued

Place

Time of
the year

Khetri

August 7 to
October 27
October 31
to Nov20

Ajmer

Ahmedabad

Junagad

Nov-end to
early-Dec
December
December
December

Mt. Girnar

December

Limbdi

Limbdi

Junagad
Bhooj

Januacy
January

Verawal
Junagad
Porbandar

before April
before Apr

Dwaraka

"

Mandvi
Narayansarovar" ,
Ashapuri
,
Palitana
"
Bhooj
"
JWlagad
before
April26
Nadiad
end-April
?
Baroda
Bombay
end-April
Mahabaleswar end-April
Puna

May 4-25

Mahabaleswar end-May to
end-JWle

Host, if
any

Shelter
obtained?

1891 continued
Yes
Ajit Singh
Palace
Yes
Harvilas
Sarda and
Shyamji Krishna Verma
Lalshankar
Yes
Umiashankar
Yes
Ashram
Thakore Saheb Yes
Haridas
Yes
Viharidas Desai
, arranged Yes
1892
Haridas Desai Yes
Dewan of
Yes
Cutch
unknown
?
Haridas Desai Yes
Shankar
Yes
Pandurang
Sankaracharya Yes
Math
Bhatia Seth Yes
?
?
?
?
?
?
Dewan
Yes
Haridas Desai Yes
Surajram Tripathi
Desai's relative Yes
Manibhai J. Yes
Yes
?
NarottamM. Yes
Gokuldas
Thakore Saheb Yes
Behemiachand of Limbdi
NarottamM Yes
Gokuldas

Food
obtained?

How did he
travel here ?

Yes

train/horse
-carriage
train/
bullock cart

Yes

Yes

train

Yes
Yes
Yes

walk
horse
walk

Yes

walk

Yes
Yes

walk
train

?
Yes
Yes

train
train
train

Yes

train

Yes
?
?
?
Yes
Yes

train/boat
train
train
train
train
train

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

train
train
train
train

Yes

traat

Yes

train

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S TRAVELS IN INDIA, 1886- 1893

113

Swamiji's itinerary, hosts, source of food and mode of travel, continued

Place

Time of
the year

Host, if
any

Shelter
obtained'?

1892 continued
Khandwa
4 weeks
Haridas
Yes
& Indore
in June-July Chatteijee
Bombay
July-end to
SethRamdas Yes
Sept-end
Chabildas
Puna
Sept-end to Bal Gangadhar Yes
Oct4
Tilak
Kohlapur
October 5-11 Sri Govalkar Yes
Belgaum
October 12
Bhate and
Yes
to 27/28
Haripada Mitra
Margaon
Oct-end to
Yes
unknown
early-Nov
Bangalore
early-Nov
P. Charlu
Yes
Mysore City three weeks K . Sheshadri Yes
in Nov-Dec Iyer
Trivandrum Dec 13-22
K. Sundara- Yes
-rama lyer
Kanyakumari Dec 24-25
Manmatha N. Yes
Bhattacharya
Ramnad
Dec 29-31
Bhaskara
Yes
Setupati
1893
Rameswaram January 1-4 Setupati?
Madurai
January 6
Bhattacharya
Pondicherry Jan 7-12
Manmatha N
Bhattacharya
Madras
January 13
Manmatha N
-February 10 Bhattacharya
Hyderabad
February 11 Madhusudan
-Feb 25
Chatteijee
Madras
February 26- Manmatha N
Apri110
Bhattachraya
Bombay
Apri112-16 Kalipada
Ghosh
Khetri
April21Ajit Singh
May 10
Bombay
May 16-31
Jagmohanlal

Food
obtained?

How did he
travel here ?

Yes

train

Yes

train

Yes

train

Yes
Yes

train
train

Yes

train

Yes
Yes

train
train

Yes

train/bullock
cart
horse carriage

Yes
Yes

horse carriage
and/or train

Yes
Yes
Yes

Bhiksha
Yes
Yes

horse carriage
horse carriage
train

Yes

Yes

train

Yes

Yes

train

Yes

Yes

train

Yes

Yes

train

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

train/horse
carriage
train/cart