“Some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.” – Gilda Radner
Early Days:
Bengalis started settling in Western Australia in the late 60s and early 70s. By the early 1970s Bengali families in Perth started informal socialising. During this period, arrivals from East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) were also part of this small social network. The social get-togethers were informal till 1976 when the first Saraswati Puja was held at Morley Community Hall. Informal cultural programs were also organised during the evening and a souvenir was published. The beginning was a triumph. Afterwards Saraswati Puja became an annual event. In the early 80s “Bengali Music & Cultural Centre” (BMCC) was formed and the centre started to promote cultural heritage of Bengal through organised lessons on
vocal music, dance and Bengali language. Annual program and other cultural and social functions were part of its yearly activities. During the same time the community started celebrating Mahalaya.
The Growth:
The arrival of Bengalis in Perth continued through 80s and by late 80s there were a significant number of Bengali families. In 1987, the BMCC, supported by Department of Arts, organised an international cultural exchange inviting well-acclaimed “Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe” for Australia wide performances. The project was a huge success with performances on two consecutive weeknights at Octagon Theatre, UWA (University of Western Australia). The project captured significant footage in the local press as well as in ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). During the late 80s, interest in the lessons organised by BMCC faded away due to lack of sustained commitment. The centre existed through the 90s, but its activities
were limited. The social gatherings though continued and evolved in an informal organisation called Bangla Samity. However after a short-while, during 1991, the name was changed to Bengali Association of WA (BAWA). Spurred by the success of the Mamata Shankar project, BMCC organised performances of Daksha Seth and Ramya Harishankar and supported ISWA (Indian Society of WA) and other groups to organise performances of Sanjukta Panigrahi, Anup Jalota and Budhaditya Mukherjee during the 90s. Bengali radio programs (as part of Indian language program Sangam) started during the late 80s, and are still continuing. Starting late 80s and through the 90s, newsletters and magazines were published sporadically.
In 1991, Bangla Samity in association with BAAWA (Bangladesh Australia Association of WA) and BMCC organised celebration of Tagore’s 130 th birth anniversary at Fremantle Town Hall staging its first ever drama Khyatir Birombona, first ever children’s drama Dakghar and first ever dance-drama Chitrangada, all
during the same evening. In 1992, under the auspices of ISWA a successful play Maya Jaal in Hindi, where
half the participants were Bengalis, was performed at the site (it was just a huge shed then) which was to become Nexus Theatre. During early 90s, apart from Saraswati Puja and Mahalaya, Poila Boisakh was
celebrated on a regular basis. BAWA was incorporated in 1994 after its constitution was drafted and passed in a special general body meeting through stormy debates. In 1994, BAWA organised its first Durga Puja at Australia Asia House. The idol was crafted by a local young Bengali engineer. And there was no looking back. Durga Puja has grown manifold during the last 2 decades. In 2001, Bengali Association of NSW donated a small idol to BAWA and in 2006 BAWA arranged to get its own idols from Kumartuli.
The Journey Continues:
Cultural activities became irregular during mid and late 90s though sporadic informal cultural celebrations continued in small groups. During this period participation from BAWA for the Indian Independence Day celebration was however regular. Through 90s and the first decade of the new millennium, many more Bengali families came to settle in Perth. The number of members of the community grew, so did the level of enthusiasm. In 1999, the Bengali Community presented a cultural evening at Nexus, Murdoch university, staging various songs, dance, skits and the play Chokhe Angul Dada. Though not a BAWA event, a wide spectrum of the community got involved in it. Shortly afterwards, there was a change in management committee of BAWA and in 2000 the constitution was amended through a special general meeting. In 2000, BAWA organised its first ever annual cultural concert at Nexus, producing a number
of skits, musical performances, dance performances, mime and a restaging of Khyatir Birombona. Since then Annual Cultural Concert has been a regular feature. Staging of drama became an annual event of BAWA. Through this period, a number of full-length plays, short plays, dance-dramas, children’s play and Shruti-natak were produced by BAWA. For a comprehensive list of the productions please click here.
Starting 2002, an annual literary magazine Oikotaan has also been published regularly. Duing the last 10 years, BAWA also hosted few music concerts by celebrity artistes such as Pramita Mallick (2002), Anup Ghosal (2006), Purbayan Chatterjee (2008), Kabir Suman (2009) and Subhomita (2009).
“Every day you may make progress. Every Step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” – Winston Churchill Note: While we have tried our best to represent the growth of the community through years,
we acknowledge there could be potential gaps. If you are aware of anything that has not been captured here, but in your opinion had important role in shaping the history of Bengali community in WA, please let us know by clicking here.