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Noted philatelist  Noren Singh Nahar is no more

 

With profound grief, we inform the demise of Shri Noren Singh Nahar, a philatelist and a great human being. He was a Life Member of SIPA and an authority on French India philately and has authored a well researched book on French India Stamps. He passed away today, 11th September 2013 in the morning.

Noren-da, as we lovingly address Noren Singh Nahar, is the third son of Prithwi Singh. Born on 1 December 1920, he came to Sri Aurobindo Ashram for the first time in 1936. During  holidays in 1939, when he came to the Ashram, the Mother wrote to his father that She would be glad if Noren Singh stayed here at the Ashram. When his father asked him about it, Noren-da said that he shall stay on. While giving permission, She said: “If you want to continue your studies you can do so and then come back here.” But he told the Mother that he wanted to remain here from now on. Then he returned to Calcutta, with the Mother’s permission, to wind up his affairs, came back to the Ashram and became a permanent member and an inmate in 1939 at the age of nineteen. His first assignment was supervision of work in Golconde, the oldest Guest House of the Ashram which was under construction and he supervised the cutting and bending of the iron rods. He also worked in the Ashram Bakery and the Press in the printing section. His love for gardening was encouraged by the Mother who gave him a small plot of land behind the office of Pavitra in the inner courtyard of the Ashram Main Building where he, along with help from a senior sadhak named Jyotin-da, grew vegetables.

Pavitra was the first stamp collector in the Ashram. After he joined the Ashram in 1925, he brought his stamp albums from France and thus started the work of stamp collection. Noren-da used to work in Pavitra’s dining room where there was a small table and one stool. With help and guidance from the Mother (who had entrusted to him the responsibilities of the Philately Department which flourished under him) and Pavitra, he has enriched the department so much that now it houses a vast and spectacular collection of stamps of post-Independence India, French India, Canada, U.S.A., Brazil, France, Holland,  Switzerland and some other countries of Western Europe. From 1975 he was helped in his work by his youngest sister Suprabha-di. It won’t be an exaggeration if I say that Noren-da and Suprabha-di are the soul and heart of the Department of Philately at Pondicherry.

He was a close associate of Shri Aurobindo Ghosh and The Mother. The Mother had remarked PHabout Noren-da after seeing him that his psychic being was exactly on the front. Once the Mother had told him: “Noren Singh, I’ll draw your portrait.” But it didn’t materialize for some reason or other, which was a great regret for him.

He has won several Awards at the State, National and International level. He hails from the Royal family of Murshidabad in Bengal and he and his brothers studied at Shanthi Niketan.Also his family is a close associate of Rabindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose.

We  pray to the Almighty to Rest His Soul in Peace.

Text Courtesy : Mr. Anurag Bannerjee and Mr. Balakrishna Das