Our member, Mr B. Bandopadhyay, takes us back to a time when the word “celebrity” meant something quite different. He shares vivid recollections of political leaders, spiritual figures, and cultural icons he encountered.

Nowadays, people get excited when they see a sportsperson or film personality. Celebrity culture has infiltrated our everyday lives through social media. But when we were young, we used to find a glimpse of a political leader thrilling.
I once saw Pt Jawaharlal Nehru as he passed by, campaigning in our lane. I also saw his daughter, Ms Indira Gandhi, two or three times in Kolkata. I saw Rajiv Gandhi on the very day Ms Gandhi was shot dead at her residence in New Delhi. He was campaigning in West Bengal, and I happened to be on the road when his motorcade passed me. A few years later, he too was assassinated in Tamil Nadu. Rajiv Gandhi’s killing still haunts me. Life in politics is truly unpredictable.
Some important political moments are coming back to me now. I had the chance to see not only national leaders but also significant international political figures.
In 1955, I saw Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin at the Shyambazar five-point crossing. So many people had gathered that the traffic came to a standstill.
In 1961, I saw Queen Elizabeth II during her first visit to India. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was by her side as they travelled to see the Victoria Memorial. Both of them were young then. I distinctly remember her in a mint-coloured dress, waving at the crowds from a convertible. I caught a glimpse of her again during her second state visit in 1983.
I’ve also had the good fortune of meeting Sri Sri Mohanananda Maharaj ji up close. He was staying by the Ganges near Khardaha at the time. I spent a long time in his presence, standing right beside him as he sat in a chair meeting his disciples. I also met Maharaj Gahanananda ji, President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission from 2005 to 2007.
In the cultural sphere, I once met the legendary dancer Pandit Birju Maharaj at his residence in Lucknow. A relative of mine, who knew him, didn’t want to miss the opportunity! I remember him praising the people of Calcutta for being very knowledgeable—he called them true samajdars of art and culture.
These were some of the great figures I had the chance to see and meet—a far cry from the film stars and social media celebrities of today—but our interests were different back then. No doubt, our “celebrities” too were of a different kind.

(as narrated to Support Elders by our member)

Our member, Mr A. Kr Sengupta, a distinguished civil engineer, takes us underground to the early days of Kolkata’s metro.

I graduated from B. E. College in 1963 and entered the Eastern Railway services as a civil engineer. Once I was made Deputy Chief in 1976, I moved on to Metro Railways. In 1990 I returned to the railways as Commissioner of Railway Safety. After being appointed Chief Commissioner, I served in Lucknow until my retirement.<
I was part of the team that built Kolkata’s metro in 1984. As the first such system in the country, it drew intense scrutiny, and we worked twice as hard to ensure every line was safe. Along the way, we faced serious setbacks: the collapse of Kalighat station one day, and during grouting on the Budge Budge line, we uncovered severe track issues.
Thanks to relentless teamwork and the goodwill of the city’s residents the network’s inauguration went off without a hitch. On that October day in 1984, the very first train ran between Bhawanipore, later renamed Netaji Bhawan, and Esplanade, marking a proud milestone for Kolkata and India alike.
In the early days of my tenure at Metro Railways, we battled chronic waterlogging. A major flood at Bhawanipore station once forced a complete evacuation and halted service until we could clear tonnes of mud from the tunnels. Whilst constructing the metro, we learned a lot from other countries, but problems such as flooding we peculiar to a place like Kolkata, and we had to learn a lot on the job.
Looking back, my years in the railways were defined by challenges met, friendships forged, and the enduring satisfaction of seeing a lifetime’s work carry millions of passengers every day.

(as narrated to Support Elders by our member)