Chittaranjan Park Bangiya Samaj (Regd.) - New Delhi

On Christmas Day, 1970 the idea that the new residents of East Pakistan Displaced Persons’ Colony, (as Chittaranjan Park was then known) need a socio-cultural organization was mooted. Thus ‘Kalkaji Bangiya Samaj’ came into existence in the drawing room of Shri Sudhir Banerjee (I-1631). The neighbourhood was barely a few months old and there were no more than two dozen families who mustered the courage to move into a place which lacked many basic civic amenities like water, electricity, roads and markets. Moreover, security was a major issue for all residents as two frightful burglary attempts were made on the houses in B-Block a well as H-Block. These difficult circumstances did not deter this handful of Bengalis to crave for an exciting and meaningful social and cultural life.

Bangiya Samaj was the creative venture which fulfilled the desire of the new residents. Thus an organization was established with Fanindranath Sanyal as the President, Santi Mazumdar as General Secretary and B.N. Mazumdar, N.C. Chaudhuri, N.C. Dasgupta, H.N. Chatterjee, M.R. Bhowmik, B.B. Chakraborty, P.C. Sengupta, C.R. Deb, S.K. Dey, Ashutosh Dutta, Sushil Bhattacharya, D.R. Dasgupta and Sudhir Banerjee as founder members.

To make the Samaj more effective it was decided to register it. Shortly, a three-member committee was formed to draft the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations as pre-requisites for registration. Pashupatinath Bhattacharya was the Convenor of this Committee and members were late Manoranjan Bhowmik and late Subroto Sen. On 21st of February 1971 Kalkaji Bangiya Samaj was registered under the Registrar of Societies Act and its first meeting was held at the residence of the General Secretary (D-776). It was a year later in 1972 that a room (in I-1632) was rented to carry out day-to-day office activities. By then Subir Datta Roy had taken over as President, late M.R. Bhowmik became the General Secretary and N.C. Dasgupta, the Treasurer. At that time the Samaj had a bank balance of Rs. 805.74! In its early years among those who contributed greatly to the Samaj’s activities were Ashish Ganguly, Anil Roy, Satyaranjan Nag, Nipesh Talukdar and Naresh Chandra Adhikari.

In 1971itself in order to expand the activities of the Samaj the need to set up a library was expressed by members and M.R. Bhowmik, founder member, offered one room in his house (I-1752) to be used for that purpose. Thus the Samaj Library was inaugurated by Shri Triguna Sen, who was then the Union Minister for Education (now HRD) in July 1971. The Library began its functioning from book donations from members and well- wishers all over the city and then numbered less than six hundred. Shanti Ranjan Banerjee, who was a professional librarian (then Chief Librarian, Indian Council for Agricultural Research), took over the responsibilities of cataloguing the books and later played a crucial role in the development of the library which today has over 15000 volumes and exists in a very impressive set-up. He was assisted by Renuka Chakrabarti and Nimai Chaki. Some women members of the Samaj volunteered to help in the functioning of the Library by opening it three days a week. Subsequently, book donations were received from several other individuals and organizations. In the 1970s and 80s the library was immensely popular among the residents whose numbers were growing each passing day.

Bangiya Samaj began its cultural activities by staging plays under the direction of Sanat Lahiri and Dipak Roy, both now deceased. At the annually held One-Act Drama Competition’ of New Delhi Kali Bari, Bangiya Samaj staged ‘Chaar Prahar’. ‘Shasti’ was staged during the 1972 Rabindra Jayanti celebrations and ‘Finger Print’ at the Durga Puja. Staging of plays including ‘Jatras’ eventually became part of the Samaj’s regular activities. Similarly, film shows were also held both in the open-air as well as in auditoriums. Some of these shows were intended to raise funds for various activities of the Samaj but they provided great entertainment to the residents in the pre-satellite television, pre-Internet era.

For most social organizations health care is an important activity. In June 1973 Bangiya Samaj opened a Charitable Health Centre under the supervision of Dr. P.C. Mukherjee. It was inaugurated by Dr. Santosh Kumar Sen, a renowned surgeon. The first Convenor of the Health Centre, Anil Roy, through painstaking efforts succeeded in procuring funds as well as equipments and instruments to enable the Health Centre to set up a pathological laboratory. This laboratory facilitated pathological tests for residents at a subsidized rate. A young physician, who had just graduated from medical college came forward to offer his services to the Health Centre. He was none other than Dr. Sudip Kumar Chaudhuri, who up to this day continues to be one of the most sought-after physicians in C.R. Park. Under the chairmanship of Dr. Subir Datta Roy the first “Paush Mela” was organized. Late Subroto Sen was the secretary for this event which took place between 12th to 14th January, 1973. Member of Parliament, Shri Shashi Bhushan inaugurated the ‘mela’. The venue of the ‘mela’ was the zonal park between I and H Block and this is how it has come to be known as ‘Mela Ground’!

The mela was a hit from day- one and became extremely popular over the years only next to Durga Puja. Women members and residents of the neighbourhood actively participated in the ‘mela’ to give it a distinctively Bengali look. ‘Patishapta Pithey’, ‘Puli Pithey’, ‘Chalta’ and ‘Sona Mug dal’ were special attractions for visitors. Bengalis from all over Delhi thronged the ‘mela’ in huge numbers. In the first year itself there were 18 stalls selling handicrafts, food items, etc and also Merry-go-rounds, Animal Rides, Games of Skill, Lucky Draw and so on. In the evenings plays and dance dramas were organized for entertainment. Performances were from the Samaj as well as other organizations. The grand finale was the draw of lots on the final day which continued till midnight and beyond. In the initial years, on an average more than 5000 people came to the mela.

In a matter of a few years the membership of Bangiya Samaj increased and so did its activities. The need for a permanent and adequately sized premise was felt. Meanwhile, in 1984 at the 14th Annual General Body Meeting, the organization was renamed as ‘Chittaranjan Park Bangiya Samaj’. This was done in view of the fact that the colony came to be called as Chittaranjan Park. It was also time to move from rented accommodations (in D-Block, I-Block and J-Block at different times) to its own premises. Fortunately, government had allocated some land in C-Block for building a community centre and Bangiya Samaj was able to acquire a portion of it for constructing its own building. It was decided that a Development Fund be established from the surplus income and use it for constructing the building. It was only in December 2000 that construction work began. Until then for some years the Samaj carried out its activities from a temporary shelter in the same place where land was allotted to it. Despite the difficulties and hardships faced in the barrack-like premises activities of the Samaj went on unhindered. The construction of a new building was a challenging task but the diligence, dedication and patience of three people – Byomekesh Bose, Rathin Chakraborty and Sreebash Bhattacharya resulted in an impressive new structure.

Today Chittaranjan Park Bangiya Samaj has an imposing building. From a very simple and modest beginning the Samaj has evolved into a socio-cultural entity which has recognition all over the city of Delhi and outside. For Chittaranjan Park residents it is of great significance in enriching their social and cultural lives. The Samaj, in addition to the above-mentioned activities, celebrates Holi, New Year’s Day, Rabindra Jayanti, Independence Day and Bijoya Sammelani. Apart from a very impressive library, regular classes for music, dance, drawing and Karate are held for children and in some cases for adults. It frequently organizes seminars, discussions and exhibitions with participation of Samaj members as well as others. The Library includes a free reading room where a number of magazines and journals are subscribed to. Recreational facilities include a gymnasium and a variety of indoor games. Plays are staged regularly. Each year a pre- Puja Handloom Exhibition takes place. Bengalis from the entire NCR flock to this event in large numbers. Medical camps are organized periodically in poor neighbourhoods. Parts of the premises of the Samaj are available to residents for private functions against a nominal donation.