A former resident traces the history of the company town shoemakers Bata founded near Kolkata

On a still October afternoon in 1934, a fleet of 12 cars starting their journey from Budge Budge trudged along a largely unpaved path known as Kasimuddin Road and arrived at an irrigation canal in a village that was no longer in use. Unable to drive further through the thickly wooded area, some of the passengers decided to walk the rest of the way. Eventually, they came upon the bank of the Hooghly, where two poles flying the Union Jack and the Czechoslovakian flag had been erected. At the centre were placed some bricks, stones and a container filled with unused mortar and a scoop decorated with flowers around its handle.

Beneath a tent close by stood Bretislav Martinec, the architect in charge of implementing František Gahura’s vision of Batanagar, and his team members, John Bartos, general manager, and Bata employees along with visitors including Czechoslovak Consul Dr Lusk, Prof Benoy Kumar Sarkar of Calcutta University, members of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and an assortment of business people and friends from neighbouring regions. After the arrival of guests from Calcutta, Bartos initiated the ceremony with a welcome speech, announcing the laying of the Bata Foundation Stone, which would bear witness to...

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