Sahu Jagdish Prasad - The previous owner of Savitri Niwas

 

Savitri Niwas – The house of Shri Nathji in Mussoorie was purchased By Shri Nathji from Sahu Jagdish Prasad who was member of the erstwhile royal family of Pilibhit.  Mahamateshwariji and Shri Nathji were keen on purchasing a house in Mussoorie as this hill station was very close to their heart and they had already stayed here for many years in different rented accommodations.  That time India had just gained independence and the British were leaving India and some Muslims were migrating to Pakistan. So many properties were available for sale. A property dealer offered to negotiate a deal for sale of this property called St. Andrews which belonged to Sahu Jagdish Prasad and said that this is the best house in Mussoorie. Mahamatehwariji and Shri  Nathji both had an immediate liking for this house and they purchased it.

Sahu Jagdish Prasad had purchased this property from the original British owners and named it Hari Kunj Estate. He had then gone abroad and when he later returned from USA  he offered to sell his House which Shri Nathji Purchased. But he did not came to Mussoorie personally to do the sale deed but instructed that all this be done by his agent in Mussoorie.  Although the original name St. Andrews was pleasing to Shri Nathji yet it was a foreign name and people could not relate to the name or understand why the house was named thus. So Shri Nathji named it – Savitri Nivas. This was purchased from the Istri  Dhan (Jewellery and money which a bride gets from her parents when she is married)of  Mahamateshwariji. Sahu Jagdish Prasad offered this house as it is with all the original  furniture and furnishings.   From the name plate at the entrance of the main house we can make out that  Shri Nathji occupied this house and named it Savitri Niwas on 15th August 1947. This was the birthday of Mahamatshwariji and also the day India gained Independence.

   Sahu Jagdish Prasad was a man of great stature and held considerable Zamindari property in the districts of Pilibhit, Bareilly and Bijnore in utter Pradesh. He had  three sons. He is also remembered as a philanthropist. In 1955 he donated Rs. 10000 as deposit for the Sahityakar Sanasad Award which was thus named after him as - Sahu Sahab Puraskar. A road in his home town of Pilibhit – (Sahukara Jagdish Prasad Road) is named him.

There is a very old photograph belonging to the previous owners of  this house which shows horse riding outings during the British Raj . This photograph still hangs in the Study room at Savitri Niwas.