A state government agency delivering essential items has outsourced its entire operation to the women of Self Help Groups in various districts.
A state government agency has been promosing everything – from locally produced vegetables and select fruits to grocery, fish and meat products – at the doorstep. Freshly-cooked meals, too, are available. / Sourced by the Telegraph
A doorstep delivery of essential items for senior citizens during the lockdown has now turned into a full-fledged delivery system for the entire city and parts of Howrah.
A state government agency has been promising everything — from locally produced vegetables and select fruits to grocery, fish and meat products — at the doorstep.
The West Bengal Comprehensive Area Development Corporation has been delivering such items and more to people in Calcutta within hours of them placing orders on WhatsApp or on the department’s website.
The corporation is an autonomous organisation under the Panchayat and Rural Development Department.
Freshly-cooked meals, too, are available. The entire operation has been outsourced to the women of Self Help Groups in various districts.
The corporation, which has been training members of Self Help Groups in agriculture, fishery and animal resource development, used to sell their produce in New Town before the pandemic struck. They sold at fairs and haats (Ahare Bangla and Saras), too.
The corporation started doorstep delivery for the elderly once the Centre announced the lockdown. A WhatsApp group was formed.
Also, the state government began an exercise to create a database of all senior citizens living on their own in Calcutta, Howrah and Salt Lake.
Orders are placed on the WhatsApp group or on the corporation’s website.
Women SHG members prepare meals at the CADC canteen for doorstep delivery. / Sourced by the Telegraph
The corporation started expanding from vegetables, essential items such as pulses, cereals, and oil, and fish and meat to cooked meals, moringa powder, Mecha sandesh (a GI product from Beliatore in Bankura), crabs, Kadaknath chicken and fresh hilsa.
Before Durga Puja, the corporation intends to introduce chicken dust, mango flake, and dried fruits.
Primarily, Self Help Groups were trained in pisciculture and rearing animal husbandry. “We are into research, output and production,” Soumyajit Das, special secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development, said.
Das personally responds to every WhatsApp order. “The initiative here is to empower women, the entire operation is run by women from Self Help Groups handpicked by us.”
Piu Bag from Birohi Mahila Samannay Samiti in the Haringhata Block has been supervising girls from her Self Help Group in the supply of vegetables to the corporation this month.
“We cultivate bottle gourds, ladies fingers, onions, cauliflowers… we have been supplying to the corporation after the lockdown. We are getting a better price here than elsewhere. My girls are helping out in the corporation canteen, too, and they get a monthly salary,” Bag said.
Salekha Khatun from Hariharpara in Murshidabad is part of Nil Akash Mahila Samannay Samiti, which supplies spices and pulses to the corporation. “We have leased out 50 bighas this time in the hope of getting more orders from the corporation.”’
The department is now trying to grow the produce locally and Self Help Groups are being trained in vertical gardening and maintaining bioflock ponds at Mrittika Bhavan, the corporation headquarters.
“We have noticed we need to produce locally to maintain quality. So, we are training them to grow here in Calcutta where they are supplying,” Das said.
All customers give their feedback on the WhatsApp group and every complaint is attended to.
Indranil Hazra from Belgachhia said: “A friend sent me the link to the WhatsApp group and I have been ordering since April. I am very impressed with the professional service as well as the range and quality of products.”
His neighbour Subhasree Banerjee, a Corona warrior, along with her husband, too, have benefitted from the service.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by Anasuya Basu / Calcutta – October 11th, 2020
A demonstrative version of biofloc technology was inaugurated at Mrittika Bhavan on September 28P
Panchayat and rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee releases fingerlings in the artificial pond in Mrittika Bhavan in DD Block recently / Brinda Sarkar
It doesn’t get any fresher than this. A new technology provides you the means to build an artificial pond in your house, garden or terrace where you could head to every morning and pick out any fish you want cooked for lunch.
A demonstrative version of biofloc technology was inaugurated at Mrittika Bhavan on September 28. The building in DD Block houses the state comprehensive area development corporation (CADC), under the panchayats and rural development department and inaugurating the facility was minister Subrata Mukherjee.
“This system can breed fish like Koi, Pabda, Singi, Magur and Golda Chingri that people love,” said Mukherjee. “It can come in handy at a time when prices of fish increase. While the system is fairly easy people rarely start something new by simply hearing about it. They want to see it in operation before adopting it and that’s why we have built this demo version. Anyone is free to come and learn about it from us and replicate it at home.”
A kitchen garden which will produce spinach, brocolli, cabbage, lettuce etc on tiered bamboo shelves / Brinda Sarkar
Unlike an open pond, the biofloc tank doesn’t need acres of land. The one at Mrittika Bhawan is a round-shaped open-top tank with an iron net body and polymer sheet wrapped around it. Its base is connected to an underground water pump that will replenish water that gets evaporated and there are slim aerator pipes sending oxygen into the water for the fish to breathe. Its capacity is 10,000l.
“Biofloc is a relatively new technology developed in and for cold European countries where the rivers stay frozen for much of the year.
There they use thousands of biofloc tanks to farm fish,” said Soumyajit Das, special secretary to the panchayats and rural development department and administrative secretary of the CADC. “The technology has also seen success in Bangladesh.”
The water in the tank at Mrittika Bhavan is nourished with probiotics, bacteria and jaggery that will convert the droppings of the fish into their food. So one doesn’t even have to spend on food for the fish thereafter. Only the probiotic-solution needs to be added afresh every two months. Other than that it’s zero-maintenance,” he said.
Those interested in replicating this system are welcome to go and learn at the centre. “Households can install a 1,000l tank at a cost of about Rs 10,000,” said Das.
“The lockdown has proven how little of the city’s fish and agricultural demand is produced within it. If people can grow their own fish it would help them be self-sufficient to some extent,” Das said.
The minister released fingerlings into the water and the department expects the first batch of fish to be ready for sale by Diwali. The fish will be available at Mrittika Bhavan as well in vehicles that tour the township selling fish, meat and agricultural products sourced from farms.
The minister also inaugurated a kitchen garden section on the day, produce of which will be added to their cart. “Plants like spinach, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, capsicum are being planted on ‘hanging seed beds’ which are three-tier bamboo shelves installed around the parking lot of the building.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by Brinda Sarkar / October 09th, 2020
Once fully operational, the East-West corridor will connect Howrah and Salt Lake, a distance of 16.5km, and a part of it will run under the HooghlyA
A Metro rake that was flagged off at Phoolbagan station on Sunday / Telegraph picture
East-West Metro got its first underground station on Sunday with the inauguration of Phoolbagan station. The station will be open for passengers from Monday.
East-West services have remained suspended on Sundays since the resumption of commercial run, following the Covid-induced suspension, on September 14.
Till Saturday, trains ran between Salt Lake Sector V and Stadium stations on the East-West route, a distance of 5.5km. There are six elevated stations on the route.
From Monday, trains will run between Phoolbagan and Sector V. Phoolbagan is around 1.7km from Stadium.
Once fully operational, the East-West corridor will connect Howrah and Salt Lake, a distance of 16.5km, and a part of it will run under the Hooghly.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by Special Correspondent / October 05th, 2020
Time travel: A tramcar transformed into an air-conditioned service. The route will cover College Street
A book-laden air-conditioned tram offers a glimpse of the city’s academic corner
The Kolkata tram may be a pale shadow of its glorious days, but it is still an iconic image of the city. College Street happens to be the prestigious address of some of the oldest educational institutions in the country, and also boasts rows of bookshops on either side.
Now, a tram is set to recreate the academic ambience. It is built like a library and will roll down College Street, giving passengers a glimpse of the University of Calcutta, Presidency University and the hundreds of book stalls.
From Thursday, people can ride the tram library, an air-conditioned car converted into a library on wheels. It will make six trips on the recently restored Esplanade-Shyambazar route.
West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC), which oversees India’s only functional tramway, has introduced the service to rekindle the love for trams and reading. The initiative brings together unique aspects of the city’s cultural heritage: trams, which form an intrinsic part of the colonial legacy and its love for books on College Street, which is called ‘Boi Para’ (street of books) by many. While the first trams were launched in 1873, and were electrified in 1900, educational institutions on College Street like the Presidency .
Attracting students
“The idea is to make the tram the mode of choice for Kolkata’s students once again,” said Rajanvir Singh Kapur, MD of WBTC. In addition to the titles housed within, the tram library will provide readers access to online books. There will be no additional charge, the ticket provides passengers access. There will be 25 stops along the 5 km route, five of them on College Street.
The library is just a beginning this winter, says an official. It could be the venue of book launches and book readings this season. Kolkata hosts a number of literary festivals and there is a search on for new venues. There are plans to have a Literary Festival around the tram library in the next two months, in November 2020.
Cyclone Amphan, which battered the city on May 20 severely damaged tram infrastructure. After restoration, four routes have been opened. The library will be on the fifth route.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Other States / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – September 24th, 2020
Police camp, roadside cafes set up to attract customers and make the place less desertedT
The cafe housed inside a recycled ship container in New Town all set for the opening on Tuesday / Sourced by the Telegraph
One can barely guess that a piping hot cafe next to the Eco Space Island in New Town is brewing inside a discarded ship container.
But look closely and you notice that the brightly painted exterior is made of — not cement but — metal. The kitchen is compact, rectangular-shaped and that its “windows” are but cut out of the metal walls.
Cafe@Ecospace is located inside a recycled ship container. Rather, the kitchen is inside the container and chairs have been laid out outside for customers to sit on.
The project is an initiative by New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA). “This stretch of road from Eco Space to Elita Garden Vista or Avenida complex had become unsafe with even a case of snatching having taken place a couple of years ago,” explained Debashis Sen, chairman, NKDA. “Thereafter a police camp has come up nearby, streetlights have been added and as a strategy we have decided to set up roadside cafes that will attract customers and make the place less deserted.”
Debashis Sen interacts with members of the women’s self-help group Rabindra Swanibhor Gosthi t the opening / Sourced by the Telegraph
To run the cafe, the authorities narrowed in on a women’s self-help group called Rabindra Swanirbhar Gosthi. “These women have been successfully running a food joint called Jagarani for three years opposite Eco Space and shall now run this cafe as well,” said Sen.
The women are excited about the venture. “We shall serve soups, sandwiches, rolls, chowmein, momos and more,” smiled Mahasinara Begum from behind her mask.
“At Jagarini, we would cook for 250 people a day but due to the pandemic very few people are coming now. Nonetheless we are supplying food to a safe house in New Town and doing home delivery. We realise that customers at the cafe will be scanty to start with but we are hopeful in the long run,” said Sabina Bibi, a resident of Rajarhat.
Their sandwiches are priced upwards of Rs 30, chowmein Rs 25 and lassi Rs 30.
As for the container, Sen said they went with the idea as they advocate recycling. “Since the metallic roof would get terribly hot in summer we built a shed atop and have added solar panels there. The women are also cooking with electric means instead of LPG,” he said.
The ladies are quite satisfied with their 20ftx8ft container kitchen, induction cooker and microwave. “This is more eco-friendly and is easier to clean than when using gas cylinders,” said Manoshi Maity, another member of the self-help group.
saltlake@abpmail.com
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by Brinda Sarkar / September 18th, 2020
The state Panchayats and Rural Development department is laying special emphasis on fish farming through biofloc technology with the objective of livelihood support amidst the COVID -19 pandemic situation.
West Bengal Comprehensive Area Development Corporation (CADC) under the aegis of the department which is executing and pushing for biofloc to be adopted by the SHG groups across the state has set the ball rolling by setting up an infrastructure of fish cultivation through biofloc at its own office at Mrittika in Salt Lake. It is expected to be readied by this week.
“Biofloc is a technology using which one can produce fishes significantly in large quantities (in a small volume of water) as compared to the traditional form of aquaculture in large ponds. It is easy to monitor the fish movement, their behaviour and abnormalities as they will remain within a tank which in turn will facilitate taking the corrective measures immediately, ” said a senior official of CADC.
Probiotic and molluscs are used to eliminate chances of food particles and excreta of the fishes in polluting the water . These components produce planktons and prevent the production of ammonium nitrate which is toxic for the fishes. An aerator is used to add oxygen to the water.
“We will be creating a biofloc model in each of our 23 projects in the state and accordingly training will be provided. The seeds will also be supplied by us. The interested SHGs will bear have to bear the other costs. However the scheme can also be taken up under MGNREGA in which the government will bear the entire cost, ” said the official.
The technique is already being practised at Tamluk in East Midnapore, Ayodha Hills in Purulia and in some semi arid zones in Murshidabad, Jhargram and Birbhum.
Air-breathing fish rearing in cement tank by 60 farmers in Kolaghat has already seen success. Every 8 feet by 6 ft tank were provided with 500 seeds on an average each costing Re 1. In three to four months each tank produces 25 kg on an average (koi, singi, magur, ) whose average price is Rs 250 to 300 per kg. The income from each tank is around Rs 7000 a month so for 60 tanks the income is Rs 42,0000.
A wide variety of fishes can be cultivated through this technology like Koi, Magur, Singi, Telapiya, Pabda and even prawn.
source: http://www.millenniumpost.in / Millennium Post / Home> Kolkata / by Soumitra Nandi / September 21st, 2020
Sharbari Datta with Dino Morea, dressed in one of her creations / Telegraph picture
Every time I would drop by her Broad Street residence for an interview, which would more often be a straight-from-the-heart adda lasting hours, she would be seated on one particular intricately carved wooden chair in her home studio, nestling her cup of tea, and urging me to munch on the carefully laid-out platter of snacks in front of me.
The chat would essentially be followed up with a lunch, often cooked by her with keen care for my preferences. Hospitable, humble and immensely talented — that was Sharbaridi for me, whom the world knew as the legendary menswear designer Sharbari Datta.
Rightfully credited to have introduced the Indian man to the world of fashion, Datta started her journey in designing rather informally in 1991 with a small exhibition that received unexpected commercial success. One exhibition led to another and the Sharbari brand was born. The first Indian fashion brand that solely focussed on men’s clothing.
“I always felt that Indian men were very inhibited when it came to dressing up. Due to the colonial hangover, the British influence, we always considered grey, pale blue or navy blue as the masculine colours that make for smart outfits. But nowhere else is it so. Be it Japan or Africa or Afghanisthan or Pakistan… the men always dress in bright colours… so are they feminine? I wanted to prove that there’s no clash between masculinity and bright colours. Our Indian tradition in menswear is of bright colours and nakshas. So why have we ignored it completely? A three-piece suit is not the only fashion statement for an Indian man. He can also make a statement in traditional Indian clothes,” she had told The Telegraph in an earlier interview, when asked about her bold decision to tread uncharted territory.
With hand-embroidery over hand-sketched motifs that drew inspiration from rustic and folk cultures as the mainstay, the Sharbari Datta school of design became the go-to for the Calcutta man for his wedding outfit, who even dared to don the brightly coloured dhoti that she introduced, breaking the norm of the beige or white piece of traditional drape.
Not just Calcutta, her unique aesthetics drew men from all parts of the country — from Ismail Merchant (among her first celebrity clients) to Sunil Gavaskar, Imran Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shoaib Akhtar, Sourav Ganguly, Leander Paes to Abhishek Bachchan and many other Bollywood and Tollywood stars, they have all proudly worn a Sharbari creation.
But the artist in her was always that wee bit more excited when somebody from the art world would choose to wear her creations.
“I feel extra special when artists buy my work. Since I consider my work as artwear, I have felt that my work has been certified when people like M.F. Husain, Ganesh Pyne, Manjit Bawa, Paresh Maity and Bikash Bhattacharya have bought my clothes,” Datta had told us. Datta was the daughter of famous poet Ajit Datta.
Showcasing her work in exhibitions across the world and winning innumerable awards — including The Telegraph She Awards in the Creative Art category in 2016 — Sharbari became a name to reckon with in the Indian fashion fraternity.
Conquering the world from her home studio, she resolutely refused to expand into other areas of design, keeping her focus firmly on menswear for the most part of her career. “I have always refused to diversify into other areas. I have always been very focussed.
Menswear is a very difficult area because men are difficult to deal with when it comes to fashion. Most of them are rigid and not adventurous. Women are much more open and receptive, so that’s a much easier area,” she would tell us.
In 2017, Datta distanced herself from her brand Sharbari Studio, which she co-owned along with her son Amalin Datta and daughter-in-law Kanaklata Datta. She launched another brand called Shunyaa, along with partners, making the signature Sharbari aesthetics its design DNA. With an opulent store in Hindusthan Park, Sharbari had built a new world for herself.
But for me, the picture of Sharbaridi that would remain forever etched in my heart would be of her sitting on that intricately carved wooden chair in her home studio, nestling her cup of tea while chatting her heart out.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by Smita Roy Chowdhury / Calcutta – September 19th, 2020
If you don’t mind the old, if you find it elegant, not to say comforting, Broadway bar is the best party in town
Sandeep Sehgal at the bar at Broadway Hotel. Picture by Subhendu Chaki .
As the metal clinks against the glass, and the buzz mixed with laughter rises from the low tables covered in maroon or yellow tablecloths, and the shaded lamps throw light on black- and-white old Calcutta pictures, and the draught beer taps are placed on your table, and moonlight blended with electricity cracks in through the large glass windows on the front, you only miss live music. But then a tall gentleman enters the bar at Broadway Hotel through the side entrance.
He is very tall indeed. He appears silently at the door and then glides from table to table, ensuring that everyone gets a seat quickly, especially the ladies.
Sandeep Sehgal is the current owner of Broadway Hotel on Ganesh Chandra Avenue. Apart from lending his graceful, welcoming and slightly mysterious — he hardly speaks to a guest — presence to the place, he has also rendered a great service to the city.
He has kept Broadway Hotel and the bar, one of Calcutta’s most-loved places that started in 1937, the way he found them. Almost. Since he took over the hotel three years ago — the bar is on the ground floor; the four floors on top have rooms to stay in — Sehgal has just added one or two necessary, unobtrusive facilities to the bar and to the hotel. Such as the draught beer, AC, new crockery and a new menu that only adds to the old items, which include boiled eggs and the famous “Stock Market Toast” (named after bakery bread that was found near the Calcutta Stock Exchange building).
In the process he has assured old Broadway faithfuls, who form a substantial number of Calcuttans, that their refuge remains undisturbed. He has also performed an act of conservation — of a dear piece of the city, where “development” is a euphemism for demolishing the old.
Broadway, now, is exceptional in another way, as most bars in this part of the business district have either renovated themselves into a new-age tackiness to become unrecognisable or have turned into crooner bars. Or both.
I finally get to talk to Sehgal, 53, in his large and plain office on the first floor of the hotel. He was born to a Punjabi family in the city and educated here and abroad. “I am not going to change any of this. Because there is going to be no other place like this,” he reassures me personally.
Broadway always defied change, even in the hands of the earlier owners. Since the early 2000s, when most of the bars in the neighbourhood turned into crooner bars, Broadway stood its ground. Then, too, the bar had a loyal following, but mostly of office-goers.
It remained stodgy and refused an image makeover. Because it was confident of its charms, which begin with the old wooden doorway at the Ganesh Chandra Avenue entrance. It is a small cubicle by itself, possibly unique in Calcutta.
After Sehgal took over, the bar looks a little spruced-up, but still old and plain. So what is it that is so inviting?
Once you get in, if you are lucky, you may get a table by the large front windows. Or by the wall-to-wall mirror on one side. It does not matter really. The waiters will not trouble you with excessive attention, as in a snazzy restaurant, but will not neglect you either. The menu is exciting — you get everything from a robust Chicken-a-la-Kiev to succulent pieces of deep-fried Katla fish, and at prices that are quite old world too.
The old bar stands in a corner. On some evenings, you may spot another tall gentleman, much older, taking the same rounds as Sehgal. He is Mr Sehgal Sr.
But it is not one single detail. Here you are never rushed. They will let you be. Everyone is welcome. You feel good. You feel looked after.
Most of all, you feel free of the shiny oppressiveness of synthetic wood, glass and metal that defines the new restaurant chic. The new breeds such anxiety. It makes you feel that you are not up to it.
Broadway tolerates the old. You relax.
If you don’t mind the old, if you find it elegant, not to say comforting, Broadway bar is the best party in town.
That does not mean it is not cool. Far from it. The young, the trendy and the different are being increasingly spotted at Broadway. Some celebs too. A few scenes from the recent Bollywood film Dhadak were shot here.
Sometimes saving the old is good business as well.
Sehgal takes me on a guided tour of the hotel. The rooms are spacious ones, with old, unfussy furniture, very clean.
The previous owners, who were deeply attached to the property, had asked Sehgal, who also owns the restaurant Flavours of India on AJC Bose Road, Calcutta, and Hotel Utsav in Santiniketan, if he would make any changes.
“But I would not change anything,” Sehgal repeats. “We can’t make another property like this.”
“I will have to replace the furniture when they become too old. But this red oxide floor? These beams? Where will I get them now?” he asks.
Sehgal was also particularly careful in retaining all the staff. “In the hotel we have third-generation guests coming,” Sehgal says. The waiters and the visitors know each other. Besides, Sehgal did not visualise the hotel without the people who were a part of it.
If he has to renovate the hotel, the old Great Eastern Hotel will be his model. “Not the new one,” he stresses. “The old one.”
Sehgal reveals his height is 6ft 6”. He walks tall.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Online / Home> West Bengal / by Chandrima S Bhattacharya, Calcutta / September 15th, 2020
In Breaking Through Ahluwalia writes an account of her extraordinary life, career and fight against an implacable disease
n this together: A file photo of Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Isher Judge Ahluwalia at the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. (Photo: PTI)
At almost the end of her long innings, wracked by grade IV glioblastoma, among the toughest of all cancers, Isher Judge Ahluwalia — grace, charm and subtlety personified, and, with widespread connections — took it upon herself to write this book. Courageous as she is, Isher did so in the most trying circumstances, while she was losing the ability to read and write on her own, relying extensively on help from the family to put down her thoughts.
Yet, thank God that she has written this book, for it is a story of grit, love, care and commitment. Grit, because who would have bet that a daughter of simple, traditional Sikh parents — one of 11 siblings — living in a small, rented flat near Purna Cinema, not far from Calcutta’s Kalighat, would reach where she did, entirely on the strength of her efforts and her intense determination to succeed?
Or, that she would in 1962, finish her West Bengal Higher Secondary Board examination from the highly-regarded Shri Shikshayatan Vidyalaya, coming eighth in the state? She writes, “My father had never shown any interest in our education but when I did well in the exams, he would often tell his friends with some pride that I had got the third rank among girls. While I approved of his new interest in education, I objected to the gender differentiation; I would correct him, saying I was eighth, not third.”
Breaking Through: A Memoir by Isher Judge Ahluwalia
Isher then went to Presidency College, Calcutta, to study economics with a scholarship of Rs 35 per month, which paid for her college fees and the tram ride from home and back. After the Presidency, she joined the Delhi School of Economics for her Master’s degree. “My family would never have let me go to Delhi to live in a hostel. At this point, I had a lucky break. In 1964, my brother decided to move to the capital with his family to start a business and my parents agreed to my going to live with them, attending DSE as a day student.”
As was the case with many of us, DSE was Isher’s road to Damascus — a point of revelation when she was determined to study further and apply for a PhD. Armed with a high first division in a year when seven of the eight ‘first-divers’ were women, Isher applied to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she was accepted with a fellowship. Thus began her journey in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a passage that took a bit longer than necessary because of an interlude in Washington, DC.
In the summer of 1970, Isher applied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a summer internship. Instead of the usual three months, she got a special six-month break from MIT. With that came to love. Soon after moving to DC, she had a date with a super-bright young man, the clever, erudite English-speaking debater from St Stephen’s and winner of a congratulatory first in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford, one Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who had joined the World Bank as a part of its Young Professionals Program.
Montek impressed Isher sufficiently enough — lunch in the Bank’s Executive Dining Room, films, dinners, walks and drives. “It was during one of those drives, while we were picnicking off some bread and cheese and a glass of wine, that I decided that Montek was the man for me.” Soon, Isher secured a full-time job at the IMF; and, in 1971, she and Montek married in Washington.
Four years passed in setting up home in Georgetown, going with IMF delegations for Article IV consultations in the Caribbean, and working long hours at the Fund. Suddenly, it dawned upon her that she had left her PhD programme behind. So Isher applied for a fellowship at Brookings and completed her MIT thesis from there in 1976 — which was published in 1979 by Macmillan, titled Behaviour of Prices and Outputs in India: A Macro-Econometric Approach.
Then came care. Of parenting two boys — first Pavan, who was born in November 1977; and, then, Aman in October 1979, after the three of them had returned to India for good. Of taking charge of what was an immaculate home and hearth; of looking after a growing family that eventually extended to daughters-in-law and grandchildren; of being a partner to Montek, who would return late at night with stacks of government files.
Then, there was a commitment to her profession. “Being a mother is a full-time job. Being a working mother is two full-time jobs.” Even so, Isher completed two major books: Industrial Growth in India: Stagnation Since the Mid-Sixties (1989, Oxford University Press) and Productivity and Growth in Indian Manufacturing (1991, OUP).
She worked at the Centre for Policy Research, then took over as the head of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), an institution which she strengthened by attracting excellent full-time fellows and garnering some very serious grants from abroad and the Indian corporate world, that made ICRIER financially comfortable. If these were not enough, Isher got into urbanisation and published two books on the subject.
Breaking Through is a beautiful read because it is so honestly written, so touching in content — a wonderful mélange of the personal and the public. It is, in effect, a signing off. Of a great life. Of struggles. Of success. Of love and caring. Of building families, values and institutions. And, of Montek.
Thank you, Isher.
The author is the founder and chairperson of CERG Advisory Private Limited
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Books and Literature / by Omkar Goswami / August 30th, 2020
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
