The room at the house at Church Lane where Neem Karoli Baba used to stay
Born in Gomor village near Dhaka, Prof Mukherjee first met Baba at Kolkata’s Dakshineswar temple in 1935, where Baba gave him a mantra to chant. When Prof Mukherjee came to Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in 1950 to study and stayed with his maternal uncle in Colonelganj, he met Baba again, as the latter also stayed at the house. After joining Allahabad University as an economics teacher, Prof Mukherjee built the Church Lane house in 1956, inspired by Baba. Satya became closely associated with the Mukherjee family after visiting Nainital in 1991, where her son studied at Sainik School, Ghorakhal. Prof Mukherjee died in 1997, followed a few years later by Kamla.
She later visited Kainchi Dham, where she was told about Prof Mukherjee. The house belonged to Prof Sudhir Mukherjee, an economics teacher at Allahabad University, and Baba used to visit him once or twice a year. Though ‘Hanuman Ansh’ film was not shot at the house, references to Baba in the film have renewed interest in him, prompting more people to visit the premises. With no children of their own, Prof Mukherjee and his wife Kamla treated her like a daughter.