Perhaps the biggest contribution of Calcutta Police, to the world, is in the field of high-end sound systems and advanced auto suspension technology the BOSE!
The story begins in 1920.
Mahatma Gandhi had declared the non cooperation movement. There was excitement and fervour in the air. A lot of young Indians took part in peaceful demonstrations across India.
One of those young Indians was a boy studying Physics in Calcutta University. His name was Noni Gopal. Young Noni took part in a small but loud demonstration against the British rule, near Elgin Road in Calcutta. He was also the person who wrote the pamphlet, against the British Rule, distributed by the protesters that day.
Young Noni had his final exams in two weeks. After the peaceful protest, he returned to his home and was studying in his room when the Calcutta Police decided to change the history of Audio Industry for the rest of the humanity. They came to Noni's house and arrested him. He was duly presented to a Magistrate the next morning and sent to prison.
He missed his exams. A few days later, while being taken to the court for a subsequent hearing, along with a few other under-trial revolutionaries, Noni managed to escape and run away. With the help of a few friends, relatives and well-wishers, Noni reached Madras and managed to board a ship sailing to America.
Young Noni Gopal reached Ellis Island near New York with an equivalent of $5 in his pockets and no identity papers. Those were different days - he was welcomed in. There was an active community of Indians including the likes of Haridas Gayadeen, Sailendra Nath Ghose, Sarat Mukherjee and the famous Taraknath Das of the Ghadar Party in North America who helped young Noni settle down in Philadelphia.
Noni started a small radio repair shop and fell in love with a local school teacher by the name of Charlotte. She was an American of French-German descent and was interested in the Vedanta philosophy. They got married. Life went well - Noni continued to support the activities of the Indian revolutionaries back home in India. Nine years after Noni had escaped from the Calcutta Police, in 1929, Noni and Charlotte had a son and they named him, Amar.
Amar grew up in a household that valued education - as a kid, he loved tinkering in his father's radio repair workshop. Amar went on to study at MIT and became an assistant professor, thereafter completing his PhD. As a professor, Amar was granted a few patents in areas including loudspeaker design, which eventually became the basis of his new start-up.
This small start-up founded by the son of an Indian fugitive and revolutionary with virtually no money, went on to become a global brand, directly employing over 11,000 people, making Amar the 271st richest man in the world. His brand was loved by the likes of Steve Jobs and his products are used around the world in Concert Halls, Music Studios and even public institutions like NASA, The Vatican, the American House of Representatives and the Parliament of India.
This is the story of the Indian Revolutionary, the late Shri Noni Gopal Bose and his son, the late Dr Amar Gopal Bose of the Bose Corporation.
Had the British-controlled Calcutta Police not jailed a young student of the Calcutta University in 1920, perhaps, the world would have never got this! Thank you, Calcutta Police!!
- Leslie Pereira.
Tailpiece.
Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Took part in a webinar in which a "PN Panicker National Eco Intelligence Mission" was proposed by Dr Pamposh Kumar of the DST, Government of India. It sounded interesting but needs fine tuning.
No comments:
Post a Comment