The flavour of Durga Puja may have changed, but the fervour of the festival in Steel City still remains the same. As the community gears up to celebrate the festival, we take a look how the community has been shaping the course of the city.
From Dr T Mukhejree, former Deputy Managing Director of Tata Steel, to shoe baron Shekhar De and to Miss India Tanushree Dutta, the Bengali community has been professionally very successful in the Steel City. The community has made their presence felt in almost every area.
The arrival of the community in the city dates back with the establishment of the Steel Plant in 1907. What is unique is that it also is a community that has a strong cultural focus. This is best manifested through the celebration of various Bengali festivals. It is said in mirth that there are 12 months and 13 Bengali festivals and true to that spirit, the Bengali community has been rallying around these festivals to live through its strong culture of music, dance, visual arts and of course food.
One of the senior members of the community, Sekhar Dey, president of socio-cultural organisation The Milanee said that Bengalis of non-divided Bihar has a past history of about 700 years. However, the Bengalis started arriving in the city with the establishment of Tata Steel plant.
“The Bengalis were the skilled labour and played a key role in the development of the steel city. People in large numbers came here and started settling here. The people from Bengal have proved their merit in every area. Moreover, the city today boasts of having 32 per cent Bengali speaking population,” noted Dey.
The members of the community also established several institutions that played key role in spreading their rich culture. Dr Shantiram Chakraborty established the Milanee Hall in 1914.
The Bengal Club was set up in the year 1923. The club, is known for hosting musical legends like Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar.
Another chapter of cultural growth was added with late Soumendranath Tagore in Jamshedpur mooting the idea of building a permanent memorial to Rabindranath Tagore in this city on the February 19, 1961. The Rabindranath Centenary Celebration Committee, later the Tagore Society was formed. At the request of Sir Jehangir Gandhy, the Committee’s patron-in-chief Dr.Sarvepalli Radha Krishnan graciously laid the foundation stone of ‘Jamshedpur Rabindranath Bhavan’. Over 1 acre of the land was allotted by Tata Steel.
At a memorable function on the December 24, 1961, Dr. Radha Krishnan laid the foundation stone of Rabindra Bhavan. The Tagore society established the Rabindra Bhavan as a memorial to the poet and as a center of the propagation of art and culture.
Tanushree Dutta who won the Femina Miss India in year 2004 and was among the top 10 Finalists in Miss Universe 2004 also brought laurels to the community. She made her debut in Indian Movie Cinema with Aashiq banaya aapne in year 2005.
“If India is a subcontinent, then Jamshedpur is a sub-India. Diverse cultures arrived in the city along with the Tatas. With the plants came opportunities and need for skilled and unskilled personnel engineers, plant workers, businessmen and guards all speaking diverse languages and following diverse customs. Obviously, there was a greater influx from neighbouring