Business met fun at Banglar Nabojagaron Bengal Rising 2.0, organised by Bengal Business Council, as hundreds of businesses – established and start-ups — displayed their products and took part in pitching sessions, flea markets and more at Karunamoyee Central Park Salt Lake from April 21 to 23. My Kolkata was the digital media partner of the event.
Bengal Rising 2.0 provided opportunities to established brands and start-ups and also served as a bridge between the general public and the businesses. “This is the second year of the event and it is being held on a larger scale than last year. This year we have highlighted almost all that a regular Bengali likes. We have a cultural programme, trade zone, handicraft zone, food zone, a GI pavilion and automobile expo,” said Gourab Ghosh, events director, Bengal Business Council.
An array of brands greeted visitors Soumyajit Dey
Trade fair
Several well-known city businesses set up stalls at the trade fair to showcase their products and services. An array of brands — from Mukharochak snacks to Irony furniture, Jhore Jole Jongole resort in the Sunderbans and Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick sweets to Senco Gold and Diamonds jewellery greeted visitors.
“This platform provides everyone with opportunity. It is impossible to compete with big, established brands. But we are living in a disruptive world and disruptive technology helps smaller businesses to compete and become larger or make space for themselves. Today there are several small businesses here. Out of say 100 of them, maybe one idea is a great idea. When this idea expands in the business community, it will change the world. We are trying to re-grow business in Bengal. We have lost many years in between but right now there is an opportunity because of this disruptive technology,” said Avishek Auddy, chairman, Bengal Business Council.
The flea market and handicrafts fair consisted of over 70 stalls Ashim Paul
Flea market and handicrafts fair
The pandemic brought to the forefront a different side of social media and making the most of it were home-based entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs, who got a chance to display and sell their products. The flea market and handicrafts fair consisted of over 70 stalls with products such as saris, toys, bags, jewellery, food, accessories and more.
“Existing businesses have a lot to learn from new-age disruptive businesses. Similarly, start-ups have a lot to learn from age-old businesses. It has to be a blend of both. The objective of the council was to help both help each other. We have fifth-generation entrepreneurs as well as first-generation ones. It’s only when we help each other by sharing knowledge that we grow holistically. We need both for their strengths. It’s how we adapt the strength of each and combine them together that will help create a sustainable family in future,” said Arup Mullick, co-founder and events director, Bengal Business Council.
Auto enthusiasts took a test drive throughout Central Park Ashim Paul
Automobile expo
The products on display at the automobile expo were not for on-spot sale, but auto enthusiasts were open to enjoying a test drive throughout Central Park to know more about the features. From tractors to bikes, from bicycles to cars — all were on display and available for a fun ride. The brand representatives were happy to attend to each visitor and answer queries about the products.
The food festival had leading eateries Soumyajit Dey
Food festival
When one talks about everything that Bengali love, one cannot forget about the khadyoroshik Bangali. The food festival had leading eateries serving Awadhi cuisine from Oudh 1590 to Chinese from Chowman, showcasing the café culture through The Boho Café to highlighting health-conscious food with Calorie Crave.
The GI zone had rosogolla, Joynagarer moa, Santipur saris, Darjeeling tea, Bankura dokra and more Soumyajit Dey
GI Zone
While Bengal did win the fight for Rosogolla, there are several other Geographical Indication (GI) products that can be credited to this state. The GI zone had rosogolla, Joynagarer moa, Santipur saris, Darjeeling tea, Bankura dokra and more. “Talking about GI, most people know only about rosogolla because of the battle with Odisha but there are 20 more products from West Bengal and people are responding well to this knowledge.”
Leading singers and bands performed every evening Soumyajit Dey
Cultural performances
Every evening ended had a splendid musical performance by leading singers and bands of the city. Iman Chakraborty, Sourendra- Soumyajit and band Lakkhichara were among those who performed. “The event response was very good. We have been able to keep a rough count of 4,000 people on Friday and 8,000 people on Saturday,” said Ghosh.
A variety of events and activities over the weekend were held Ashim Paul
Activities
Bengal Rising 2.0 kept the visitors engaged through a variety of events and activities over the weekend. From Shabdabaji, a Bengali word game hosted by former radio jockey RJ Roy and team, to a quiz session by Gyanopedia, visitors not only enjoyed but also tickled their grey cells to fetch the right answers.
Dr Shashi Panja, Cabinet minister for Industries, Commerce & Enterprises and Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare of the Government of West Bengal being felicitated Ashim Paul
Felicitations
Veterans and young minds were felicitated on their achievements and efforts in various fields on the concluding day of the event. Ajoy Chakrabarty received the Lifetime Achievement Honour in Music, Alapan Bandyopadhyay was felicitated with Lifetime Achievement Honour in Public Administration. danseuse Tanusree Shankar was given the Lifetime Achievement Honour in Performing Art and A.K. Chandra of the PC Chandra Group was felicitated with Lifetime Achievement Honour for Excellence in Business. New-age entrepreneur Ranodeep Saha of Rare Planet Handicrafts was given the Shankar Sen (Senco Gold) Award for Young Entrepreneur of the Year. The Judhistir Dutta Memorial (Cookme) Award for Rising Woman Entrepreneur went to Sujata Chatterjee of Twirl.store. The Sunil Kumar Banerjee (RT Network Solutions Private Limited) Award was given to Ankit Chowdhury of Neural Monkey Digital Ventures Private Limited.
“It feels amazing to see so many people come to the Banglar Nabojagaron Bengal Rising 2.0. It is quite an achievement to see this success for an event that we had planned for almost four months,” said Ranodeep Saha, member of the Bengal Business Council.