For the first time, the Bengal Heritage Dinner, the annual reunion of the members of the UK-based charity Bengal Heritage Foundation (BHF) in Kolkata, took place on the Hooghly. On December 26, BHF set sail shortly after sunset to kick-start an evening of discussions, performances and food, enhancing the ‘living bridge’ between India and the UK. The event also saw the formal handover of the BHF presidency from outgoing president Suranjan Som to new president Koushik Chatterjee
Photos: Soumyajit Dey
“Our main goal is preserving and promoting Bengali culture abroad, particularly in the UK,” said Som, before Prateep Sen, founder and co-CEO of Tribeca Care, spoke about how his company looks after the elderly and isolated in Kolkata, whose children are mostly NRIs. “BHFs cultural contributions enrich both India and the UK, esepecically our annual Durga Puja, which is arguably the biggest in Europe,” said BHF member Sarit Bose (pictured)
The broad theme of the evening’s discussion was — ‘Indian diaspora’s contribution to the India-UK relationship’. Andrew Fleming, the British deputy high commissioner to India, focused on the sustainability angle of India-UK ties by saying how “the Sunderbans are brought up whenever we speak of climate change in West Bengal”, but more awareness needs to be generated about “the other industrial belts in the state”, which also play a crucial role in the climate change conversation
Rittika Chanda Parruck, director of education at British Council, spoke about the India-UK partnership in the context of higher education: “At the British Council, we have given three million pounds in grants to UK universities to enable them to get more talented youngsters from India and provide them with better educational opportunities.” Approaching the theme from a different angle, Atri Bhattacharya, additional chief secretary, Government of West Bengal, observed: “We keep talking about manufacturing as the key to development, but there are massive opportunities when it comes to agriculture in Bengal.”
“BHF is a very inclusive organisation. I’d like to see even more diversity in India-UK collaborations, and BHF will be vital in that, “ said artiste Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee (pictured). “A lot of Britishers have adapted Indian classical music into their work, creating a strong integration between the two cultures. This integration is furthered through the workshops organised by BHF on music, literature and art,” added Tanusree Guha, director, Bank of America, London
The panel discussion was followed by music, dance and dinner. With a packed calendar of events in 2025, including its marquee event, the London Sharad Utsav, BHF is keen to take the India-UK relationship to the next level. “Everything that we do at BHF is the product of our love and commitment to the ‘living bridge’ between India and the UK,” said Sourav Niyogi, former BHF president and trustee as well as the moderator for the evening
