When the East meets the West: Stories of History and Heritage from India and London

The Department of History and the Heritage Society of the Bhawanipur Education Society College organized a Students’ Webinar on “When the East meets the West: Stories of History and Heritage from India and London” on October 15, 2020, Thursday on Google Meet platform. The webinar had three speakers – Ms. Neena Ghosh and Mr. Anubhab Chatterjee, both students of the Department of History, The Bhawanipur Education Society College, Kolkata, and Ms. Rajita Banerjee, Student, Department of International Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Ms. Nidhi Shukla, PTT, Department of History, The Bhawanipur Education Society College, Kolkata moderated the session. The one-and-a-half-hour session (06:30 PM IST to 08:00 PM IST) was attended by more than 50 participants.

The session started with the address by Dr. Suchandra Chakravarty, Teacher-in-Charge, The Bhawanipur Education Society College. She highlighted the unique situation of Calcutta and its built heritage at the intersection of the lives of the British and the Bengalis. Mentioning the problems of conserving the built heritage in Calcutta and the impact of the postcolonial denial of the colonial period, Dr. Chakravarty expressed her concerns about finding measures of conservation and repurposing of heritage as she thanked the students for taking up the initiative to discuss on the subject. After this, Ms. Nidhi Shukla introduced the speakers and gave the outline of the presentations for the evening. Dr. Debika Banerji, CWTT, The Bhawanipur Education Society College, described the programmes and functions of the Heritage Society of the College since 2015, focusing on the heritage walks and projects that have been organized under the aegis of the society which envisions at raising the heritage consciousness among the students.

Dr. Suchandra Chakravarty delivering the Welcome Address

Dr. Debika Banerji talking about the Heritage Society of the BESC

The first presentation of the evening focused on the presence and experience of South Asians in London. This was a joint presentation by Ms. Neena Ghosh and Mr. Anubhab Chatterjee who talked mainly on the Bengali bhadraloks in London in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Ms. Ghosh described the developments – the shift in education, growth of trade, and cultural fashioning – that had influenced the bhadraloks’ moving to London. Mr. Chatterjee highlighted the aspects like the familial and social values, religious and caste ties, ambition etc., related with the bhadraloks’ drive to go to London. He elaborated on their experiences in a foreign city, taking up the lives of D. P. Chattopadhyay and Hirendranath Mukhopadhyay as examples. Ms. Ghosh then discussed the connection of branches of the Indian anti-colonial nationalist movement with London, focusing on the India House.

Presentation by Ms. Neena Ghosh

Presentation by Mr. Anubhab Chatterjee

The second presentation was also a joint one by Ms. Ghosh and Mr. Chatterjee where they talked about Exploring Solutions to Heriatge Outreach. They discussed about their association with Heritage Walk Calcutta, an academic-run, research-oriented company that provides walking tours of Kolkata for locals and tourists. Broadening the popular understanding of heritage, Mr. Chatterjee highlighted the need to preserve micro-heritage, focusing on the objects like medals, letters, paintings, passport and cabinet belonging to D. P. Chattopadhyay and Hirendranath Mukhopadhyay. Ms. Ghosh discussed about conservation of intangible heritage, focusing on the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the celebrations.

Mr. Anubhab Chatterjee talking about the objects belonging to Hirendranath Mukherjee

Ms. Neena Ghosh discussing the impact of the pandemic and the restrictions on Puja celebrations

Ms. Rajita Banerjee in the last presentation of the evening discussed about Heritage Consciousness in London, focusing on museums, plaques and heritage walks. Taking from her own experiences in London, Ms. Banerjee talked about how the British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Royal Air Force Museum and the Museum of London involve in preserving the city’s heritage. She went on to explain the importance of plaques installed in various parts of the city of London as commemorative objects and how heritage walks in London (like the Old Westminster Walk and the Jack the Ripper Walk) help in conserving heritage and raise historical and heritage consciousness among the locals and tourists. She concluded her discussion by drawing a contrast between the conditions of Chinatowns in the cities of Kolkata and London, the former lacking a conscious attempt to preserve. 

Presentation by Ms. Rajita Banerjee

The webinar concluded with the vote of thanks delivered by Professor Tathagata Sen, Associate Professor, Department of English, and Coordinator, IQAC, The Bhawanipur Education Society College.