HISTORY OF BANGIYA SANSKRITIK SANGHA, SECUNDERABAD
There is a saying that way back in 1965, a few Bengalis gathered in the premises of a gentleman and started Durga Pooja by performing “Ghat Pooja” and chanting “Durga Mai Ki Jai”. People who started this “Utsav” did not have the means to purchase a Durga Idol and perform Durga Pooja.
That day there was absence of Pandal, Mandapam for Idol and sound of drums. It only had the sound of conch, ringing of bells and the devotees chanting “Bolo Durga Mai Ki Jai”.
The news of the celebration of “Ghat Pooja” for Durga Utsav spread among Begalis in Secunderabad over time. In the subsequent years the number of Bengalis celebrating this occasion increased manifold. During the following year the scale of celebration of “Ghat Pooja” increased. It was planned that during the next year (1967), Durga Utsav would be carried out by incorporating Durga Idol.
The head office of South Central Railway (SCR) was established in Secunderabad during 1966. Several Bengalis from West Bengal and other parts of the country had been transferred to that office during that year. In addition to this, several Bengalis had been transferred from the head office of Usha Fan Limited in Calcutta to its Secunderabad office. Apart from this, few Bengali families had settled in Secunderabad area over the years, such as (Late) Shri Amiya Bhushan Som (Sitafal Mandi), (Late) Shri Ramani Kanta Chatterjee (Marredpalli) and (Late) Shri Anil Ghosh (Marredpalli). Perhaps there were few more Bengali families in Secunderabad zone at that time but it has not been possible to gather information about them.
Several Bengali families had started residing in Secunderabad zone during 1967. Their social interaction increased during this time. During this period it was contemplated that in place of “Ghat Pooja”, Durga Pooja would be celebrated by the Bengali community by bringing Durga Idol from Kolkata and celebrating the Pooja in a traditional way. Most members of Bengali community staying in Secunderabad area joined in the deliberations, held at the residence of (Late) Shr Amiyo Bhushan Som. The most prominent participant in the discussion on that occasion was (Late) Smt. Srilekha Som, wife of (Late) Shri Amiyo Bhushan Som. Everyone was enthused by her inspiring talk. From that day onwards, (Late) Smt. Srilekha Som took the role of elder sister and aunt for various members. During these deliberations it was decided to perform “Sarbojanin Durga Pooja”. It was named as “Sarbojanin Durga Utsav Secunderabad”: During this meeting, the majority of the participants were from Railways. In addition to them, some members from Usha Fan were also present. Among the participants, it would not be fair to leave out the name of Shri Kisholoy Mukherjee from Usha Fan, who is remembered by us for his enthusiasm and liveliness, a combination of very rare qualities under the context.
Subsequently, a committee was formed to organize the Pooja, most of the members of this committee being young and quite energetic. Shri N. Hajra was unanimously elected as the first President of this “Sarbojonin Duga Utsav”. Shri Kisholoy Mukherjee and Shri Nimesh Kumar Sanyal were jointly elected as General Secretaries. The responsibility of Treasurer was given to Shri A.K. Ganguli (South Central Railway). The next subject of discussion was the choice of location of Durga Pooja at Secunderabad area. With the help of higher officials of Railways and other local influential residents, a suitable location was identified as Boy’s Scout Ground near Paradise. All the members expressed their joy in getting this location. While a suitable location for performing the Pooja had been selected, the question of Durga Idol still remained. In the course of further discussions, it was decided to procure Durga Idol from Kolkata and bring it to Secunderabad by train. Shri Shankar Kumar Sikdar and Shri A.P. Majumdar volunteered for this task. (Late) Shri A.K. Ganguli, who then served in the Army and resided at Ammaguda, came forward to take up the role of Chief Priest. He was assisted in this role by Shri Bhattacharya. Subsequently, the role of Chief Priest was played by Shri P.K. Ghoshal, Shri Sisir Chakrabarty and this role is played by Shri Bimal Chakrabarty till recently until his death. A list of members residing in Secunderabad zone was prepared. Some of these members are no more among us. Among the living members, it has not been possible to get information about the current whereabouts of some of them. Some of these members and their families have permanently settled in Secunderabad area.
At this stage, the total number of members of “Sarbojonin Duga Utsav, Secunderabad” was limited to only twenty nine. The total number, including their family members of different ages, was barely one hundred and twenty eight. The total amount collected by way of subscriptions and donations from members and advertisements in the souvenir was Rupees six thousand only.
Members of all ages themselves installed the Pooja Pandal. The decoration of the Pandal was also carried out by them. The same members received the Durga Idol at Secunderabad Railway Station and carried it to its destination at Pooja Pandal, chanting “Duga Mai Ki Jai”. It has been possible to get the names of some of these enthusiastic members who participated in these activities. Some of them are: Shri Parthasarathy Som, Shri Udayan Som, Shri Shyamal Dhar, Shri Barin Sen, (Late) Shri Kasinath Bhattacharya and Shri Biswanath Bannerjee. The ladies were given the responsibility of preparing the “Prasad” and making arrangements for the Pooja. The ladies who contributed to this activity were: Som Mashima, Hajra Boudi, Ghosh Boudi, Bannerjee Boudi, Gupta Boudi, Sanyal Boudi, Roy Boudi and Mitra Boudi. The responsibility of preparing the “Bhog” for the Pooja was assigned to Shri Salil Kumar Mitra. The entire combination of all these activities involved a massive task. Everyone expressed that it was their pooja and chanted “Bolo Duga Mai Ki Jai”.
The three days of Saptami, Ashtami and Navami involved community lunch in the form of “Bhog” and participating in the evenings in various cultural programmes. On the occasion of Dashami, married ladies participated in “Sindoor Utsav”. After this, the Durga Idol was loaded on a truck and taken in a procession for immersion at Tank Bund. The idea of “Sarbojonin Duga Utsav” originated from Shri Asit Ray and Shri Salil Kumar Mitra, both of SCR. During the first year (1967), the occasion of “Sarbojonin Duga Utsav, Secunderabad” was celebrated successfully. For three successive years, the Pooja was celebrated at Boy’s Scout Ground. Over the years, the number of members increased and some of the new participants were (Late) Shri D.C. Sen, (Late) Shri Chowdhury, (Late) Shri P.K. Dey, Shri P.K. Ghosal and Shri Gopal Bose. Though there were several other active participants, it has not been possible to identify their names.
During those days, particularly at night after the cultural programmes, the members had to travel by auto-rickshaw and public transport (bus), which was a great source of inconvenience. It was decided to shift the venue of the programme in view of these difficulties. As a result of efforts of several members, the venue of the Pooja was shifted to Keyes High School in 1970. Over subsequent years, several more Bengali families shifted to Secunderabad area from other cities to take up jobs in the twin cities. Some of the organizations which provided employment opportunities to these members are Brooke Bond, ECIL, NFC, BHEL, HMT, HAL, Indian Airlines and Usha Fan.
Most Bengalis spend their spare time in activities such as chatting, listening to music and reading of literature. This led to the idea of setting up of a library. This resulted in the establishment of a library in 1970. The enthusiasm was provided by Som Mashima and the first library was established in her residence at Sitaphal Mandi, with a collection of few books. The library was named “Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha”. The monogram of the library was designed by Shri Udayan Som (Chondu), the younger son of Som family. The library was shifted after a few days to the residence of Shri Shyamal Dhar located at Sitaphal Mandi. After a few months the library was shifted to a rented shop near Sitaphal Mandi Railway station, with bare minimum furniture. The monthly subscription rate for members of the library was fixed at Rupees two. A number of volunteers cycled to the residence of Bengali families, carrying books to promote the establishment of the library. The names of some of these volunteers are: (Late) Shri Kasinath Bhattacharya, Shri Bagchi and Shri Kajol. Some of these volunteers are not with us today. Several current members of the Sangha are enjoying the fruits of their contribution.
In 1970 the posts of President and General Secretary were taken up by Sqn. Ldr. D.L. Chowdhury and Dr. A.K. Hajra repectively. During this period the popularity of Durga Pooja at Secunderabad increased day by day. On the occasion of Maha Sasti, the Durga Utsav commenced with the installation of idol and “Ananda Mela”. On the occasion of “Ananda Mela”, ladies of some families set up small stalls to sell their home-made food, which was purchased by other members. The profit made from sale of this home-made food was contributed for purchase of books for the library. This was a noble cause.
Several remarkable plays were staged on the occasion of Durga Pooja. Some of the most notable plays were: Sirajudalla, Fansh, Sakaler Janya, Pherari Fauj, Thakur Ramakrishna, Anthony Firingee, Ulka, Noti Binodini, Padathik, Sanyasi Talvari and several others. The people who directed these plays were: Shri Partha Dasgupta, Shri Sivaji Sengupta, Shri Dipak Nandan, Shri Pranab Bhattacharjee and (Late) Shri Tamasha Ranjan Mitra, who passed away recently. Some of these people, who directed the plays, also participated as actors in some of the plays. Presently, some plays directed by Shri Swapan Mondal attracted a lot of appreciation. Most of Tagore’s dance dramas were directed by Smt. Ashima Sengupta. The play, Alibaba Chalis Chor, created history by drawing tremendous appreciation from the audience and is remembered even today. During subsequent years, a number of dance dramas were directed by Smt. Swapna Dutta on the occasions of Durga Pooja and Tagore’s birthday celebration. During present times, the responsibly of directing dance dramas has been taken up by Smt. Shilpa Chakraborty from the younger generation. The dance dramas directed by her exhibit her expertise in this role. We pray for her continued success in this role.
During the year 1977, “Jatra” play was commenced by the members. The role of directing these plays was jointly taken up by Shri P.K. Ghoshal and Shri Dipak Nandan. The first such play was “Bangali”. During later years, the Pooja Committee has continued to stage such plays. From the year 2000 onwards, these plays were directed by (Late) Shri Tamasha Ranjan Mitra, in association with a few others, till his demise. Currently, this responsibility has been taken up by Shri Raja Das.
Also, during the year 1977, “Kabir Larai”, written by Shri Santu Sengupta and jointly directed by (Late) Shri Sivaji Sengupta and Shri Dipak Nandan, was performed for the first and the last time and received a lot of appreciation. Unfortunately, Shri Santu Sengupta discontinued this role due to illness and no alternative could be located for writing the script for such events.
With changing times, there is change in thought process of people. Due this, several changes have taken place in the celebration of Durga Pooja. Currently, the structure of Pandal and Idol Mandap are designed in tune with thinking of modern generation. A huge amount of money is spent to invite eminent singers from Kolkata and Mumbai, whose performance are enjoyed by a major part of the audience, further bringing a lot of appreciation for the Executive Committee. The local programmes, which draw most appreciation, are dance drama and stage plays.
During mid-1970s, a piece of land was purchased at Padma Rao Nagar and a single storey structure was constructed to establish a permanent library there in place of temporary library at Sitaphal Mandi. An additional storey was added to this structure during later years.. The first floor of the library building is used for performing Saraswati Puja, holding literary discussions and performing small cultural programmes. The library was housed on the ground floor, having a collection of over five thousand books. We are proud of this achievement. Celebrations of Bengali New Year Day (Poyala Baisak) and Tagore’s birthday (25th Baisak) and community picnic are organized by “Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha”.
During the mid 1970s, a group of young Bengali gentlemen, residing at Secunderabad and Hyderabad, started an organization called “Acha Adhuli”, to publish a Bengali magazine. They also started organizing an All India Bengali Drama Competition. In its first year, there were only 8 participants from throughout the country, three of them being local and one of these being from Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha. A play called “Sanibar” was staged under the direction of Shri Partha Dasgupta. Though this play received a lot of appreciation from the audience, the judges, all of whom were from Kolkata, did not give it any award. Subsequently, for the next three years, the awards for best director, best actor, best supporting actor and best supporting actress were given to Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha. Some of the awardees were (Late) Shri Sivaji Sengupta, (Late) Shri Debasish Bannerjee, Shri Dipak Nandan, Shri Jagadish Bannerjee and Smt. Ashima Sengupta. Unfortunately, this organization did not last long. With the closure of this organization, both the drama competition and the magazine were discontinued. After a few years, Shri Soumen Ghosh directed a number of plays. Among these, a play called “Chutir Phande” is remembered even today.
During the year 1997, Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha (Secunderabad) and Bengali Samiti (Hyderabad) jointly organized “Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan” for three days at Keyes Girls High School under the guidance of Shri Deepak Bhattacharjee. The branch of Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan in the twin cities was established by (Late) Shri Sukumar Bose. At that time, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, who was then the Union Finance Minister, also held the post of President of Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan.
The name of Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha became popular due to successful staging of several plays by its members. A play called “ Noti Binodini ”, under the direction of Shri Dipak Nandan, was staged at “Sisir Mancha” at Kolkata in 2003 during Ganga Jamuna Drama Festival. This play was telecast by Kolkata Doordarshan the very next day. A play called “Kaya Kunja”, under the direction of Shri Ajoy Chatterjee, was staged at Bal Gandharva Auditorium, Pune, during the year 2004. Subsequently, during the year 2006, Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha was invited to participate in the Drama Festival at Kolkata. A play called “Ajir” was staged at Sisir Mancha under the direction of Shri Swapan Mandal. On all these occasions the plays received lot of appreciation from the audience and the press. This makes us proud to be associated with Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha.
During the year 2004, a magazine called “Shristi” was published under the initiative of Shri Dipak Nandan and with the association Shri Deepak Bhattacharjee and Shri Tamal Dhar. This continues to be a bi-annual publication since its inception..
The Sangha experienced some turmoil during the mid 1990s. Several senior members of the committee had retired from their respective posts in the Sangha. One had to identify responsible members to take up these posts and guide the Sangha. Shri Biswanath Biswas and Shri Deepak Bhattacharjee came forward to take up the posts of President and General Secretary respectively and rescue the Sangha from this difficult situation.
At that time, Shri Deepak Bhattacharjee was a young and eminent lawyer. He resolved the disturbed situation of the organization in consultation with Shri Biswanath Biswas. His work culture and skill in dealing with people won him the affection and respect of members. His progressive thinking has helped make the Sangha an organization in tune with present times.
Shri Biswanath Biswas relinquished the post of President of the Sangha in early 2000. Shri Deepak Bhattacharjee took up the post of President. Shri Deben Nandi, a person with serious disposition, took up the post of General Secretary. The Sangha progressed under the joint leadership of these members. Some of the areas which improved significantly under their leadership were Pandal, “Pratima Mandap”, Corporate stalls, food stalls, distribution system of “Bhog”, etc. Shri Tamal Dhar, a young, intelligent and energetic member, possessing exceptional organizational capability, took up the post of General Secretary in 2004. Since then, the post of GS changed hands through Shri Dilip Bhattacharjee and currently lies in the able hands of Shri Subrata Ganguly. Shri Deepak Bhattacharjee continues to be the President of BSS till present and the club is proud of his leadership abilities.
In 2015, the Golden Jubilee celebration of Durga Utsav was celebrated in a big way. 10-day long celebrations which included 3-days of Banga Utsav sponsored by Govt of West Bengal witnessed large gatherings in the Puja premises. Eminent artistes and dignitaries from Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad were present to grace the occasion.
The club has actively participated in flood relief programme, feeding the poor, donating books and stationeries to needy on many occasions.
Due to outbreak of Covid-19, Durga Puja and other festivals had to be celebrated in a miniature form in line with Covid protocol. Hence, venue of the festivals was shifted to nearby Mahboob College, Patny Center till 2021.
Current year i.e. 2022, with the betterment of Covid situation, Durga Puja of the Club is being organized at Secunderabad Cantonment Board, Hockey Playground, Mudford (Near Bantia Furnitures & Imperial Garden).
The club has witnessed many ups and downs during last 57 years and today stands tall with 1800+ members in its portfolio and numerous well wishers from all parts of the country and abroad.