Vidyasagar in popular perception: Recovered through anecdotes

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is one of the greatest figures of Bengal Renaissance, celebrated for his learning, promotion of education and pursuit of social reform. A number of anecdotes about him circulated among the middle class (Bhadralok) as well as the poorer sections of people. The article examines, through a selection of such anecdotes, what kinds of stories about Vidyasagar particularly caught the public eye, without delving into the accuracy of the specific pieces of public memory. What is significant here is that his personality, rather than his causes, forms the prominent theme in these anecdotes