At the age of seven Gadai lost his father. Kshudiram, the venerable brahman, passed away suddenly at a relative's place in neighbouring Salampore where he had gone to attend the annual Durga Puja festival. When his final moment came he was set up in the sitting posture and chanting 'Raghubir, Raghubir, Raghubir' thrice, he lay in the lap of his beloved God for his final sleep.
The Chattopadhyas were devastated. The patriarch was gone and Ramkumar was called upon to discharge the responsibilities of the family. Chandramani Devi was a shadow of her former buoyant self and remained increasingly immersed in daily devotions of the family deity Raghubir. Even the bonny boy, Gadai, was profoundly affected by this visitation of death, a phenomenon that cast a deep impression on his sensitive mind and, perhaps, transformed him for life. He now became more in-drawn and reflective but keenly sensitive to giving added company to his bereaved mother. Gadai helped her in her household chores and in her daily worship of Raghubir. He became less demanding as a child and did whatever he could in his own boyish way to assuage her grief. But the passing away of Kshudiram changed the contours of the Chattopadhyay family for good. Who knows how he would have related to his father through his blossoming boyhood were he spared the company of his sage-like sire? But that was not to be and Gadai grew up in the affectionate care of his elder brothers Ramkumar and Rameshwar and his doting mother Chandramani.
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