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Rabindranath Tagore’s grandfather, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore, borrowed Rs 60,000 from the Bank of Bengal in 1817.
The money was used to finance his business empire in India and abroad.
For the bank, which was then British in character, this triggered a major growth in business.
Nearly two centuries later, Dwarkanath’s fibre-glass statue greets visitors entering the State Bank of India’s archives and museum at the bank’s registered headquarters on Strand Road in Kolkata.
“We have placed his statue as a mark of respect to his contribution to the growth of the bank,” says the curator.
Spread over 7,500 sq feet, the museum chronicles the evolution of SBI from the days of the Bank of Calcutta in 1806.
A treasure trove of interesting facts, the gallery details the evolution of India’s banking system which was initially driven by the shroffs (local moneylenders), to the emergence of commercial banks in the 18{+t}{+h} century. Visitors can take a peek into the personal finances of legends Bengali Renaissance period legends such as Rabindranath Tagore; polymath and social reformer, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and theosophist, Annie Besant.
Believe it or not, the bank even returned a cheque issued by the then Governor-General, William Bentinck, for exceeding the credit limit by just four annas (25 paise).
Bentinck, instrumental in the abolition of sati, had applauded the bank.
“This was the bank to do business with, which would not violate its rules in the smallest particular for the Governor-General himself,” says the curator.
In 1824, an East India Company’s paper on which the bank had already advanced Rs 40,000, was found to have been abstracted and re-pledged to the bank leading to a financial loss. But the biggest fraud was recorded during 1826-28. Rajkissore Dutt, a small-time Calcutta businessman, availed a loan of Rs 3.5 lakh against forged papers.
In addition to wiping out a good part of profits, the incident impacted dividend payment in 1834.
(Picture : A. Roy Chowdhury)
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