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The brave heart centenarian

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The Second World War, the Korean War, the Indo-Pakistan wars… Major General Premangsu Chowdry has seen them all. A salute to the Indian Army veteran, forever young at 100

Major General Premangsu Chowdry of the Indian Army is an extraordinary man, with a military and corporate career par excellence. He took active part in the Second World War operations in North Africa, Middle East and Italy; did post-war General Staff assignments in Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupational Forces (BCOF) and in the Headquarter of Supreme Commander Allied Forces (SCAP) commanded by General Douglas McArthur; with the British Commonwealth Division during the Korean War 1950-53; and fought in all the three India-Pakistan wars of 1948, 1965, 1971.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend quality time with the 99 years young ‘fighting fit’ General and relate to his extensive war experience. He with his contemporaries shaped the Indian Army since Indian Independence in 1947, notably, General (later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa, OBE, the first Commander-in Chief of Independent India; General KS Thimayya, DSO, Chief of Army Staff (1957-1961); and General (later Field Marshal) Sam Bahadur Manekshaw, MC, Chief of Army Staff (1969-1973), legend of the India-Pakistan war in 1971.

The General is to be applauded for his amazing and sharp memory to recall dates/years, names and places from his military career since 1941. The General celebrated being 100 years young on 1 May.

General Chowdry hails from Barisal town on the banks of Kirtan Kola river, then in East Bengal, now in Bangladesh. The family was well known as the ‘Chowdrys from Loha Ghar’ in Comilla District having zamindar credentials in that era. The General’s grandfather was the Superintendent of Prisons in Dacca, Bengal, the first Indian to have held that post in the 19th century. His father was the treasurer to the District Commissioner of Barisal in the early 1900s.

After completing his schooling at Barisal, where he received the gold medal for standing first in his matriculation exam, young Prem did his Bachelors and Masters at St Xaviers College, Calcutta University. Prem studied Arts with English Honours and was placed in the order of merit in the Bachelors programme.

A soldier is born

While he had plans of joining the Indian Civil Services (ICS), recruitment to the ICS had ceased due to the emerging World War in 1939. Prem instead opted for and joined the 1st batch of the Bangalore Cadet College, structured as a British Public School and which became the Officer Training Academy (OTA) for commissioning into the British Indian Army.

On 21 December 1941, Prem was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the ‘Royal Garhwal Rifles’ and joined at the Garhwal Regimental Centre at Lansdowne, which is present Uttarakhand. He was one of the first commissioned Indian officer into the ‘Royal’ Regiment.

After the initial training at the Regimental Centre, in 1942 Prem was posted to the 3rd Battalion Garhwal Rifles and served with them in the Western Sahara desert, Egypt, Cyprus, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and finally in the Italian campaign. In North Africa, the battalion was part of the 5th Indian Division and took part in the ‘Battle of Tobruk’. The fierce battle cost the battalion dearly, and they lost 12 officers and over 500 soldiers. The battalion was withdrawn and moved to Cyprus to rest, recuperate and await reinforcements from the Garhwal Regimental Centre.

Prem was sent for a Weapons Course at the Military School at the Allies military base in Gaza, where he excelled and then was ordered to be transferred to the Gaza Military School as an Instructor, a rare accomplishment because he was one of the first officers of Indian origin to be posted as an Instructor to the School. However the posting order was withdrawn at Prem’s request since he wished to remain with his troops involved in operations. After six months ‘Rest, Relief and Reinforcement’ in Cyprus, which included ‘Raid Operations’ in the Greek Islands, Prem and his battalion were deployed for training under the 9th British Army in the Middle East. From 1943 the battalion, as part of the 10th Indian Division, was actively involved in the ‘Italian Campaign’, where the Division was part of the 8th British Army commanded by General Bernard Montgomery, later Field Marshal, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein.

Prem’s outstanding performance in the Italian Campaign earned him a recommendation for the ‘Military Cross’

Onward to Italy

Prem and his battalion were involved in the Italian Campaign for almost two years until May 1945. The battalion was deployed for operations in the Taranto Sector and in the Eastern and Central Sectors along the Apennine Mountains; they fought battles in ‘River Crossing’ operations at Sangro, Garigliano and Senio.

Prem’s outstanding performance in the Italian Campaign earned him a recommendation for the ‘Military Cross’—but the vagaries in the fog of war instead earned him the gallantry award ‘Mentioned in Dispatches’—his first of the three, two of which follow in the 1948 and the 1965 India-Pakistan wars. Thereafter, in 1944 Prem was promoted out of turn to the rank of a Major when he was just 24 years of age, the youngest officer to achieve the rank at that age.

Prem was the first Indian origin Major in the ‘Royal Battalion’, superseding fellow British Officers in the battalion, thereby exemplifying his high officer leadership quotient.

At the end of World War II, Prem was selected as one of the three officers, with 10 Battalion Commissioned Officers (BCO) and 25 Other Ranks to represent and lead the 10 Indian Division in the Allies Victory March in London in 1945.

Return to India

In October 1945, Prem and his Battalion 3 Garhwal Rifles returned to Lansdowne. The Battalionwas thereafter deployed in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP—currently in Pakistan) at Campbellpore forming part of an experimental Infantry Brigade responsible for testing new weapons and tactics in Waziristan and the Swat Valley. The core task of the Battalion and the Brigade was to suppress the Hazara tribal uprising in NWFP region. At the end of the tenure, Prem was posted as the Training Commander at the Garhwal Regimental Centre at Lansdowne.

After the India-Pakistan Partition, in 1948, Prem was posted back to his battalion 3 Garhwal Rifles deployed in the Kashmir region for the 1948 India-Pakistan war. The Battalion as part of the 160 Infantry Brigade was responsible to clear the Baramullah-Uri axis which they accomplished under heavy odds. Prem earned his second gallantry award ‘Mention-in-Dispatches’ in the Kashmir operations.

Prem as a 28-year-old Lieutenant Colonel was given the prestigious offer to command the 3rd Battalion the 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force). The Battalion provided support to the Hyderabad State police in their action against the Nizam-ruled princely Hyderabad State to ensure that the State remained in the Indian Union.

Prem thereafter undertook the entrance exam for admission into the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington, Tamil Nadu. In 1949-50 Prem underwent the 3rd DSSC Course where he attained the second position in merit and was subsequently posted as the General Staff Officer Grade 1 to Headquarter East Punjab Area in Jullundur commanded then by Major General SPP Thorat.

In December 1950, Prem was chosen by the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, General KM Cariappa to take up the post of General Staff Officer Grade 1 (GSO 1) at the Headquarter British Commonwealth Occupation Forces (BCOF) in Japan. The appointment was another feather in the cap for Prem and his military career, and he was the first and only Indian origin officer to have been part of the BCOF.

Prem’s position as the Liaison Officer at the Headquarter UN Forces enabled him regular professional interaction with General Douglas McArthur, an honour and privilege which Prem recalls with clarity and great pride. In 1951 Prem was posted as GSO 1 to the 1st British Commonwealth Division in Korea. The Division was actively engaged in the ‘Korean War’ in the peninsula. Prem spent a year in the Division and excelled.

Return to India, and finding love

In October 1952 Prem returned to India and was given his second command of an Infantry Battalion, the 2nd Battalion the 5th Gorkha Rifles at Ferozepur as part of the 43 Infantry Brigade. In 1953, Prem got married to Sheila Devichand in New Delhi. The General won the heart and mind of Sheila, in fact he was a dashing and suave gentleman able to leave a lasting impression on anyone who met with him. At 100 years Prem still carries that aura and gentry to win over people. The love of his life for 57 years, Sheila passed away in 2013.

Ethiopia and the emperor

At the end 1960, Prem was appointed by General KS Thimayya, DSO, the Chief of Army Staff to be Commandant of the Ethiopian Military Academy in Harar, reporting directly to Emperor Haille Selassie of Ethiopia. Prem was also an unofficial military advisor to the Emperor. This tenure over the next three years built a lasting association between the Emperor and Prem.

Back to India

After the Ethiopian tenure Prem was posted for the second time to command a brigade, the 120 Infantry Brigade at Rajouri, as part of 25 Infantry Division. In 1965 Prem was posted as Brigadier General Staff (BGS) and acting Chief of Staff of 1 Corps at Mathura which took part in the second India-Pakistan war in the same year. Prem earned his third gallantry award ‘Mention-in-Dispatches’ in this war for his exemplary contribution to the war effort.

In 1967, at the age of 47, Prem was posted as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Madhya Pradesh Area. The following year Prem took command of the 3 Infantry Division at Leh which he commanded until 1970. Prem earned his Param Vishisht Seva Medal from VV Giri, the President of India during this command for his overall meritorious service and the specific job of organising and personally directing the relief programme for the local civilian population after an earthquake struck the Ladakh region. Prem’s efforts saved many lives.

In December 1970, Prem took over as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Bengal Area. This was a vital responsibility since the Area was required to deal with the violent Naxalite problem in Bengal State. In order to do so, Prem was given significant responsibility and authority, and had under direct and indirect command, the three Army divisions then based in Bengal, the Railway, State Police, CRPF, BSF and the Home Guards. During the 1971 India-Pakistan war which led to the creation of Bangladesh, Bengal Area under Prem’s leadership provided vital support to Eastern Command. Leading into the war, the Bengal Area had the crucial responsibility of managing and attending to thousands of refugees pouring into India from East Pakistan.

From the battlefield to the boardroom

On 30 April 1974, after 33 years of meritorious service, Prem retired from the Army and pursued a successful career in the corporate world. In civil life, initially in Calcutta, Prem held senior executive positions in the corporate and public sector including, Director of Shaw Wallace; Managing Director of Durgapore project, a public sector undertaking to which he was appointed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Chief Minister of West Bengal Siddhartha Shankar Ray; and Managing Director of Sankey Wheels. Prem’s contribution to the undertakings enabled them to turn around their losses and be profitable enterprises.

In 1979 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi directly appointed Prem as the Chairman and Managing Director of Incheck Tyres & National Rubber. The position held equivalence to a Minister of Industries and was part of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet at the federal level.

In 1983, at 63 years Prem took permanent retirement. The General and his wife spent time with their three sons Rahoul, Drone and Kunal who lived in Sydney and Dubai. The General currently resides in Sydney with his eldest son Rahoul. An avid golfer into his mid-80s, Prem never missed a chance to swing his golf clubs at the Delhi Golf Club and the Manly Golf Club in Sydney. The Manly Club honoured the General over an evening sit-down dinner with all the members in 2010.

Prem is associated with many charitable organisations and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society United Kingdom. The General was also an active member of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in Sydney.

A salute to the centenarian.

The writer is an Indian Army Veteran

source: http://www.theindiansun.com.au / The Indian Sun / Home> India / by Colonel Joseph Malhews / August 14th, 2020

The man who advised the Tatas to set up Jamshedpur: Pramathanath Bose

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Visionary geologist PN Bose pioneered mineral exploration in India

While he could have easily made a life for himself in England, Pramathanath Bose – nationalist to the core – chose to return to India. Sources by The Telegraph

Pramathanath Bose, a scientist and geologist who lived in the 19th century, has many firsts to his name. Marked by an ardent passion for geology, he pioneered mineral exploration in India and was responsible for the Tatas setting up a steel plant in Sakchi, better known as Jamshedpur.

Born in 1855 in Gaipur village in West Bengal, Bose completed his studies from Krishnagar College with flying colours before moving to Calcutta for further studies. In 1874, he graduated from St Xavier’s College. He travelled to England on the Gilchrist Scholarship to earn an undergraduate degree in science. Bose was in fact the first Indian to get a BSc degree from a British university. He went on to get a diploma from the Royal School of Mines. While he could have easily made a life for himself in England, Bose — a nationalist to the core — chose to return to India.

In 1880, he joined the Geological Survey of India (GSI) as assistant superintendent, the first Indian to hold this post. He served with great distinction for 20 years, assiduously attempting to promote industrial expansion by developing geological resources, particularly coal and iron ore. He discovered the Dalli-Rajhara iron ore deposits in what is now Chattisgarh, which became the captive mines for Bhilai Steel Plant, set up exactly a century after Bose’s birth. Mining started in the Ranigunj coalfields in 1774 but it was under Bose that the operations became systematic and structured.

Next, he turned his attention to Sikkim, not a favourable area for mineral extraction because of inaccessibility, rugged terrain, excessive rainfall leading to frequent landslides and a thick mantle of vegetation. Studies revealed that Sikkim was rich in deposits of copper, iron, lead and zinc, with traces of cobalt, gypsum, graphite, limestone, dolemite, gold, silver and tungsten.

Bose’s tireless efforts in Burma, now Myammar, too were rewarded by the discovery of a variety of minerals. Later, geological studies carried in the royal states of Indore and Kashmir too delineated vast areas with mineral deposits.

Bose’s work in the Narmada valley helped understand the rock structure of the Deccan as well as open up new areas of study such as petrology, historical geology, mineralogy and fossils. He could determine the age of fossils by the radio-carbon method. He located the Gondwana layer in the Deccan which connects Indian history with Africa. His theoretical as well as practical knowledge and his writings in the newsletters and bulletins of GSI helped contextualise Indian geology and elevated the study of Indian geological science in the world.

Bose discovered the unique carbonatite rock and means to extract minerals from granite. Due to his perseverance, the GSI was able to extract manganese and iron ore in Durg, Chattisgarh. In spite of this, Bose was superseded by his British junior, T.J. Holland, as director of GSI in 1903. Miffed, he resigned.

After his voluntary retirement, Bose became technical adviser to the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj. This area in Odisha is rich in mineral deposits, and while surveying it, Bose discovered abundant iron deposits at Garumahishani. It had not escaped Bose’s observation that all his previous discoveries were utilised by the British. This time, he arranged for swadeshi industrialist Jamsetji Tata to sign an accord with the king, Sriram Chandra Bhanjadeo, to establish Tisco (Tata Iron and Steel Company). According to Jamsetji’s biographer, Frank Harris, Bose suggested the factory be set up at Sakchi, at the confluence of the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers. He also inspired Jamsetji to set up the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore.

Bose played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Bengal Technical Institute, now called Jadavpur University, where he was the first principal. He also held regular lectures at the Dawn Society and the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science. He understood that without economic development India’s progress would remain a dream.

Bose wrote books on science in Bengali, including Prakritik Itihaas, which explored the natural history of India. He also published three volumes of the History of Hindu Civilisation During British Rule. This great scientist, who died in 1935, was also a humanist greatly interested in the heritage and culture of India.

The writer is a science historian and author of Science and Nationalism in Bengal

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> Science-tech / by Chittabrata Palit / January 19th, 2020

Two rush to help those all fear to touch in Calcutta

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Duo rescue people abandoned on roads, clean maggots and nurse them back to health

Priyanka Mitra (right) with Priyam Dutta (second from left), a friend (left) and a woman (third from left) they had rescued from a road in north Calcutta where she had been lying injured for three weeks / Telegraph picture

Two women have been rescuing people abandoned on the roads of Calcutta, many of whom government agencies had hesitated to touch because of the pandemic.

The two have been able to rescue seven people found abandoned near Nagerbazar, Amherst Street and Maniktala in the past 15 days. One of them who had been lying on the road for 14 days and had severe infection could not be saved.

Priyanka Mitra, 33, and Priyam Dutta, 33, have been helping abandoned and injured people and animals for the past five years, from cleaning their infected limbs to nursing them. The Covid crisis has left them busier.

The two with a dog they rescued / Telegraph picture

Mitra works in a telecom company and lives with her mother in Baguiati. She is posted in Odisha but returns to Calcutta every weekend when she teams up with Dutta to serve the needy on the roads.

She has been working from home during the lockdown and the number of “cases” they have handled has gone up.

Dutta is a single mother. She lives with her 13-year-old son and father. She has been supporting Mitra outside her professional job as a physiotherapist.

On June 4, officers of Baguiati police station called them to “remove” a man who had been lying on the road for two days. Mitra and Dutta took the man to RG Kar hospital where he was diagnosed with “severe malnutrition”. They kept visiting him till he was back on his feet in four days and discharged.

The two have rescued hundreds of men and women lying incapacitated on roads in the past few years.

In the initial days, people around them would mostly react with shock, Mitra said. “Many years ago I found a woman inside the Indian Botanic Garden lying motionless… only her eyes kept flickering. When I started to remove the maggots moving on her, one of my friends said ‘Pagal hai kya? (are you mad?)’.”

She said she ignored such jibes and continued to do what she thought was right.

Priyanka with a woman they had found unconscious on the street with both her legs fractured. This picture is when she was back on her feet after surgery at RG Kar hospital. / Telegraph picture

Both Mitra and Dutta have always used gloves as their work involves touching strangers often covered in dirt and at times cleaning maggots at the risk of getting infected themselves.

These days, they have started wearing masks in addition to the gloves.

“I regret one incident… a woman was lying motionless in the Amherst Street area a few weeks ago. We cleaned

her face with a wet cloth and tried to make her drink some water… she gasped for a moment and passed away,” Mitra said. “I later found out she had been there on the road for five-six days without food and water. I wish someone had spotted her earlier. She could have been saved.”

Are they not afraid of a Covid infection?

“Of course we are! At times we keep a count of 14 days after helping a person on the road,” Mitra said. “At the end of the day, we tell each other, ‘amader barir lok holeo toh etai kortam (we would have done the same thing had it been someone from our family)’.”

Her father who was an insurance agent inspired her to do such a work. “He would always say we should feel lucky if we can support anyone who needs us. In his endeavour to help others, he left us nothing. I started from scratch.”

Around a decade ago, when she was in college, Mitra gave tuitions and sold Oxford dictionaries and recipe books for a commission of Rs 30 a book in Howrah and Salt Lake to pay her college fees. Once a dog was unleashed on her in Salt lake as the family did not want any salesperson in their apartment, she said.

Dutta, too, had her own set of struggles in her married life. She found a way to support her family by learning physiotherapy.

“I used to be afraid of cockroaches. But seeing her pluck out each and every maggot… so sincerely to prevent the spread of infection, I have been able to overcome that fear, too,” Dutta who is more into feeding and curing stray dogs said.

Every night, the two would step out with home-made “mangsho-jhol bhaat and biscuits” to feed strays across the city.

The two have been taking uncared and unclaimed men and women to government hospitals where treatment is mostly free. The two bear any extra expenses. They said they were lucky to have the support of their families and police.

In March 2016, Mitra had spotted a woman lying on the road near Baguiati Joramandir. One of her legs was bandaged but her clothes and the condition of the bandage made it clear she had been abandoned, Mitra said.

“I contacted the police and got her admitted to RG Kar. She underwent multiple surgeries. We later learnt she hailed from Rajasthan and that her husband had thrashed and broken her leg before dumping her on the road,” Mitra said. “We managed to contact her home with the help of cops and various NGOs… her mother came and took her home. I will never forget her smile when she stood on her feet again.”

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Online Edition / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by Monalisa Chaudhuri / Calcutta / August 06th, 2020

A few good men

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To duck the coronavirus or dodge Amphan’s fury was never top of their agenda

SERVE ALL: Food being prepared in the Khalsa Aid kitchen for those hit by Amphan / Courtesy, Raghbir Singh

During the first few days of the lockdown, Raghbir Singh and some others served 500 meals in and around south Calcutta. Thereafter, they lost count and it was never the point in any case.

The 30-year-old, who works part-time as a real estate dealer and also helps out with the family car rental business, is not new to relief work; he has helped during the Kerala floods of 2018 and the Assam floods of 2019. He says, “When the lockdown was announced, we knew our relief work would have to be ramped up. Since Day 2 we started cooking dal-chawal daily at the Garcha gurdwara and distributed it to people living on pavements and makeshift houses by the roadside.” Volunteers also went around city hospitals such as Chittaranjan Hospital in Park Circus, R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Shyambazar and Calcutta Medical College on College Street with food packets for patients’ kin.

After the first few days, volunteers of Khalsa Aid, a UK-based humanitarian relief organisation, with the help of south Calcutta’s Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, started distributing rations — flour, rice, pulses, sugar, salt — to those in need. They had those as well as cooked food home-delivered too. Raghbir has also been on National Highway 6 a couple of times since the lockdown to hand out bottles of drinking water, biscuits, puffed rice and juice to migrants walking home.

It is difficult to get phone time with Raghbir. Their garage has been shut, and he has been immersed in seva round-the-clock. It entails serving cooked food all day and then driving around the city in the evening delivering household staples.

Raghbir says amidst all this frenetic activity, every successive day he has seen a different side to humanity. “I saw first-hand how difficult it was for the daily-wage earners to survive. They wanted to earn money and some refused to accept the food we distributed.” He talks about others, middle-class folks who first fought shy of seeking assistance, but approached him when he was by himself. “I met so many people who feel that because they are poor, they do not exist for the government,” says Raghbir in muted tones.

On the night of Cyclone Amphan, Raghbir and others from Khalsa Aid got their cars out and drove around the city looking for the stranded and those in need of help of any sort. “We came upon more than one ambulance — carrying patients and kin — stuck on the road. There were uprooted trees all around, impeding movement,” he says.

The morning after brought to light the scale of devastation. Keeping in mind the disrupted power supply and lack of running water across the city, the sevaks went about collecting more groceries. On the first day, they distributed food and water among 400 people, the next day that number doubled and the day after that, it tripled.

Funds to continue this outpouring of support continue to come from private organisations and individuals, most of who prefer to remain nameless.

The night of the cyclone, Raghbir and other volunteers had received instructions

to be on Ground Zero and report the situation so they could start relief work immediately. He says, “We were unable to reach places such as Namkhana and Kakdwip in South 24-Parganas as the roads were completely blocked; so we focused on Calcutta until the roads were cleared.”

On May 25, the group set up their base camp in Diamond Harbour, also in the South 24-Parganas. Raghbir says, “Most of the people had kutcha houses and the cyclone had blown them away. We had carried along plastic sheets; we made canopies for temporary shelter.” The kitchen in Diamond Harbour fed the locals and also many in the Sunderbans and Sagar Island.

Did Raghbir ever fear that he would contract the coronavirus? Does it play on his mind even now in the face of continuing relief work? By way of reply, a photograph lands in the chat window. A close-up of a Khalsa Aid T-shirt with a message emblazoned on it. It reads — Recognise the whole human race as one. Raghbir says, “There is magic in the uniform.”

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> Culture / by Manasi Shah / June 06th, 2020

Two friends who wear India’s self-reliance on their wrists

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Mr Chakraborty (left) and Mr Singh Roy  

These men from Kolkata sport only HMT watches and boast an impressive collection of the brand.

Madan Mohan Chakraborty begins by making an irrefutable statement: that a watch is a watch; whether it costs a hundred rupees or a million, it shows you the same time.

He should know better. His fascination for watches dates back to his childhood. “A watch is a consummate combination of art and science,” says Mr. Chakraborty, CEO and managing director of a European technology MNC. “I was always attracted by design, art, engineering, accuracy and precision, and in a watch, you get it all.”

But what sets him apart is that a large chunk of his collection consists of HMT watches. Even though he owns many expensive brands as well, it is always an HMT that adorns his wrist. “Here, look at this,” he shows off an HMT Surabhi, “this is better than most Omegas. And this is HMT Priya, look how gorgeous it is!”

HMT — set up as Hindustan Machine Tools in 1953 — began making watches in 1961 and the first batch of its hand-wound watches was released by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. For decades, HMT remained synonymous with a wrist watch before, towards the end of the century, Titan took its place, a process that was soon followed by the easy availability of internationally reputed brands in the market.

As an icing on the cake for Mr. Chakraborty, his best friend, Debasish Singh Roy, also happens to be an HMT collector. “I collect coins, cameras, currency notes, but watches are something that I collect as well as use. HMT has been a part of my life, right from the thread ceremony to marriage. I feel good when I think that my watches will go to my daughters and the generation after. Spending time with my collection was one of the most interesting things I did during the lockdown,” said Mr. Singh Roy, a businessman and a sports enthusiast.

Why this fascination for HMT?

Mr. Chakraborty replied on behalf of both: “HMT carries the ability of India. It demonstrates the capability of India, second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour, day after days and generations after generations. We feel extremely proud when we walk in the by-lanes of Switzerland with an HMT Janata or a Pilot on our wrists. People who understand watches can tell whether a watch is mechanical or battery-operated.”

Mr. Singh Roy said: “Many are not even aware that HMT watches are still available on their official site. Many are also not even aware that most HMT factories have closed down and the last one may close down soon. The irony is that HMT was not making money when the watches were available within Rs. 1000. Now when you have to pay between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 12,000 to get an HMT, there is a queue. HMT failed as there was no effort in its branding. When the world is talking about going green, it’s time for us to stop using battery-operated or even smart watches.”

Mr. Chakraborty, as he fished out more sturdy-looking HMTs from his collection, added: “There are many reasons that HMT should be revived. If properly promoted, the entire globe is your market. You don’t need exclusive showrooms to sell watches. HMT-lovers groups active online will promote the brand. Atmanirbharta  [or self-reliance, readvocated recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi] must be an action, not just an empty slogan.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Bishwanath Ghosh / Kolkata – July 09th, 2020

Bengali ghatam player helps raise funds for lockdown-hit classical musicians

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Somnath Roy  

‘Self-respect often stands in the way of seeking help’

Somnath Roy, 49, is possibly the only Bengali to play the ghatam, an instrument synonymous with the Carnatic tradition. But then, his life has been about making unusual choices. Mr. Roy was a full-fledged sportsperson until the age of 19 — first as a gymnast and then as a coach for West Bengal’s sub-junior kho-kho team — when he discovered his love for classical music. Today, as an established cine musician who designs rhythm for movies, he is helping raise funds for classical musicians who have been without an income due to the prolonged coronavirus-enforced lockdown .

Looking for more

“Classical musicians are in the field out of passion and not because of money because there is hardly any money. With the [enforcing of the] lockdown, whatever income they made from concerts dried up. We — a group of established artistes — have managed to help about half-a-dozen musicians so far. We are looking for more people who need help,” Mr. Roy, a resident of Howrah, told The Hindu.

“The problem is identifying such people, because self-respect often stands in their way of seeking help. It wasn’t easy finding out musicians who were really hard up — they included people whose kitchens had almost stopped functioning. Now we have come to know of a young tabla player from Asansol who is in need of money,” he said.

“Cine musicians like me are part of an association — there will be some kind of help if a musician is in need. But classical musicians belong to the unorganised sector, they are pretty much left to fend for themselves,” he said.

Online classes

With recording studios shut for the past nearly three months, Mr. Roy himself has been making a living from online classes he gives students, teaching them the concept of tala — or beats. Mr. Roy, however, did not begin his musical journey as a percussionist. After he quit sports at the age of 19, he was learning to play the flute from the flute-maker and -player Nepal Sarkar, who discovered that the pupil had a gift for rhythm and sent him to Bablu Biswas, a classical percussionist. Subsequently, he learned Western drums from Amal Roy and began playing for films.

“In 1996-end, I happened to watch a show of Zakir Hussain’s Shakti group, and was mesmerised when I saw Vikku Vinayakram play the ghatam. I approached [the respected Kolkata-based mridangam player] Pandit S. Sekhar, who taught me the mridangam for a while and then referred me to Suresh Vaidyanathan, a well-known ghatam player living in Chennai. I lived in Chennai — in Mandaveli — for over two years, learning from Mr. Suresh,” said Mr. Roy.

“I continue to learn from Mr. Sekhar and Mr. Suresh even today. You can say I have introduced the ghatam as a Hindustani percussion instrument to audiences here. I have accompanied many artistes — Amjad Ali Khan, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ajoy Chakrabarty. I am absolutely fascinated by the ghatam,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Kolkata / by Bishwanath Ghosh / Kolkata – June 16th, 2020

Confectioner passes away

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“He wanted to provide the best quality food at the cheapest price,” said daughter Sohini Basu

Arnab Basu, the man who created Mio Amore / sourced by the Telegraph

Arnab Basu, the owner of popular confectionery brands Mio Amore and Winkies, died on July 2 at a city hospital. According to family sources, he was battling liver cancer.

A resident of The Residency in City Centre, Basu was 65 and is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

Basu, who started as a bank employee and then ran a bakery in Saudi Arabia with a friend, founded Switz Foods in 1989. Two years later, he would open his factory in Kasba Industrial Estate.

He arranged with a Mumbai company to bring the brand Monginis to eastern India, taking it in a new direction. The chain, that started with a shop in Dhakuria in 1992, expanded to over 300 outlets in Bengal and Odisha, including 220 in Calcutta.

In 2010, he entered a joint venture with Bauli of Italy to start production of croissants. He launched the brand Winkies to enter the packaged confectionery business in 2012.
Soon after, he decided to set up his own brand and thus was born Mio Amore in 2015. Within two years, turnover soared over Rs 500 crore.

“He wanted to provide the best quality food at the cheapest price,” said daughter Sohini Basu, who owns the popular cafe and cake shop Mrs Magpie. “My father was happy that one of his children got into cakes,” she added. Basu’s son is a London-based banker.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by The Telegraph, Special Correspondent / July 10th, 2020

Covid-19: Mamata Banerjee extends free ration scheme in Bengal till 2021 after PM’s announcement

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In his address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the need to remain safe by adopting physical distancing measures.

A file photo of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. | PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that the free grain distribution scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana will be extended by five months till the end of November. Modi made the announcement during his sixth address to the nation since the coronavirus pandemic began. Soon after this, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended the free distribution of grains till June 2021 in the state.

Modi observed that even though India’s mortality rate is one of the lowest in the world, people have become negligent in following physical distancing norms and wearing mask since the restrictions were relaxed.

India recorded 18,522 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the overall count to 5,66,840, according to the figures by the health ministry. The toll from the disease rose by 418 to 16,893. Over 3.3 lakh people have recovered so far.

The global coronavirus tally has crossed the one crore-mark, with 1,02,74,274 cases so far. The toll has risen to 5.04 lakh, according to the John Hopkins University .

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> The Latest> Live / by Scroll Staff / June 30th, 2020

Kolkata Boy Forms A Part Of Research Team Featured In Prestigious ‘Nature’ Journal

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Proud to state that Alumnus of Heritage Institute of Technology, Swapnadeep Poddar had been a part of the great Research team on ‘Super Human Biometrical Eye with a Hemispherical pervoskite nanowire array retina’, at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology under the leadership of Professor FAN Zhiyong.

Recently the research team and their research was being featured in prestigious science journal ‘Nature’. 

The article link https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2285-x

The article link https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2285-x

Swapnadeep completed his B. tech in Electonics and Communication engineering from Heritage in 2016 and now pursuing his PhD at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology…. 

Now this biometric human eye will give a pathbreaking development in science and technology. India shines with Swapnadeep now.

source: http://www.youthkiawaaz.com / Youth Ki Awaaz / Home / by Partha Sarathi Bhowal / June 29th, 2020

St Xavier’s alumni help for 500 families

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Camp held near Kakdwip

Relief materials being distributed at Kharimutha village, around 7km from Kakdwip, on Wednesday Telegraph picture

Five hundred families in the interiors of South 24-Parganas, reeling under the double blows of Covid-19 curbs and Cyclone Amphan, on Wednesday got food and other relief material that would keep them going for the next few days.

The distribution camp was organised at Kharimutha village, around 7km from Kakdwip town, by St Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association. A group of Jesuit priests, led by Father Dominic Savio, the principal of the college, went to the village to distribute the materials along with volunteers of the former students’ association.

The recipients were residents of Kharimutha and two nearby villages, Mollar Chowk and Pukurberia. Five hundred people had turned up, each representing a family. The camp was organised with the help of local police.

“We, the Jesuits, believe in sharing,” Father Savio said.

Each family got a kit that included rice, potato, dal, soyabean, edible oil, puffed rice and biscuit. Each kit also included sanitary napkins, hand sanitisers and tarpaulin sheets.

The residents of these villages were already robbed of their livelihood by the lockdown and the storm could not have hit them at a worse time.

“Most of them depend on fishing and farming of betel leaves. The storm not only damaged their homes but also ravaged the farm lands,” said Sudip Singh, the officer-in-charge of Kakdwip police station who coordinated with the association to organise to camp.

The former students of the Park Street college have come up with a series of campaigns in the aftermath of the lockdown and the storm to help the people. “It is our duty to stand by them at this trying time,” Father Savio said on Wednesday.

“We will do our best to help people in need,” said Sanjib Koner, secretary of the former students’ association.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> Calcutta / by Special Correspondent in Calcutta / June 26th, 2020