Lake Gardens:
A Bata wore a Bata at a Bata store in the city on Tuesday.
Christine Bata Schmidt, the granddaughter of Bata founder Tomas Bata, visited the store in South City in the afternoon to launch a CSR campaign.
It was no surprise that Christine chose Calcutta to launch the project. “Calcutta will remain our heart in India,” Christine, a director of Bata Shoe Organisation, the holding company of Bata India, said.
In the early 1920s, Czech shoemaker Tomas came to India to source rubber and leather. Most Indians walked barefoot then and he sensed an opportunity. In 1931, he set up a factory in Konnagar. The unit started producing rubber and canvas shoes for the first time in India. Later the factory was moved to what came to be known as Batanagar.
“His idea was to be the shoemaker to the world. Great shoes that were affordable,” Christine said about her grandfather. She will visit the country’s oldest shoe manufacturing unit in South 24-Parganas on Wednesday.
Thomas J. Bata, Christine’s father, was crucial in expanding the brand throughout the country and making it a household name.
She entered the store around 3.30pm. After looking at the models on display, she picked some shoes while interacting with the children who were there for the launch of the CSR campaign.
The project is being partnered by Nanhi Kali – an NGO managed by KC Mahindra Education Trust and Naandi Foundation that provides primary education to underprivileged girl children.
For this campaign, Bata India has introduced Ballerinas with illustrations by children from schools adopted by the Bata Children’s Programme, a global programme for disadvantaged kids. The shortlisted drawings have been displayed on the inner sole of the Ballerinas. The shoes will be available across more than 200 stores in India. With each pair of Ballerinas sold, Bata will provide Rs 65 to the project.
“Bata hopes to secure a brighter future for these girls by reducing school dropouts and improving learning levels,” Christine, a member on the board of Earthwatch, a global NGO that works for sustainable environment, said.
“Calcutta is historic. At the same time, it is very alive. I do enjoy that,” Christine, the chairman of Bata Shoe Museum, a footwear museum in Toronto that refects the evolution of footwear, said.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Debraj Mitra / March 21st, 2018