It was in July 1905. Dark clouds were hovering on the
horizon of British India when Lord Curzon decided to punish Bengal for being at
the forefront of the independence resistance. Partition of Bengal was supposed
to destroy the Bengali intellectuals, the growth story and most importantly,
the backbone of Bengal.
110 years later, in July 2015, in a new global
economy, in a world of cultural diversity and modern technological innovation, glonal
Bengalis will gather in Houston to celebrate that rich culture, the heady
intellectualism and the fire in the belly which Curzon and many others could
never destroy. It is our way of celebrating our rich culture and projecting
Bengal to the world – our humble way of giving back to our motherland.
Banga Sammelan is about to take off on that new orbit
with Space City Houston's NABC 2015 being the launch pad. It is the
destination of our journey to transform and reinvent the conference for the
21st century so that the great work of past NABC's can be sustained.
New Banga Sammelan…
The new Banga Sammelan will be a revitalized
conference, not only dedicated to the culture and arts but contributing
something concrete for the global community and Bengal and Bangladesh, be it
green initiatives or social entrepreneurship. The new Banga Sammelan will
bring enormous value to donors and sponsors US, India, Bangladesh and beyond –
ensuring they realize the potential of the global platform we bring. The new
Banga Sammelan will also cater to the next generation – where they not only
learn from the parents but mingle and learn from their contemporaries in India.
Finally, new NABC will not just revolve around three days of fun – it will make
a significant and sustainable difference to the global community and Bengal –
give back and make a difference.
Why is Houston different?
NABC 2015 team boasts of a core group of highly
successful younger global Bengali diaspora, at senior executive levels of world-renowned
multinational companies, educated at IIT and other top institutions in India
and US. We have gained experience and gotten accolades organizing NABC 2006 and
IIT 2013 Global Conference. We are relatively young, but truly motivated and
enthused to give back to our motherland and make a sustainable and tangible
difference. We have achieved professional success – we want to share our
success with Bengal and help Bengal in a meaningful way. We intend to take
Brand Bengal to the world.
We are motivated by Swami Vivekananda’s saying –
“Leave a mark” (“দাগ কেটে যা”) and Rabindranath Thakur’s vision of a borderless mind
and universal culture. We want to make a difference – leave a legacy! Our
strategy for the new NABC is based on the framework provided by the four pillars:
Ideas, Execution, Communication and Philanthropy. We are committed to making
the event and our programs for the future a resounding success.
Unique features of Banga Sammelan 2015
1)
Highlighting Bengal as an investment destination –
Where sky is the limit!
a. Business forum – highlight Bengal and its investment
opportunities, build bridges between Bengal and global industrial giants.
Showcase Bengal as the destination of choice for industry.
2)
Highlight Bengal’s traditional festival globally –
Bengali at core, carnival in spirit!
a. Puja contest – Banga Sammlean will run a Puja contest
to pick the best 3 pujas with the top puja winner being felicitated in Houston
during the conference. They will get a rare opportunity to showcase their
talent in front of the audience. Celebrate the unique carnival in typical
Bengali style – promote that festival to the global audience!
3)
Searching the future Bengali leaders all over the
world
a. We will shine light on the new stalwarts from amongst
global Bengalis in any field – be it as entrepreneur, educationist or social
activist.
4)
Bringing America to Bengal – build bonding between the
two cultures
a. Pre-conference activities in December – Starting with
a “prabhat pheri” showcasing traditional Bengali culture (Baul and dhak), from
Rabindra Sadan to Nazrul Mancha, we will kick off the event with a gala event
in Nazrul mancha on December 28th. That cultural extravaganza will
feature the stalwart artists of NABC 2015. We will organize the similar event in Dhaka on
December 30th – showcasing our culture across two nations.
5)
Shining light on Bengali’s diaspora’s passion for
drama
a. Houston artists on Kolkata stage – they will perform Nati
Binodini on December 27th at Star Theater.
6)
Highlighting our rich heritage of arts through Arts
and handicrafts show
a. NABC 2015 will feature an elaborate display of arts
and handicrafts from all over Bengal from Himalayas to Bay of Bengal, showing
the diversity of talents and uniqueness of its crafts.
7)
Bringing vibrancy of colors and energy – where west
meets east
a. NABC 2015 will also feature a painting exhibition of
young budding school artists from Houston across the entire American community.
We will also like to display some paintings from India which will be a real
celebration of global cultural diversity.
8)
Bonding through books – satiating Bengali’s thirst for
books
a. Books from Bengal in Bayou City – organizing the
Bengali book fair in Houston.
Building Brand Bengal
NABC will work in association with leading
Bengal-based organizations like Biswa Bangla to promote Brand Bengal on a
global platform.
·
Accomplished pool
of experts – providing mentoring, expertise and relationships to new as well as
mature entrepreneurs, students and leaders. Topics covered can span multiple
disciplines, from education to enterprise, strategic to tactical. That will
serve as a global pool of experts focused on helping Bengal.
·
Channeling
investment to Bengal – leveraging business relationships, guiding budding enterprises,
developing partnerships to Bengal-based ventures. It may also come in the form
of direct investment from interested parties or partners.
·
Giving back to
motherland – many want to contribute back to their motherland in the form of
helping education or health care or other necessary services. Setting up
schools, vocational training centers, heloing traditional arts (like Baul
village), building health centers are some of the areas NABC like to focus on,
working together with Bengal.
·
Partnering with
Bengal – NABC can mobilize support to help on multiple projects both at private
and government levels with interest parties. NABC can be the mouthpiece and trusted
partner of Brand Bengal with the sole aim of promoting Bengal.
·
It
is time to think about giving back – not necessarily through financial
contribution but through ideas, innovation, and organization towards a better
future for the greater humanity. A hundred years after two extraordinary human
beings broke barriers, it is time for us to push the limit, tackle the hard
problems of the world – not think about myself but the global we.
Giving Back.
As we celebrate 35 years of NABC, we, the Bengali
diaspora, should take a moment and reflect on our successes. But, it is more
important to look forward and think about ways to give back. Blessed with tools
to succeed, supported by a whole nation, we should put our collective brains
together to help our motherland. It is our humble attempt to recognize the
tremendous gratitude we feel about our motherland. We can never repay that debt
but we can at least honestly and sincerely try to give back in a meaningful
way.
If we through our collective efforts during and after conference
can help take Bengal to its dizzy heights of glory, the glory which made
Alexander come to Gangaridai from far Macedonia, which made Lord Curzon split
Bengal, then, we will consider our efforts and the conference a success.
Hope that honest and genuine effort can bear fruit and
Bengal will be at the forefront of a huge futuristic growth and glory across
India and Bangladesh.
Rocket ship is about to take off with Brand Bengal - hope to
see you on it!
Sanku Bose,
Joint President (sanku01@aol.com); Tapan Das,
Joint President (dasfamilymail@yahoo.com);
Partha
Sarathi Chatterjee, Joint General Secretary (parthausa@gmail.com); Gopendu Chakrabarti, Joint General
Secretary(gopendu.chakrabarti@gmail.com)
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