HDBS Obituary - Mr Ganga Narayan Ghosh

[Secretary HDBS]

Obituary Mr. Ganga Narayan Ghosh

In Memoriam: Mr Ganga Narayan Ghosh   With a heavy heart, we announce Mr. Ganga Narayan Ghosh left for his heavenly abode on Friday, April 11, 2025. Mr Ghosh a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend to many, a pillar of the Houston Bengali community, and was a true humanitarian. Mr. Ghosh, known as Baba, Dadu, Dada, Jethu, Mesho, Mama, Gangada, Bandhu (Friend in Bengali), leaves behind many mourning his loss, including his beloved wife, Mrs. Rani Ghosh, children Olina, Sudip and Joydeep, their spouses and six grandchildren, extended family and numerous friends. Born on August 24th, 1929, Mr. Ghosh grew up in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh in India. As the eldest child amongst his four siblings, he shouldered many family responsibilities after losing his mother at age 15. After high school, he attended Jadavpur University in Kolkata, West Bengal, where he graduated with honors in mechanical engineering in 1952. He worked at several companies including Assam Oil Company in Digboi, Assam and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in Kolkata, where he made a mark solving major engineering problems. At the age of 35, he decided to venture on his own, starting a chemical plant equipment manufacturing business in Baguihati near Kolkata. Unfortunately, the Naxalites would not allow him to continue his business in peace, so after a few years, in 1969, he had to close the company. As a sign of his incredible fearlessness and fortitude, at risk of his life, in the wee hours of 10th June 1969, he and his family of wife and three children, ages 9, 7 and 1-1/2, set off for Bombay in their Ambassador car, but decided to make that journey an adventurous travel of their motherland. The trip began in Kolkata and took the family through Durgapur, Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Benares, Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra, and Delhi, stopping at important historical and cultural sites along the way. After resting a few days with his brother in Delhi, the young family drove to Mathura, through Rajasthan, stopping to see the sites in Udaipur, Jaipur, driving through Chambal Valley, then known for its dacoits, visiting Jhansi, Khajuraho, Nasik, and other places before finally reaching Bombay (now known as Mumbai). In Bombay, Mr. Ghosh received an offer to rejoin ICI, which he did for a short period, then left to start his company. He started Western Engineers, a fiberglass molding company and later started another company, Plant & Piping, where he designed and built pressure vessels for various chemical plants. He started in an industrial area called Marol and later moved to a bigger facility in Ambernath in the outskirts of Bombay. The business thrived, in fact, so well that he was able to retire at the age of 48. Unwilling to sit still, he enrolled in law school receiving his law degree with his peers being the ages of his children. He then began his years of giving back to society, which he did in countless ways around India. After moving to the United States to be close to his children, he was one of the founders of Houston Durga Bari and March Together, an organization to improve sanitation in India. As an avid traveler, visiting many countries all over the globe, he incorporated the best of municipal sanitation methods from across the world and made designs for building and placement of trash receptacles in various locations in India. Mr. Ganga Narayan Ghosh will be remembered as a man of many talents – swimming across the Ganges River in Allahabad, making and selling mechanical toys in his younger days, acting in plays in college, traveling all over India and across the globe, reading, gardening, meticulously writing numerous articles describing his travels, engineering business, and community service, and visiting with family and friends across the globe. Most of all, Mr. Ghosh imparted to his family a strong sense of duty, honesty, frugality, perseverance, positivity, self-confidence, service, and hospitality.   May his/her soul Rest in Peace.   Sincerely, HDBS Executive Board Houston Durgabari Society, 13944 Schiller Rd, Houston TX 77082          http://www.durgabari.org