Authors

 Immigrant Bengalis

M.M. Khairul Anam:  Khairul Anam, by profession, is an engineering consultant and, by hobby, a writer. His works appear regularly in the literature sections of several Bengali newspapers and magazines published in the USA and Bangladesh. He has authored two books of fiction: (1) Dhaka to New York via Moscow; and (2) Taslima, Patricia, Tota Pakhi Ebong. Two of his books will be released soon. A Bangladeshi-American of West Bengal origin, he has been living in Chicago for more than 27 years.

Amitabha Bagchi:  Born in Kolkata, Amitabha completed BSc from Presidency College (Calcutta University), came to USA for higher studies in 1965 and moved to the University of California at San Diego for his PhD degree. He taught at the University of Maryland, College Park and worked at Xerox Corporation before joining AT&T Bell Laboratories. He retired from AT&T after 25 years of service as a research manager and currently lives in Manalapan, NJ with his wife, Dhriti. He has been active in several Bengali organizations like Kallol and Ananda Mandir. He loves to read, write, travel and teach. Amitabha helps Dhriti with the organization she has established, Mrittika, in teaching the language and communicating the heritage of Bengal to the children of Bengali immigrants.

Chhandasi Pamina Bagchi: Born in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, Chhandasi moved with her parents to New Jersey in 1984. After her Bachelors from Barnard College, she spent a year as a teacher for Teach for America and then got her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from UCLA. She currently works for the Los Angeles County Health Department, where she has worked as a community educator in the field of drug-resistant tuberculosis and a specialist in the infection prevention and surveillance unit.

Alok Bandyopadhyay: Born in Rangpur, India (now in Bangladesh), Alok received his undergraduate education at Scottish Church College and postgraduate education at the Science College (both in Kolkata). After receiving his PhD degree from Calcutta University, he came to the US in 1970 under a Fulbright grant to do research on the molecular biology of proteins. After holding several academic positions, he started working in the US pharma industry in the 1990s. He is now retired and living in a suburb of Philadelphia. 

Gautam Bandyopadhyay: Born in Asansol, Gautam studied Chemistry and Applied Chemistry at the Presidency College and Calcutta University, respectively. He came to USA in 1969 and completed M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from UC, Berkeley. After spending 8 years at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, he moved to the Boston area in 1982 and lived there ever since. Gautam retired after more than 30 years in Industrial Technology and Innovation management in GTE Laboratories, OSRAM Sylvania, and Siemens. He now lives with his wife Jayanti in Middleton, MA.

Bakul Banerjee:  Born near Delhi, India, Bakul Banerjee received her undergraduate degree from Presidency College, Calcutta, and her M.Sc from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India. She then joined the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. After completing a Ph.D., she spent thirty years of her career at scientific institutions associated with the US Department of Energy while raising two daughters. She retired to become her husband’s primary caregiver. For the past 20 years, she has written and published poetry, fiction, and essays in various magazines and anthologies in the US and India. Her two collections of previously published poems, Synchronicity and Bathymetry, were published in 2020 and 2017. She conducts various activities supporting literary and community organizations. Apart from the recognitions she received, Allium Magazine of Columbia College nominated one of her essays for the Pushcart Prize in 2023. She is proud of the prestigious 2010 Gayatri GaMarsh Award from Ananda Mandir of New Jersey. Bakul lives in Illinois.

Mekhala Banerjee: Born and brought up in India, Mekhala Banerjee came to the US with her husband and six-month-old daughter. Since 1979, she worked as the chief technologist at the University of Chicago Department of Medicine, but recently had to retire due to vision problems.  Since 1975, she has regularly published poems, stories, and articles. She has published three books in her native Bengali: Prithibi Sundar (poetry), Boro Sahorer Choto Golpo (short stories), and Jatayater Pothe (short stories). Banerjee used to contribute regularly to the daily newspaper of Kolkata, Protidin. She has won a number of awards for her short stories from different organizations in India.

Asok Baral: Born and raised in Kolkata, Asok received his Mechanical Engineering degree from IIT, Kharagpur, After working in India for a couple of years, he immigrated to USA, where he earned his M.S. and M.B.A degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He worked for a few years at Union Carbide Corporation, and then went back to India to permanently settle there. But he came back to USA after a year, and joined Mobil Corporation (later ExxonMobil), where he worked in Project Management for nearly three decades. He lives in West Windsor, NJ with his wife, Mitu, and his interests are traveling, writing, and promoting an NGO called Calcutta Rescue.

Alak Basu:  Born in Kolkata, Alak Basu received his bachelors degree in civil engineering from Jadavpur University and worked in several multinational companies in India. He immigrated to the US in 1971 where he earned his MS degree and Professional Engineer license. After a long and successful career in Bechtel Power and Stone & Webster, he retired a few years ago. However he remains active in the engineering profession. Alak was inspired to start writing about Bengali immigrants after visiting this website. A long term NJ resident, he and his wife, Shikha, have one daughter, two sons and two grandchildren.

Basabi Basu:  Born and raised in Mumbai, Basabi is a qualified Homeopath of Bombay Homeopathic Medical College. In 1984 she moved to Nairobi, Kenya where her husband Tapan took up an assignment, before migrating to Canada in 1988. After working in Corporate Canada for 15 years and raising her two sons, Basabi now spends her time doing things she wants to, rather than what she has to. She has resided in Allentown, PA since 2006 where she volunteers her services to various organizations. Her pet project is Wisdom Foundation (www.thewisdom.in), an NGO in Kolkata, of which she is a founding member. Her passions are writing & photography.

Prabir Basu:  Prabir Basu was raised in Chandernagore, West Bengal, after his parents migrated from Bangladesh during the partition of Bengal. Prabir completed high school at Chandernagore and then BSc from Presidency College and BTech from IIT-Kharagpur, before coming to USA in 1967. He returned to India in 1972 immediately after completing his PhD and worked in India for eleven years before migrating back to the US in 1983. Since 1983, he has worked in the pharmaceutical area both in industry and in academia. Prabir has recently retired and lives in Mt Prospect, IL, with his wife, Mitu. Prabir and Mitu have two children, Priyanka and Marco.

Rajat Basu: Born and raised in Kolkata, Rajat Basu studied physics at Presidency College and Calcutta University. He came to the United States for highr studies in 1969 and completed his Ph.D. degree at the University of Maryland. After some years of post-doctoral research in chemical physics, he went to Buffalo to work at a chemical company that later was bought out by Honeywell Corporation. Rajat retired from Honeywell in 2015. His interests are in golf, writing and tending after his flower garden. Rajat lives with his wife Chandra in Buffalo.

Bani Bhattacharyya: A graduate of NRS Medical College, Kolkata, Bani Bhattacharyya came to the USA in 1964. She changed her career from OB&GYN to Anesthesia and received degree from McGill University in Canada in addition to board certification from the USA.. She  practiced anesthesia in IL. After retirement, she continued to pursue her literary interests by publishing short stories in Bengali and in English Magazines. She has published a romance novel, 'Conflicted Mind' and a book of short stories 'Garlands of Dilemmas', available at Amazon.com. In her long medical career, she has encountered many memorable incidents, some good and some not-so-good, which have made her life quiet interesting. (For more articles by the author, please visit her blog at http://baniswondering.blogspot.com) 

Ashim Bhowmik:  Born in Naxalbari, West Bengal and raised in Jhansi, Kanpur and Mathura, Ashim Bhowmick earned B.Tech and M.Tech degrees in Mining Engineering from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. He worked for Coal India before migrating to USA as a permanent resident in 1978. Over the last 35 years he has worked for many multinationals and has been responsible for domestic as well as international sales and marketing.  He has had several stints as the President of Indian-American Association of the Lehigh Valley, changing its focus and promoting interaction with local organizations. His activities garnered him a citation from the Pennsylvania State Senate, and the Human Relations Award from the Allentown Human Relations Commission. He has been a member of the President's Council and the Undergraduate Business Education Advisory Council at DeSales University, Allentown, Pennsylvania since 2004. 

Tilottama Bose: Born and raised in Kolkata, Tilottama majored in Economics from Lady Brabourne College. She arrived in USA in 1994, and later, after the birth of her son, earned her Master's in Political Science from University of Southern Mississippi in 1998. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. A high school history teacher by profession, and a writer and dancer by passion, she is the founder of the dance group Kalyanni. She has recently formed an informal group, Helping Hand, to reach out to those in need of non-monetary support. She also writes poetry and has a blog where she has published some of her work.

Dilip Chakrabarti:  Born in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), Dilip moved with his parents to Kolkata as a refugee at the time of India’s independence. He graduated from Calcutta University with a degree in teaching and later received a degree in pharmacy from Jadavpur University. He immigrated to the US in 1976 and worked in several organizations for a few years before starting his own pharmacy business. Since his retirement in 2003 he has engaged in community service and literary activities. He received the Ram Mohan Mission Award of West Bengal for his “service to humanity”. He is the founder of an eye hospital for the poor in West Bengal – and is the founding chairperson of the New York Kali Mandir. Dilip has authored many short stories and poems and has published two books.

Krishna Chakrabarty was born in Pune and grew up in the small town of Morbi, Gujarat, where her father founded an engineering college. After  her early college education in Mumbai and Kolkata, she completed her postgraduate education at the University of California in Davis.  After spending  6 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana as a post-doctoral associate ,  and 5 years at  Sterling Winthrop Research Institute in Rensselaer, New York, she settled down with her family in Chicago, Illinois. Currently,  she tutors  medical students at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a member of the literary group UNMESH and is a director of VAROSHA, a non-profit charitable organization registered in Illinois, which  helps  disadvantaged  women and children in West Bengal.

Pronoy Chatterjee:  Born in Benares, Uttar Pradesh, Pronoy completed his BSc and MSc degrees from Benares Hindu University. Pronoy received his PhD (and later his DSc) in Chemistry from Calcutta University. He came to New Orleans, LA, in 1963 as a research scholar and subsequently joined Princeton University on their research staff. He then joined Johnson & Johnson where he conducted ground-breaking research on absorption and absorbents. Author of two published works of fiction in English, Pronoy likes to read and write. He has been involved with several Bengali organizations in NJ in many capacities, most notably as the editor of literary magazines (Kallol Sahitya Patrika and Anandalipi) and the editor-in-chief of Ananda Sangbad, a quarterly newsletter for the NJ Bengali community. Pronoy lives in Spotwood, NJ, with his wife, Swapna.

Jayashree Chatterjee: Jayashree completed her schooling in Bombay, and then graduated from Presidency College, Calcutta. She lived in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where her husband worked for a Kuwaiti firm. She moved to the US with her husband and two daughters in 1990, and worked in New Jersey as a librarian till she retired in 2015. In 1999, she took part in Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poem Project. She enjoys reading, writing and traveling.

Sipra Chatterjee:  Sipra Chatterjee came to the US in 1959 to join her husband, Suhas, who had enrolled a year earlier in the Linguistics program at Yale University. They moved to the University of Chicago in 1961 where Suhas continued research under Prof Edward Dimock, Jr., the internationally recognized authority on Bengali Vaishnavite literature. After Suhas's PhD, they returned to India for Suhas to pursue an academic career. Suhas died in 1985, and Sipra returned to the US two years later to live with her sons and their families in Dallas, TX. A student of Linguistics herself, Sipra had cultivated interest and experience in teaching Bengali to students of a widely varying background, and soon after her arrival in the US, she began to offer Bengali language classes to youngsters in the Dallas area. She is still engaged in this activity to kindle the love of language-learning to children of Bengali immigrants.

Debajyoti Chatterji:  A native of Puri, Odisha, Debajyoti received BSc from Ravenshaw College (Utkal University) and BTech from IIT-Kharagpur. He came to Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN in 1967 for his PhD degree. He first worked at General Electric Research & Development Center in Schenectady, NY as an R&D manager and then in The BOC Group as a senior executive. Debajyoti retired in 2000, lives in Denville, NJ with his wife, Smee (Sikha), and enjoys traveling, writing, photography and spending time with his family. He is active in Ananda Mandir, a religious and cultural organization serving Bengalis living in the greater NJ-NY area.

Kooheli Chatterji:  Kooheli was born in Schenectady, NY, and moved with her parents to NJ in 1983. Since completing her BA from Wesleyan University, CT, she has worked in the field of education. She is currently Dean of Students at Pingry Middle School in Martinsville, NJ. Her hobby is “reading, reading and more reading”. She also loves to cook. Kooheli received one of the 2012 Gayatri Memorial Awards for Literary Excellence, awarded by Ananda Mandir, NJ.

Haimonti Chaudhuri:  Born near Howrah, Haimonti grew up in Kolkata. She came to the US in 1953 with her husband, the late Naba Chaudhuri, and her two infant daughters. The family spent their first two years in this country in the little village of Katonah, NY and then moved to Madison, WI for another couple of years. They went back to India for a while and then returned to the US on a permanent basis. Naba Chaudhuri was a chemist who worked for several companies (most notably Ciba Geigy) and made many contributions to the pharmaceutical industry. Haimonti Chaudhuri lives in Chatham, NJ, and loves cooking, baking, crocheting and cross-stitching – and is an avid reader.
 
Bharati Chowdhury: Born and brought up in Kolkata, Bharati graduated from Presidency College with honors in Economics and took her M.A. degree in Economics from Calcutta University. She taught in Bethune College for twenty years, and visited two Universities in United States in the late eighties --  in Utah and Texas -- with Teaching Assistantships. She took her M. Sc. degree from the University of London and worked as a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Westminster for twenty-five years. She likes to write and has published several books of poems and stories that were featured at the Kolkata Book Fair. She regularly contributes to journals in Kolkata and USA, and has participated in literary seminars at several NABCs. She lives with her husband, Kanti Bhushan, in England.

​Pradip R. Das:  Born in Calcutta, Pradip, at the age of six, accompanied his parents to Corvallis, Oregon and stayed there for the next two and a half years. His father came to Oregon for his doctoral degree on a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship. Pradip went to his first, third and part fourth grades in public schools in Corvallis. He returned to Calcutta  in December, 1960 and had his schooling in Don Bosco, followed by BSc and MSc in Chemistry from Jadavpur University. He worked for various employers in India, ending with ONGC in Sibsagar, Assam. In 1979, he came back to America as a graduate student at the University of Nebraska and obtained his PhD in Chemistry (Physical). He moved permanently to New Jersey in 1985, being involved with pharmaceutical R&D with Schering-Plough and Merck for 25 years. Pradip currently lives in Bridgewater, NJ with his wife, Anindita. They have a daughter and a son.

Satyajit Das: Satyajit Das spent his early years in Asansol and Guwahati and came to Calcutta as a teenager with avid interests in singing, nature study and writing. After Patha Bhaban school, he began studying contemporary art and culture and was introduced to critical cultural studies by Fr. Gaston Roberge at Chitrabani. While studying for a Masters in Linguistics at the University of Calcutta, he switched over to data and Information systems. Satyajit left India in 2005 and began working -- first as a Data Analyst in New Jersey and later as a Data Manager at Wall Street till 2017. He then became a champion of Data Modernization for Child and Family services for the State Governments of NY, VA and LA. Satyajit lives with his wife Srabani and two boys, Aloha and Mahalo, in Plainsboro. He finds immense pleasure in writing, painting, pottery making and the art of cinema and photography. 

Shamita Das Dasgupta: Shamita Das Dasgupta, a social activist since the early 1970s, is a co-founder of Manavi, an organization focusing on violence against South Asian women in the U.S. She has taught at Rutgers, The State University of NJ and the NYU Law School. Shamita is the author of five books, The Demon Slayers and Other Stories: (1995), A Patchwork Shawl (1998),Body Evidence (2007), Mothers for Sale (2009), and Globalization and Transnational Surrogacy in India: Outsourcing Life (2014). 

Basab Dasgupta:  Basab Dasgupta was born in Calcutta and went to Presidency College and Calcutta University for his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees respectively. He received his Ph.D. in physics from University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in 1976. After a few years in academic jobs, including a faculty position at Marquette University, he joined RCA as a technical manager. He later moved on to Sony Electronics in San Diego as a director and eventually became a Vice President of an operating division. He is currently enjoying his retired life in San Clemente, California and keeping himself busy with painting, writing, traveling and tutoring.

Sujan Dasgupta:  Sujan Dasgupta received his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He came to USA in 1967 and received his PhD from the University of Cincinnati in 1970. Sujan began his work-life with Bell Laboratories and moved to the business side of the house in mid 1990s. He retired as a Director of Lucent Technologies in 2000. Sujan subsequently worked as a VP for an IT company in California Silicon Valley and later as a senior consultant. He decided to quit his professional career to pursue his writing and other literary interests.He now edits two Bengali web-zines, runs a publishing company, and is a volunteer for a community-based organization for South Asiam women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Sujan is the author of 12 mystery novels and books on logical puzzles.

Aparna (Molly) Debroy:  Born in Kolkata, Molly came to the US with her mother when she was two years old. She was raised in New Jersey and graduated from J.P. Stevens High School in Edison.  She received her BS in Pharmacy in 1994 from PCPS, Philadelphia. She has been working as a Pharmacist since then. She is married to Debanshu Debroy and has two sons. She learned Bharat Natyam and Bengali folk dance at Academy of Indian Dance under the tutelage of Mrs. Reeta Baidyaroy. She has performed dance recitals at many events in the tri-state area and has organized many childrens' programs during puja festivals. She speaks fluent Bengali.

Ramananda (Ram) Ganguly:  Born in Kolkata, Ram graduated from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, in 1963. He worked in the Indian coal industry for 17 years, in various capacities ranging from colliery manager to design engineer, before leaving for copper mines in Zambia as a senior manager. After 5 years in Africa he came to the US as an immigrant in 1985, but found it impossible to get a job in mining industry commensurate with his background and experience. At a crossroads in life, with a wife and three children to care for, he switched fields to software development and information technology, and was richly rewarded with a challenging career with EDS/HP that involved various innovations of the software used for the airline industry. Ram retired from HP in 2013 and spends time reading books and enjoying his grandchildren.

Shyamal Ghosh: After completing his BTech degree from IIT-Kharagpur in mechanical engineering, Shyamal spent three years in West Germany as a graduate engineer and gained valuable knowledge in the design of cranes and conveyors. After returning to Kolkata, he was enjoying a leadership position at Jessops & Co when he decided to obtain a Green Card and come to the US for graduate studies and further work experience. After receiving his master's degree in management and completing several challenging design and installation projects for a Brooklyn-based engineering company , he returned to Jessops & Co in Kolkata. But a short while later, he received an invitation from his ex-employer in Brooklyn to re-join the company. In 1974, he returned to the US on a permanent basis with his family. In time, he became the Chief Engineer of Robins Engineers. In 1990 the company moved to Denver, CO. Shyamal decided not to move. Instead, he became a Certified Financial Planner and established his own business. He sold his successful financial advisory practice and retired in 2012. He is currently involved in community service and philanthropic activities.

Soumi Jana: Soumi came to the United States in 2003. Currently she lives in New Jersey with her family. During the pandemic while staying home, she surprisingly discovered her interest in writing Bengali poems and short stories. Since then her writings have been published in various prominent journals and magazines like Sangbad Bichitra, Parabas, Anandalipi, Galpo Kutir, Kishaloy, Probas Bandhu etc. Soumi loves to work with children and has directed a number of children's plays. She also does compering in various cultural programs in her spare time.

Satya Jeet:  Satya Jeet was born in Kolkata. As a result of his father's lecture tours and visiting professorships, he had an early exposure to European languages and western arts. Following a year at IIT-Kharagpur as an Architecture major, Satya Jeet came to the US to complete his undergraduate studies. Moving on to graduate studies in film, he joined the TV industry. Honing his photographic skill across the US at small television stations, he was picked by CBS Television in New York as a cameraman for their documentary and news division. As and when the  opportunity came up, Satya Jeet continued to participate in liberal arts programs at various universities. He works as a children's book illustrator and plays in a band with his son Raphael. 

Abhay Kangle: An accomplished Chartered Accountant by profession who has worked across continents in different industries, Abhay is also a keen sports enthusiast having won many table tennis championships over the years. An avid party goer who loves to meet people and make new friends, Abhay’s inspiration to write comes from his love to tell a story and he is ably supported by his wife, Amrita, who is a writer and a poet at heart.

Nupur Gangopadhyay Lahiri: Born in Kolkata, Nupur has been living in the US since 1971 and currently practices Psychiatry in Princeton, NJ. She writes poetry, short stories, essays and plays and has been an active member of Princeton Creative writers group. Her contemporary translation of Rabindranath Tagore's famous play, Rakto Karabi (Red Oleanders), has received much critical acclaim.  

Debu Majumdar:  A native of Kolkata, Debu came to the University of Pennsylvania in 1964 after completing B.Sc. and M.Sc. in physics from Presidency College and Science College, Calcutta University. He completed his Ph.D. in physics from SUNY in Stony Brook, where he met his wife, Catherine. He also studied nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He has worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory and later retired in Idaho Falls as Senior Nuclear Advisor to the US Department of Energy. He represented the US for three years at the IAEA in Vienna, Austria. His creative nonfiction book, From the Ganges to the Snake River, was published by Caxton Press, and two children's books, Viku and the Elephant and Viku to the Rescue were published by Bo-Tree House. He writes op-ed columns for two newspapers.

Tapas Mazumdar: Tapas Mazumdar got his M.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics from Calcutta University in 1957. He left India for London in 1960 and received his diploma in Mathematical Physcs from Imperial College in 1963. After a stint as a Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University in Ghana, he came to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a graduate student in the Department of Mathematics. After receiving his Ph.D. degree in 1971, he joined the faculty of the Mathematics Department at Wright Patterson State University in Dayton, Ohio. He has been retired since 1999 and lives in Dayton with his wife, Uttara.

Indrani Mondal:  Raised in Kolkata, Indrani came to the US in 1986 with her husband and settled in the Chicago area. She is a prolific writer in English and Bengali, and has published many short stories, essays and poems. She is the author of a book of English poems, "Fugitive Wings," and a book of Bengali poems, "Pratidin Sati Hoi." Indrani is a graduate of Calcutta University and Jadavpur University and holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Social Studies. She has also studied computer programming and customer care and is professionally involved in sales, fashion and retail marketing. She is an active participant in social service activities and cultural integration programs for several non-profit organizations.

Soma Mukhopadhyay:  Dr Soma Mukhopadhyay is a professor by profession, scientist by training and educator by passion. Born in Kolkata, Soma did her BS and MS in Zoology from Calcutta University, Ph.D. in Nuclear Medicine from Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, and post-doctoral research at the Medical College of the University of Cincinnati. She has been teaching for almost 27 years -- first at Penn State University in Altoona, and then at various colleges and universities in Ohio and South Carolina. Soma now teaches at Augusta University in Georgia. She has received numerous teaching awards and has co-authored two academic books in Biology and Anatomy. Aside from teaching, Soma holds a Degree in Music and a Diploma in Science Journalism. Her short stories, poetry, and news communications have been published in newspapers and magazines in India and abroad. She writes in both Bengali and English. Her passions include painting, photography, recitation, drama, music, and literature. 

Ranjan Mukherjee:  Ranjan received his M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Calcutta. He came to the USA in 1981 and did his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Delaware. After post-doctoral training in Srasbourg, France, he returned to the USA and worked for over twenty years in Biotech and Pharmaceutical Industry where he initiated and led multi-disciplinary drug discovery programs in metabolic diseases, A lover of literature, he is now happily spending his post-retirement time reading, writing, contemplating and traveling. He has published in several newspapers and magazines (e.g., Philadelphia Inquirer, Science), and posts his writings on the website and blog, www.ranjanmukherjee.com. As a member of the Bengali Language Goes Global (BLGG) initiative, he is translating several selected Bengali stories into English.

Subhas Nandy: Subhash Nandy, a native of Calcutta, came to USA in 1979, to pursue graduate studies, after completing his undergraduate education at IIT Kharagpur.  After completing a brief post-doctoral stint at MIT, he had worked in chemical industry in Boston and in New Jersey.  While in Boston, he completed his studies for MBA.  For the last few years, he has been teaching a wide range of courses in Engineering, Chemistry, Management and Statistics in universities and colleges in South Jersey and in the Philadelphia area.  Lately, he has been focusing on his hobby of writing fiction.  He lives in South Jersey with his wife and daughter.

Nitya Nath: Nitya Nath was born in pre-Independence Bengal in the Khulna district of the present-day Bangladesh. He came to India in 1950 for his college education and moved to the United States in 1960 for higher studies in physics. After his doctoral degree, he spent several years in post-doctoral research and teaching physics at the university level before joining NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland as a consultant. He retired from NASA after 32 years. One of his many interests after retirment is to mentor young and aspiring physics students.

A Prabasi: Name and bio withheld at the request of the author.

Mizan Rahman:  Born in Dhaka, long before the subcontinent split into two bitterly divided parts (only to be divided again), Mizan Rahman did his bachelor's and master's degrees in Mathematics and Physics -- first from the University of Dhaka and then the Cambridge University (UK) -- and taught Mathematics at Dhaka University till 1962. He did his Ph.D. in Statistical Mechanics at the University of New Brunswick (Canada) in 1965 and then joined the full-time faculty at Carleton University in Ottawa, where he has lived ever since. His wife, Parul, passed away in 2002, and his two sons have both moved to the United States in the early nineties. Deeply secular both in ideas and personal life, Rahman resumed his childhood love of writing in the nineties, which has since grown into a full-time passion. Mizan Rahman passed away on January 5, 2015.

Asit K. Ray:  Born and raised in Kolkata, Asit received his BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University and a master’s degreefrom Brooklyn Polytechnic. For the first few years after he immigrated to the US (1971), he worked for several engineering companies in the NY/NJ area and in Oslo, Norway. He then enjoyed a 25-year career with the Department of Environmental Protection. He is married to Manashi and has two daughters and several grandchildren. He is a long-term resident of NJ and has been involved in community activities for many years. Asit is one of the founders of several NJ-based Bengali organizations such as Garden State Puja Committee (GSPC), Garden State Cultural Association (GSCA) and Indian Community Center of Garden State (ICC). 

Dr. Biswamay Ray: A Board Certified Urological Cancer Surgeon (now retired), Dr. Biswamay Ray was born in Sylhet (now Bangladesh) and moved with his family to Calcutta after Partition. He received his MBBS in 1961 and, after Residency, came to the United States in 1964. Following 9 more years of training, including three as a Fellow at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he joined the University of Illinois as an Assistant Professor of Surgery in 1973. A writer of numerous scirntific articles and chapters of books, Dr. Ray moved up the ladder of success to become the President of the Chicago Medical Society, and received many awards and medals in his distringuisehed career. Later he moved his focus to ethnic community organizations and was honored with two invitations to the White House, the second one for the first ever "Diwali Celebration" there. He was the Co-Chairman of the "Citizens for the Diwali Postage Stamp," an effort that came to fruition after 15 years of effort.

Hillol Ray:  Hillol Ray of Garland, Texas, was born in Habra (24 Parganas North, West Bengal, India), educated in Civil Engineering at Bengal Engineering College (Shibpur), and came to USA as an immigrant in March,1975.  Currently, he is an Environmental Engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Region 6, Dallas, Texas. His personal interests intertwine poetry writing, travelling, restoration of classic cars, collection of stamps, coins, calf links, rare paintings, and repair of rare antique clocks.

Rahul Ray:  Born in Kolkata, Rahul graduated from Presidency College, came to the US in 1975 and earned his PhD in chemistry at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.  Subsequently he did post-doctoral studies at MIT before joining the faculty at the Boston University School of Medicine where he is currently a Professor and a researcher in cancer therapeutics. Rahul lives in Wayland, MA with his wife, Swapna.  He has been active in several Bengali organizations, including Cultural Association of Bengal, NY.  Rahul loves to read, write, sing and play music. He has published in venerable Bengali magazines like Desh, Krittibas, and Parabaas.  Rahul has published two books of fiction and a book of verses (with Swapna Ray). He also has four Rabindrasangeet CDs to his credit. 

Manisha Roy:  Born in Digboi (Assam), Manisha came to the US for higher studies in 1959 after receiving a Master's degree in Geography from Calcutta University. She did a second Master's in Anthropology at the University of Rochester and moved later to the University of California at San Diego for a Ph.D in 1972. In 1982, she received a postgraduate diploma in Analytical Psychology from the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. She has practiced psychoanalysis for over thirty years, taught at many universities (Colorado, Chicago, Zurich), written numerous articles and published seven books -- of both fiction and non-fiction, and in both English and Bengali. Her favorite pastimes are: reading and writing fiction, watching good movies, cooking, gardening and traveling. She lives with her physician husband in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sumit Roy:  Born in Kolkata, raised there as an Electrical Engineer, immigrated to USA in 1964, married high school sweetheart, got a PhD, hired by Bell Laboratories-- in that order. Worked for three decades as a foot-soldier in the front-line of two major technological revolutions of the twentieth century (computers and communications), retired sad and satisfied. Taught some technology at the NJIT Business School. Shares time now between homes in NJ and NY with his wife. Two married children (a boy and a girl) have presented them with four humanoids, resulting in their sharp decline to doting and drooling grandparenthood, but the Roys do not seem to mind. Misadventures in many areas, writing being one.

Ashish Saha: Born and raised in Andal, where a fascination with the periodic table led Ashis to a love of Chemistry. That pursuit brought him all the way to a postdoctoral position at U.C. Berkeley, by way of IIT Kanpur and then the United States to study at the Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1981. A pharmaceutical/Biotech industry leader by profession, he has pursued drug discovery against challenging molecular targets in oncology, HCV, MS and rare diseases. He has volunteered for the American Chemical Society's local section in Boston as Treasurer for many years. In recent times, other than his long-term passion for photography, he had cameos on stage as a theater character and storyteller as part of the drama group Off-kendrik in Boston.

Shyamal Sarkar:  Born in Kolkata, Shyamal graduated from Jadavpur University Pharmacy College and migrated to the US in 1977 when the US opened up immigration to professionals from India and other Asian countries. He is a former owner of retail drug stores -- and is now involved in web-based educational projects and in pharmaceutical businesses in India and the US. He lives in New York with his wife, Ruby, and has two children and two grandchildren. He is a patron of Ananda Mandir of New Jersey. 

Benoy R. Samanta:  Born in Kolkata, Benoy earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the Regional Engineering College, Durgapur (currently National Institute of Technology) in 1968 and came to USA in 1969 for higher studies. He earned his Master's degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University in 1971. Benoy worked on the Washington, DC metro rail project till the end of 1977. He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1978 and remained there till the end of 1989, working on various power plant projects. He went to Saudi Arabia in 1990 and remained there till 2007, working on various power-, industrial- and desalination plant projects. He enjoys reading, occasional writing and gardening, and has a great deal of interest in social work. Benoy is currently retired and resides in Los Angeles.

Ranjana Sanyal:   The daughter of an Indian Army Medical Corps Colonel, Ranjana Sanyal was born in Calcutta and grew up in various Army bases all over India.  She received her MA in Political Science from Presidency College, Calcutta and then globe-trotted with her husband for a few years before immigrating to the USA in 1997.  Ranjana has served the disabled adult population of NJ for over a decade, and currently works for the Office of Program Integrity and Accountability in NJ’s Department of Human Services.  She has had a varied earlier career in market research, medical administration and school-teaching. Ranjana is active in several religious, cultural and charitable organizations in the Bengali Immigrant community.  Ranjana lists art, music and literature among her passions and raising her two children as her  biggest blessings.

Subhash Sen: Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Subhash studied Mechanical Engineering in Durgapur and came to the United States as a graduate student at Howard University in Washington, DC in 1970. He was a consulting engineer with NASA 's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD for  the first 20 years of his professional life.  During that period, he spent two and a half years in Italy in early 1990's working as a consultant with the European Space Agency (ESA).  After that he continued his professional life as an Information Technology consultant with the US Department of Defense till his retirement.  He enjoys movies, music and has a great deal of interest include sports, especially soccer and cricket.  He is currently retired and resides in Washington DC area.

Utpal Sengupta: Born in Dhaka, Utpal moved to Kolkata with his parents after Independence when Dhaka became a part of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Jadavpur University in 1963, and worked in several Indian states (for 12 years) and in the UK (for 3 years) before immigrating to the US in late 1978. In the US, he completed graduate studies in NJIT (BS and MBA) and worked for 38+ years in the design, engineering, construction and management of fossil power generating projects and managing new technology development. After retiring from Doosan Engineering and Construction in 2016, Utpal has been active in community service and pursuing a wide variety of literary and artistic interests.

Prosanto Kumar Shome:  Born and raised in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Prosanto received his BSc degree from University of Lucknow and then completed his BTech in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1965. After working for Steel Authority of India in the Rourkela Steel Plant for over three decades, he retired in 2003. He has settled in Rourkela, Odisha, with his wife, Jayanti, and enjoys spending his time with his children and grandchildren.

Ruma Sikdar:  Ruma Sikdar was born and raised in Kolkata and came to Southern California in 1977 to join her husband, Subhas Sikdar. The couple moved to upstate New York in 1979 and Ruma completed her master's degree in mathematics from SUNY Albany. She later attended graduate school at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and became a licensed school psychologist. Ruma has worked as a school psychologist for the Cincinnati Public Schools for 21 years. and has recently retired. She has been actively involved in Bengali Associations in Cincinnati in many capacities since 1990 (first for Agrani and now for Cincinnati Cultural Initiative). She was the Convener for Bangamela 2004 hosted in Cincinnati. Ruma lives with her husband in Cincinnati and enjoys reading, traveling and playing the violin.

Subhas Sikdar:  Born in the Rungpur district, now in Bangladesh, Subhas grew up in Dorjeepara, Calcutta, made famous by delightfully selfish Natunda in Sarat Chandra’s immortal literary creation, Srikanta. He received a BSc from Presidency College, and then studied chemical engineering at the Calcutta University. Subhas came to the US in 1969 and went on to receive his PhD from the University of Arizona. In his work life, he “drank water from seven ghats”, idiomatically speaking, and now works for the Environmental Protection Agency.  He is married to Ruma, who is enjoying retired life. They have two children, Ronjan and Reena, who prefer to live in high-tax liberal environments like New York and Chicago.  Subhas is itching to retire from active work life but has not yet overcome inertia that comes from daily routine.

Kumar Som:  Raised in Kolkata, Kumar completed his training as a pilot, served in the Indian Air Force in the transport division for 22 years, and retired at the mandatory retirement age of 50. He immigrated to the US in 1996 with his family in search of a second career. Kumar found his calling in the retail business sector, and in 2013 retired from full-time work. He loves to exercise to stay in good shape and read and write. He is a published author of essays and short stories.

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​Vishnupriya: Born in Kolkata and raised in Jamshedpur, Vishnupriya earned her Bachelors and Masters in English Literature with a specialization in Linguistics. She also has a Bachelors degree in Education with focus on guidance and counseling.  She worked as a Lecturer in English in the Education Department of Tata Steel, and as an Academic Counselor with the Indira Gandhi National Open University, before coming to the US. Currently she works with children to hone their critical reading and writing skills and helps high school students with their college application process. She writes poetry, short fiction, and essays. She has worked in broadcasting, documentary voice-overs, and script writing. She lives in New Jersey and contributes regularly to magazines, journals and blogs.