Beltala School founder’s kin take legacy forward with scholarship
Times of India | 14 June 2024
Kolkata: Descendants of educationist Peary Mohan Chatterjee, founder of Beltala Girls’ High School, have reconnected with the school to celebrate Chatterjee’s legacy. Taking forward Chatterjee’s contribution to the field of education, the family on Thursday presented scholarships to the first three rank-holders, each from XI arts and XI science, and also gave away two all-rounder prizes to two students in arts and science at the prize distribution ceremony on Thursday.
Besides, they installed a marble plaque and unveiled an oil painting of the founder at Beltala. Chatterjee was also the founder of South Calcutta Girls’ College.
“Due to the pandemic, we could not suitably celebrate Chatterjee’s centenary year in 2020. But a plan was always there to do something for the school and revive our ties,” said Mithoo Banerjee (74), Chatterjee’s grand daughter-in-law. “We got in touch with the headmistress and proposed to set up a scholarship of Rs 48,000 for the next four years for Class XI first three-rank holders in arts and science.”
“We also honoured the school headmistress and 12 teachers working for the past 25 years,” Banerjee added.
Beltala Girls’ headmistress Ajanta Mukherjee said, “It is a moment of honour as the founder’s family reconnected with us. As most girls in our school belong to families with financial constraints, the scholarship will encourage them to fare well. It’s a recognition of their hard work.”
A lawyer by profession, Chatterjee had started a girls’ school from his library on July 2, 1920 with six girls, including his eldest daughter, Kanaklata Devi, and second daughter, Kamala Devi. “Within a year, he mortgaged his house to fund the school’s construction. The institute welcomed girls from all walks of life in colonial Bengal,” said Banerjee. She added in 1922, Chatterjee, with the help of Chittaranjan Das and a few other lawyers, set up Beltala Girls’ Education Society. “The society was chaired by Das, and Chatterjee was the secretary. Their aim was to promote higher education for women from middle-income families, which also led to the inception of South Calcutta Girls’ College, which initially operated as a morning section of Beltala Girls’ School before becoming an independent institute in 1932. The South Calcutta Girls’ College library is named after him,” said Banerjee.