... The Mother's Force and Will found an effective instrument in Joya. After Arun Tagore's passing away, Pradyot put Joya in charge of Lakshmi's House. She came, she saw, and through consecrated work, she conquered all. I have been told how she worked tirelessly to build and establish The Future Foundation School, Galerie La Mère - an art gallery and 'Sri Aurobindo Parichay' Gallery... The Mother had written that Lakshmi's House will be 'the Home of Grace'. Joya fulfilled The Mother's wish through her consecrated work.

Joya will always be remembered for her creations at Lakshmi's House.

- Nirodbaran

That unforgettable day in 1953 - my first 'Darshan' of The Mother.

We had reached Pondicherry on the last leg of a trip to South India. At that time I knew nothing of Mother-Sri Aurobindo or the Ashram. In those days, The Mother's permission was necessary to stay at the Ashram Guest Houses. As our visit was not planned, we had not made the request in advance.

After reaching Pondicherry, we had kept our luggage in a hotel in the Bazaar and gone to the Ashram in search of accommodation. That is when we learnt about writing a letter to The Mother seeking Her permission for the stay.

It appeared to me an amazing act of grace: The Mother accepted our request. And we found ourselves comfortably ensconced in the second floor of the house where Dilip Kumar Roy had stayed.

At dawn, my eyes drank in a vision: a being of light, a solar deity, a human form so slender and delicate as if made of light - I gazed at her mesmerized. It was Her. The Divine Mother. It mattered not if one knew nothing of Her - to have Her Darshan was All. But to see Her just once was not enough - the heart kept yearning for more. There was a constant restless, urge for the next Darshan. At eleven a.m. I saw Her again for a few brief moments at the Balcony Darshan. I followed The Mother around through the day from the Tennis Ground to the Playground, in an intoxicated state. My entire being was seized by a strange irresistible attraction. It was an indescribable experience to receive ground-nuts from Her own hands at the 'Playground Distribution'.

The Mother's burning gaze seemed to rend asunder my inner self and penetrate deep within. 'Au revoir' - a french phrase reached my ears (I did not understand it then). The days thus passed in blissful enchantment.

[Joya di used to recount that Mother's eyes were like burning coal, so powerful, that it was difficult to meet Her gaze. Joya di avoided the eyes, and lowered her gaze, but the more she did that, more the Mother lowered Hers too. When the two sets of eyes met, Mother said 'Au revoir'. Joyadi felt at that instant that She pulled out something from Joya di's heart, in a wrenching movement that was painful. Thereafter, it was yearning and bliss, in the knowledge that she had met the Divine on earth. - Ranjan Mitter]

The time for leaving now seemed close. Thursday was a 'Blessings Day' - I could not return from here without taking the Divine Mother's blessings. Life now seemed meaningful only if it revolved around Her.

I stood in the line for Blessings. Ma gave me a white flower - later I learnt the spiritual significance given by Her to the flower was 'Psychological Perfection'. The five petals represent five qualities necessary for Psychological Perfection: aspiration, devotion, faith, sincerity and surrender. A combined offering would bring integral fulfilment - thus She gave me fulfilment - She put me on the path to Integral Yoga.

It rent my heart to leave Pondicherry and come away. I felt as if I had only brought my material frame and the rest was left back there, at the Divine Mother's feet. Since my childhood I had heard of heaven - now I had seen with my own eyes the Divine's kingdom on earth.

Joya di

In the early sixties, she met a senior Sadhak of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry - Shri Pradyot Kumar Bhattacharya . Through him, she renewed her contacts with the Ashram and developed an inner resolve to serve The Mother.

Lakshmi's House - The Home of Grace

In 1971-72, Joya di was in the middle of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Celebrations in Calcutta and various districts of West Bengal. In 1976, Pradyot da asked her to look after the development of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture at Regent Park, Calcutta.

Joyadi's predecessor at the Institute, Shri Arun Tagore had just established a small nursery school called Arun Nursery School in the Institute premises, in 1972, with four students. From this grew, in later years, The Future Foundation School, which has come to be regarded as a premier school in South Kolkata.

Foundation stone of TFFS new building being laid by Dr Karan Singh - Joya di, Shyamal da, Rathin da and others

In 1979, Joya di took over and the number of students then was twenty. Years of sincere, single-minded and hard work bore positive results. The school grew in size and stature. As the number of students increased, the need for a proper accommodation was felt. A true lover of nature, Joya di would do nothing that would spoil the idyllic, sylvan surroundings. She modelled the school in the style of the "Gurukul" of ancient times. Thatched huts amidst bamboo groves with uneven slabs of stepping stones to reach the classrooms was the outcome of her ethnic look. Every year a new cottage was added to accommodate the growing number of students.

From 1984, Joya di was running from pillar to post to secure a No-Objection Certificate from the West Bengal Government which was difficult to obtain. She was also trying to get the school affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination, New Delhi. A provisional affiliation was obtained for ICSE (Class X) in 1986 and for ISC (Class XII) in 1990. First batch of ICSE and ISC students appeared in 1991 and 1993 respectively.

The Mother's Salute

Joya di with School teachers (1997)

As Founder Principal of the School, Mrs. Mitter had a unique style of functioning. She firmly believed that example is better than precept. Her tastefully decorated office was open to all.

Teachers were free to discuss the minutest details with her. Her charisma and magnetic personality have been the basis of an informal principal-teacher, teacher-student relationship. According to the teachers, Joya di did not interfere in the classroom activities of the teachers but through this attitude she imparted a greater sense of responsibility among all teachers. Students and teachers realized, thanks to their beloved Principal, that work is joy and a job can be turned into a mission if head and heart work in unision. She has shown that the job of a teacher is to to make the student of today a noble citizen of tomorrow.

Joya di leading a song

She had never learnt to say "no" to a challenge. Joya di had a keen aesthetic sense and never left any work half-done. She not only took personal interest in all the activities of the school but was capable of motivating everyone around her and was instrumental in bringing out the best in them.

Nirod da, Joya di, TFFS students and teachers in Pondicherry

In Joya di's life, there was a pervading sense of beauty and she tried to instill in every student the appreciation thereof. Her energy level was boundless and she was never short of innovative ideas. In a decade and a half of her association with the school she infected students and teachers alike with an enthusiasm that was hard to resist. Joya di took the classroom beyond the desks and black-boards to nature, tradition and culture.

Besides the school, Joyadi carefully nurtured Shakti Centre, a cultural school for women. From the likes of Uday Shankar down to Sanjukta Panigrahi, Madhuri Mukherjee to Roma Mondal, Maya Mitra to Kalyani Roy etc., the Institute boasts of a wide array of cultural talents among its teachers.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in the Hall of Light

There were once-in-a-lifetime cultural concerts at regular intervals and acclaimed artists like Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pt. Jasraj, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia and many more cultural luminaries considered Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture their second home.

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

Joyadi set up a medical consultation unit "Health & Healing", with the support and participation of many eminent doctors of Kolkata, within the ambit of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture. Concerned with the upliftment of women, she also set up production-cum-training units in incense, spices, handloom etc at a separate centre in Boral.

Paying respects at the Commemorative Plaque for 'Karmayogin Newspaper' Office

Unveiling of the Commemorative Plaque at Grey Street - 02.May.1990

On 15.August.1997, Joya di started 'Sri Aurobindo Parichay' Gallery. The Gallery presents a son-et-lumiere exposition on Sri Aurobindo's life, with particular reference to the Indian Freedom Movement in the first decade of the 20th century.

Joyadi's last great contribution was in aiding the unearthing of sensitive material and documents pertaining to the famous Alipore Bomb Trial of 1908-09. On 15.August.1998, 'Sri Aurobindo Memorial Room' was set up as part of the Museum of Memorable Case Records to present and preserve the material for all posterity.

... when I first visited Lakshmi's House. A warm and loving smile greeted me. The eyes sparkled with devotion and the whole being seemed to be an offering to Her. Joyadi stood under the porch, wrapped in joy!

She took me around the house, telling me the story of Lakshmi's House, of the rooms, of the special occult symbol on the ceiling, of the cute cottages that were classrooms.. All things were beautiful, imbued with a sacredness that is born of dedication. All things were artistic, displaying the touch of her artistic grace. All objects were well-placed and well-decorated, testifying to a deep passion for expressing MahaLakshmi's harmony and beauty.

She had also the refined side of administration. With firmness tempered with sweetness, Joyadi got her things done by people who seemed to wait on her love-bespoken lips! People enjoyed working with her and for her, not out of fear but because they admired her selflessness.

Beauty and love were her twin achievements,...she had the uncanny knack of attracting and manifesting the grace of The Mother, especially Her supramental aspect of MahaLakshmi..

Amongst the very few who have dedicated their life and manifested the intoxicating sweetness of the Divine, Joyadi is surely one of the avant-garde...

- Ananda Reddy

Joya di, her father - Shri Baidynath Ghosh and her mother - Smt. Niharkana Ghosh

Joya di and her elder brother, Aloke

Joya Mitter nee Ghosh was born on 2nd February 1936 in Shyampukur, in North Kolkata. Her father was Shri Baidynath Ghosh and her mother Smt. Niharkana Ghosh. She had an elder brother Aloke. She belonged to an orthodox family where religion was a way of life and not mere ritual. Thus, from her very childhood, she developed a deep affinity towards the Divine. Her favourite deity was Lord Krishna.

She attended Duff School and took her graduation from Bethune College in Botany. In the latter part of her life, she also did her Post Graduation in English and took a degree in Education.

Joya di, Rathin da and their son, Ranjan

She was married to Shri Rathindra Kumar Mitter, a civil engineer, on August 5, 1954, at the age of 18. Ranjan, their only child, was born a few years later.

She firmly believed that bringing up a child was an art and she groomed her son accordingly. She was a dedicated daughter-in-law, wife and mother.

As a child, she learnt dancing, specially Rabindrik and also singing. After marriage, she pursued her interest in painting, and took courses in Indian Painting and Fine Arts at Govt. Art College. She also completed her training in music and won a Gold Medal from Gitabitan. Adept at the sitar and the piano, she was fond of flowers and took a diploma from Wafu-Kai School of Ikebana. Apart from her artistic bent she excelled in cooking and specialised in Indian, Chinese and Continental cookery.

Joya di and Ikebana - Japanese art of flower-arrangement

In Baruani, Bihar, her husband's workplace, she started a dancing school for local children and staged Rabindranath Tagore's "Dakghar" and other plays successfully. Later on, she duplicated this experiment at her thatched country house in Madhyamgram. She had an inborn feel for architecture and this manifested itself there. She was very fond of gardening and agriculture , and grew many types of roses in her garden in Barauni as also vegetables, paddy etc.

Joya di was effusive, caring, vigorous and possessed of an untiring zeal and dedication. She was a perfectionist to the core. Her life's mission is best summed up in the following lines of The Mother:

Joyadi passed away on 24th July 1999. It was her first and last illness that lasted for a brief ten months. She never stopped working, she never altered her routine and she never stopped dreaming. Her spirit will always continue to inspire.