
My father's family. The Datta family. Delhi. Circa 1940
Image and Text contributed by Saugato Datta, London
This photograph of my father’s family was taken in the courtyard of my grandfather’s government house on Irwin Road (now Baba Kharak Singh Marg,Delhi).
Seated in the middle are my grandparents, Sailendraprasad Datta (1898-1956) and Bibhabati Datta (1906-1977). My grandfather was a civil servant and moved to New Delhi from Calcutta in the early 1920s. My grandmother was a housewife. She grew up in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
To the left of my grandfather is their eldest child, my aunt Uma Datta Roy Choudhury (1926-2009). She was a statistician, joining the Indian Statistical Service when it was founded after Independence, which was also the year she got her MA from St. Stephen’s College. She later consulted for UNDP and lived for many years in the then Czechoslovakia (Now Czech Republic and Slovakia) and later in Zimbabwe. To the right of the my grandmother, is my oldest uncle, Kalyan Kumar Datta (1928-1998). He was a pilot for Indian Airlines and lived in Calcutta.
The little boy on the left is my father, Kamal Kumar Datta (born 1938). He studied Physics at Presidency College, Calcutta and Brandeis University in the US, and was a professor of Physics at Delhi University till he retired earlier this decade. The other kid on the right is his brother, Saroj Kumar Datta, (born 1936) who was also a Stephanian. He worked for many years in Air India, and has been with Jet Airways since it was founded. he currently works as Jet’s Executive Director. He’s still working, though he recently turned 75.
The two youngest kids are apparently beaming because they were given books to entice them to sit still for the photographer – or so I’ve heard. The others seem to have taken the whole “look serious for the camera” injunction very literally. People didn’t normally smile for photos back in the day, did they? I guess it was considered a formal affair, having a photographer over and all.
Jun 17, 2011 | Categories: 1920s, 1940s, Art Direction, Bengali, Bengali, Brandeis University. USA, Calcutta, Civil Services, Corporate Job, Cultural Attire, Delhi, Diplomat, Education, Hair Styles, House Wife, Indian Clothes, Indian Clothes, London, Masters, Men's Clothes, Migration, Pilot, Pre-Independence, Presidency College, Calcutta, Sarees, St. Stephen's, Statistician, Summers, Travel, West Bengal, Western Clothes, Women's Clothes, Zimbabwe | Tags: 1920s, 1940s, Art Direction, Bengali, Brandeis University, Calcutta, Civil Servant, Civil Services, Corporate Job, Cultural Attire, Czechoslovakia, Datta, Delhi, Delhi University, Diplomat, Education, Family Portrait, Hair Styles, House Wife, Indian Airlines, Indian Government, Indian Statistical Services, Jet Airways, Kamal Kumar Datta, London, Masters, Migration, New Delhi, Pilot, Pose, Presidency College, Calcutta, Professor, Sarees, Saugato Datta, St. Stephens, Statistician, Summers, Travel, Uma Datta Roy Choudhury, UNDP, USA, West Bengal, Zimbabwe | 7 Comments »

The Farewell party for V.V Giri, then the High Commissioner of India to Ceylon (Now Sri Lanka), Columbo. July 3, 1948.
Image and text contributed by Sunder Mirchandani
Since Colombo was a relatively small capital, much of the social life of expat Indians involved mingling with the diplomatic circle. When an officer was transferred there would be a round of farewell parties. This particular farewell was hosted by my parents Sita and Nari Mirchandani at the Galle Face Hotel for V V Giri, (Varahagiri Venkata Giri) then the High Commissioner for India in Colombo prior to his return to India. I sit next to him, as a child. The Hotel is still a landmark in Colombo. V.V Giri went on to become the fourth President of India in 1964. He was in power until 1974.
Jun 22, 2010 | Categories: 1940s, Columbo, Diplomat, Governance, Hotel, Indian Clothes, Men, Men's Clothes, Parties, Sarees, Sindhi, Sri Lanka, Trade, Western Clothes, Women, Women's Clothes | Tags: 1940s, Ambassador, ceylon, Colombo, Commissioner, Diplomat, Diplomatic, Expats, Farewell Party, Galle Face Hotel, Governance, High Commissioner, Hotel, Mirchandani, Parties, President of India, Sarees, Sindhi, Social Life, Sri Lanka, Telugu, Trade, V.V Giri | Leave A Comment »

My great-great grandparents, Sarala and Dr. PK Roy. Calcutta, West Bengal. Circa 1880
Image contributed by Chetan Roy
This photo was used by Kodak India for an Ad campaign in the early 1980s.
Sarala Roy was an educationist and is remembered as the founder of the Gokhale Memorial School at Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal. She belonged to the famous Das family of Telirbagh, Dhaka, now in Bangladesh. She was also a member of Calcutta University’s senate and also one of the leaders of the All-India Women’s Conference. The conference was founded in 1927 under the leadership of Margaret Cousins but was soon completely run by Indian women. It was the most important women’s organisation of its time.
She devoted her life to the cause of women’s education and also established a Girl’s school & a Women’s organization in Dhaka, while living there with her husband.
Rabindranath Tagore composed the dance-drama
Mayar Khela at her request.
Feb 23, 2010 | Categories: 1800s, 1980s, Activist, Advertising, Bengali, Bengali, Brahmo Samaj, British Reign, Calcutta, Calcutta University, Civil Services, Cultural Attire, Diplomat, Elite, Fashion & Trends, Fashion Accessories, Gilchrist, Gokhale Memorial School, Hair Styles, Indian Clothes, Indian Politics, Jewellery, London, Men, Men's Clothes, Music, Art, Dance & Culture, Mustache, Pre-Independence, Presidency College, Calcutta, Sarees, Scholar, Scholarships & Grants, United Kingdom, University of Edinburgh, University of London, West Bengal, Western Clothes, Women, Women Empowerment, Women's Clothes | Tags: 1800s, 1980s, Activist, Advertising, Art & Culture, Bengali, Brahmo Samaj, British Reign, Calcutta, Calcutta University, Campaign, Civil Services, Couple, Cultural Attire, Diplomat, Education, Elite, Fashion & Trends, Fashion Accessories, Gilchrist, Gokhale Memorial School, Hair Styles, Indian Politics, Jewellery, Kodak, London, Music, Mustache, Play, Pre Independence, Presidency College, Calcutta, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Sarees, Sari, Scholar, Scholarship, Scholarships & Grants, United Kingdom, University of Edinburgh, University of London, West Bengal, Women Empowerment | 1 Comment »