Celebrating Kolkata’s heritage
To commemorate Unesco’s World Heritage Week, RC Kolkata Metrocity D 3291, along with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Kolkata chapter, conducted a Heritage Awareness programme — ‘Sangbardhan’, at the lawns of the Marble Palace — a magnificent heritage building in Kolkata.
As part of the programme, DG Shyamashree.Sen honoured four heritage families — Garg Raj family of Mahisadal who were zamindars and contributed substantially to the social welfare of the area, the Doogar Raj family of Murshidabad, an ancient Jain family of bankers and merchants, the Mitras of Chorebagan — known for their philanthropy and contribution to the arts and cultural scene of Bengal and the Roy Raj family of Cossimbazar, Murshidabad, a non-Bengali family, who first imported the American automobile Studebaker to India.
“Kolkata is rich in heritage. Apart from heritage monuments, we have very old families living here in heritage houses for several centuries. We want to preserve those buildings and our culture. The aim of ‘Sangbardhan’ was to create awareness about our tradition and heritage buildings amongst the next generation,” said Shyamashree.
G M Kapur, Convenor of INTACH Kolkata Chapter, who is also a Rotarian, spoke about the need to preserve heritage buildings and keep alive its traditional style of architecture. Chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission Shuvaprasanna and historian Anup Motilal discussed the various heritage sites in the city. The programme concluded with a Santoor recital of the Maihar Gharana by Grammy nominee Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya, a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar. The club will organise a heritage walk for Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors to create awareness about the city’s heritage.
More than 350 Rotarians, Rotaractors, consular representatives, members of INTACH and NGOs participated in the programme.
