“Ever
heard of Bimal Kumar Chandra?” asked my friend Krishanu. I confessed I hadn’t.
“Who was the first Indian to cross the English Channel”? Every Bengali child
knows the answer to this question, for it was a Bengali, Mihir Sen. “Well,
Bimal Kumar Chandra was the second. I can take you to his house if you like”.
And just like that, we set off on a Sunday morning, to meet his younger
brother, Amal Kumar Chandra.
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| Amal Kumar Chandra |
The
first thing I notice about Amal Kumar Chandra is his smile. It is the smile of
a man who has been there, done that, and experienced everything that life has
to offer. It is warm, welcoming, and perhaps a little embarrassed. There is no
unseemly pride, nothing he does or says ever gives away the fact that he has
walked with giants, and is a champion himself. I am warmly welcomed into the
family’s North Calcutta residence. The neighbourhood is bursting at its seams
with history. “Have you heard of Kanan Devi”? I nod. Kanan Devi was a singer
and actress whose career began in the 1920’s. She would dominate the screen for
the next three decades and her rags-to-riches story is legendary. “You see that
hotel there?” Amal babu points to a humble establishment outside his window,
“she used to work there as a child”. The neighbourhood was also home to the
famous bodybuilder Manotosh Ray, the blind music composer Krishna Chandra Dey
and his nephew, the recently deceased Manna Dey, as well as wrestler Jatindra
Charan “Gobar” Guha. But we are here to talk about Amal babu’s elder brother,
champion swimmer Bimal Kumar Chandra, the second Indian to cross the English
Channel. Amal babu begins at the very beginning.
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| Dr. Bimal Kumar Chandra during the Channel crossing |
He
traces his family’s history back to Kidderpore, long before the docks existed
there. When the East India Company requisitioned land to set up the docks,
several villages had to be moved. Among those displaced were the Chandras, who
came and settled in the Ahiritola neighbourhood of North Calcutta (Kolkata). Bhuvan
Mohan Chandra had four sons, and many properties around Calcutta. His eldest,
Suresh Chandra, he disinherited for marrying a foreigner. Suresh’s younger
brother, Jogendralal Chandra inherited the property on Ram Dulal Sarkar Street.
Jogendralal was a doctor, and was the classmate of Dr. Radha Gobinda Kar, after
whom the R.G. Kar Medical College is named. A famous man in his time, he had
written four medical books which were widely read. He worked as a ship’s doctor
for a while, which allowed him to tour the world some 5 times. Among his
collection of photographs are many monuments and buildings in Germany that were
completely obliterated by Allied bombing during WWII. Jogendralal had two sons,
Jugal Kishore Chandra (1900 - 1994), Gorachand Chandra (1909 - 1935) and an
adopted daughter, Mrinalini Sen (1897- 1985). Jugal Kishore followed in his
father’s footsteps and trained in medicine. His four sons were, Bimal Kumar
Chandra (1926 -1998), Nirmal Kumar Chandra (1931 - 1997), Amal Kumar Chandra
(1934 - present) and Parimal Kumar Chandra (1947 - present).
Jugal Kishore would visit Gangasagar as part of his work with the St. John’s Ambulance
Service. The journey was by launch, and on one occasion he missed the launch
due to a miscommunication. He happened to be at the wrong ghat and watched
helplessly as the launch sailed away with his colleagues. Irritated and angry Jugal Kishore came home, only to hear on the radio later that evening, that the launch had sunk, and since none of the doctors on board knew how to swim, they
had all drowned. This accident convinced Jugal Kishore that swimming was an
essential skill that his sons should all know. The brothers started learning
swimming under famous swimmer Shyamapada Goswami. Along with this there was
more physical exercise at the “akhara” of Gobar Guha. This was just prior to
India’s independence, and Amal babu remembers well the gruesome violence of the
communal riots of the time. He also fondly recalls the family’s 1928 Morris
Cowley in which the family visited the Nakhoda Masjid once the riots had
stopped and how they were welcomed by the Muslim community.
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| With Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray, Chief Minister, West Bengal |
While
all four Chandra brothers had trained as swimmers, it was the eldest brother,
Bimal Kumar Chandra who was the unquestioned champion among them. In 1944 he
represented Calcutta University in the All India University Swimming Championship
and won. From 1948 to 1956, he dominated the national championships. But the
defining moment came in 1958. Mihir Sen had just become the first Indian to
cross the English Channel, and was giving a talk about his experience in
Calcutta. Bimal Kumar Chandra happened to be present. Mihir Sen, says Amal
babu, boasted that no Bengali would ever be able to break his record. Bimal
Kumar was stung by the man’s arrogance, and decided to take up the challenge.
14 long hours of practice in the Ganges everyday would prepare him physically,
but there was a financial hurdle as well. The passage money for a trip to
England was Rs. 3000, rather a large sum at the time. Bimal Kumar Chandra
appealed to the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, the legendary Dr. Bidhan Chandra
Roy. The Chief Minster agreed to help him out, but on one condition. “If you fail
in your attempt, you have to return the money” he said. But such an eventuality
did not arise, because on the 10 of September, 1959, Bimal Kumar Chandra
successfully crossed the English Channel in 13 hours and 50 minutes. He was the
second Indian, after Mihir Sen, to accomplish this feat, and the first Indian
to cross from the French side.
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| Map of the route taken by Bimal Kr. Chandra |
They say
no one remembers the second man to land on the moon. That is not entirely
correct because many can remember Edwin Aldrin, but in the case of Bimal Kumar
Chandra, he was denied his due because of the support he had once received from
Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. With a change in government in West Bengal, the
Chandras found themselves neglected. They were passed over for government honours
and other awards. Stories are told in Bengal about how Mihir Sen’s opposition
to Communism led to his complete financial ruin. Nothing of that sort,
thankfully, happened to the Chandras. Bimal Kumar Chandra, like his father
before him, had trained in medicine, and began practising as a doctor upon his
return to Calcutta. His two sons are alive today, and it was his granddaughter
who showed me around the house. I stare, amazed at a display case containing
medals and trophies won by the Chandra brother. The upper shelves are dedicated
solely to those won by Bimal Kumar Chandra, and there are simply too many there
to count. Amal Babu says he is not bitter about his family being denied honours
by the government. “We have never complained about it”, he says with a smile.
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| Trophies and medals won by the Chandra brothers |
We climb
up to the terrace to look at another historic building of the neighbourhood.
Across the lane, is the sprawling house of W.C. Bonnerjee. Womesh Chunder
Bonnerjee (Umesh Chandra Banerjee as per current spelling norms) was the first
president of the Indian National Congress, and presided over its first session
in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1885. He was also the first Indian to contest in the
elections for the British House of Commons. I wonder how many members of the
party he once headed have ever seen his house. Like the story of Dr. Bimal
Kumar Chandra, of the little hotel where a famous singer once worked, of the
blind music composer with a superstar nephew, this is yet another page in the
story of Bengal’s past glory, which is gently fading away.
- by Deepanjan Ghosh
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am
thankful to Krishanu Dutta and all members of the Chandra family for their
support and encouragement.
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