The head of the community of merchants was given the hereditary title ‘Jagat Seth’ (Banker of the World) while serving Mughal nawabs of Bengal up until the end of the rule of Siraj-ud-Daula who was killed in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. They settled in Murshidabad and its suburbs, Azimganj and Jiaganj. Having gained prominence as the bankers and financiers of the Mughals, the Oswals were popularly called the ‘Rothschilds of India’. The story of the Marwaris in Bengal goes back to the end of the 17th century when the Saharwale Oswal Jain merchants from Bikaner began migrating to Bengal, along with the trail of Mughal armies. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) From Jagat Seths to leading industrialists Thousands of tourist visits daily and this was built by Industrialist Birla group. Birla Mandir situated at old Bulygaunge Road, Kolkata, West Bengal, India It’s a magnificent temple of Hindus One of the most attractive place of Kolkata. From hospitals to restaurants to even the electric supply in the city (Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation) is owned by Marwaris. Barring a few Christian missionary schools, almost every other school of repute in Kolkata is owned by a Marwari. The Lopchu tea estate which produces Bengal’s beloved Darjeeling tea is owned by a Marwari family for three generations,” adds Chakravarti, listing out few among the innumerable contributions made by the community to Bengal. Several films directed by the iconic Satyajit Ray happen to be produced by a Marwari person.
“Marwaris run cultural foundations, temples, art galleries, publication houses. “Marwari families like the Khaitans, Goenkas, Birlas, Shekhsarias and the Neotias run the cultural as well as the commercial and construction landscape of Bengal and definitely that of Kolkata,” explains writer, historian and ethnographer Sudeep Chakravarti. “I am more Bengali than any Bengali,” says Kundalia, asked where he locates himself in this ‘insider-outsider’ narrative. Despite the bitter-sweet relationship that the Marwaris share with the Bengalis, the former has seeped itself in Bengali identity. A special place among them is reserved for the Marwari community, which practically built Kolkata as we know it today. In its definition of the ‘insider-outsider’ theme ahead of the Assembly elections in Bengal, the TMC has been particularly wary of alienating the non-Bengali voters of the state who constitute approximately 15 per cent of the vote bank. He has also produced five Bengali films, the last one being on the life of Rabindranath Tagore. He has two hospitals to his name, a charitable old age home, as well as the small electronics shop that his father first opened in Canning Street.
Today, he is a flourishing businessman, having dealt in over a hundred properties across Calcutta. Kundalia remembers the days of penury faced by his family, when they could not even afford a bathroom for themselves.
In 1956, his father came to Calcutta and started a small business in electronics, and four years later he brought his family too. His ancestors had first moved to what became East Bengal, in 1919-20 to work as middlemen in the jute industry. Bengali Magazines Monthly Bengali Magazines.Kundalia’s life history is the quintessential Marwari tale of migration from Rajasthan to Bengal in search of business opportunities, the hardships and discrimination faced, and finally the prosperity earned through sheer hard labour.Competitive EXAM School and College Books Dealers Online.Music / Film Bengali Books Store – Music / Arts, Film & Photography.
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