Bhaju Ratna Kansakar

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Bhaju Ratna Kansakar in the 1950s
Letterhead of Bhaju Ratna's firm
Motor Stand, Kalimpong in the 1950s
Kolkata in 1945

Bhāju Ratna Kansakār (Devanagari: भाजुरत्न कंसकार) (1882 - 20 December 1956) was a Nepalese trader and philanthropist who laid the foundations of the Jyoti Group, one of the largest business and industrial houses in Nepal. He was also an important figure in the revival of Theravada Buddhism in the country when it was being suppressed by the state.[1][2]

Early life

Bhaju Ratna was born in Kathmandu, the third of four sons of father Kulbir Singh and mother Nanibeti Kansakar. His ancestral home was located at Kel Tol, a business and ceremonial neighborhood in central Kathmandu. Its most important landmark is the temple of Jana Baha Dyah, which is known in Sanskrit as Aryavalokitesvara (Sacred Avalokiteśvara). Bhaju Ratna never went to school, and taught himself to read and write.

The Kansakars were engaged in the hereditary occupation of making bronze, brass and copper household utensils. Bhaju Ratna started out as a worker at a relative's workshop in Darjeeling, India in 1898. Returning to Kathmandu in 1903, Bhaju Ratna got married to Gyan Maya Tamrakar. He went back to his job in Darjeeling shortly after.[3]

Going into business

After a few years in Darjeeling, Bhaju Ratna decided to set up a cloth shop in Kathmandu with his savings, and went to Mumbai to procure stock. Around 1905, he opened a cloth shop at Kel Tol. The business prospered, but in 1918, a massive fire destroyed the entire stock of textiles and yarn, and Bhaju Ratna was ruined. About the same time, his wife died leaving behind four children.

Bhaju Ratna remarried and moved to Kalimpong, India in 1921 to start afresh as a seller of household utensils for export to Tibet. Kalimpong was then the start of the caravan route to Lhasa. As business grew, he brought over craftsmen from Kathmandu and established his own workshop.[4]

Bhaju Ratna habitually wore a white cap, and Tibetan traders would often refer to him as Syamukapu, which means "white cap" in Tibetan. It would become the name of the business house he subsequently established in Kalimpong and Tibet.[5][6]

Enterprises in Tibet and India

Bhaju Ratna diversified into forwarding Lhasa-bound cargo for Newar merchants based in the Tibetan capital. Later, he also procured the merchandise for them on commission basis, and dispatched them to Lhasa by mule caravan. By 1930, he had opened his own establishment in Tibet at Phari, which lies on the trade route to Lhasa.

Since most of the merchandise shipped to Lhasa were obtained in Kolkata, he set up an office there too in 1937, and sent his eldest son Maniharsha Jyoti Kansakar to work there. In 1939, he set up a business house in Lhasa.[7]

Bhaju Ratna's extensive trading enterprises grew into the Jyoti Group which was founded in the 1940s by Maniharsha Jyoti (1917-1992). It is involved in trading, manufacturing, travel, steel, pharmaceuticals and insurance.[8][9] Bhaju Ratna's grandson Padma Jyoti is the chairman of the Jyoti Group.

Religious benefactor

Bhaju Ratna became one of the most important supporters of the movement to revive Theravada Buddhism at a time when it faced official disapproval at great personal risk. In 1926, following the banishment of Buddhist monks from Nepal by the Rana regime, he took care of them when they arrived in Kalimpong. During the second expulsion in 1944 too, he housed and fed the monks for years.[10][11] Bhaju Ratna's generosity earned him the name "hero of charity".[12][13] He has also been featured in the course of study in Buddhism as an eminent lay person.[14]

Bhaju Ratna died at his home in Kathmandu aged 74.

See also

References

  1. ↑ LeVine, Sarah; Gellner, David N. (2005). Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal. Harvard University Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-674-01908-9. 
  2. ↑ "Trading". Jyoti Group. Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  3. ↑ Hilker, DS Kansakar (2005). Syamukapu: The Lhasa Newars of Kalimpong and Kathmandu. Kathmandu: Vajra Publications. p. 30. ISBN 99946-644-6-8. 
  4. ↑ Hilker, DS Kansakar (2005). Syamukapu: The Lhasa Newars of Kalimpong and Kathmandu. Kathmandu: Vajra Publications. p. 27. ISBN 99946-644-6-8. 
  5. ↑ Turin, Mark (20 October 2006). "Timeless trader". Nepali Times. Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  6. ↑ Harris, Tina (2013). Geographical Diversions: Tibetan Trade, Global Transactions. University of Georgia Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780820345123. 
  7. ↑ Kansakar, Manikratna (2001). "Syamukapu - A recollection". In Lall, Kesar. The Newar merchants in Lhasa. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar. p. 111. ISBN 99933-0-187-6. 
  8. ↑ "Jyoti Group". Jyoti Group. Retrieved 17 June 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Nepal's first steel factory celebrates golden jubilee". The Kathmandu Post. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013. 
  10. ↑ Dietrich, Angela (1996). "Buddhist Monks and Rana Rulers: A History of Persecution". Buddhist Himalaya: A Journal of Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods. Retrieved 24 June 2013. 
  11. ↑ Vandya, R. B. (1978). Sanghanayaka Ven. Pragnananda Mahasthabir: A Concise Biography. Chandra Devi Shakya, Ratna Devi Shakya. p. 35. Retrieved 24 June 2013. 
  12. ↑ LeVine, Sarah; Gellner, David N. (2005). Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal. Harvard University Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-674-01908-9. 
  13. ↑ Tewari, Ramesh Chandra (1983). "Socio-Cultural Aspects of Theravada Buddhism in Nepal". The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Vol 6 No 2. p. 92. Retrieved 16 June 2013. 
  14. ↑ "ATBU Syllabus 2013, Courses of Study, Master of Arts in Theravada Buddhism, Theravada Buddhist Academy". Association of Theravāda Buddhist Universities. p. 35. Retrieved 18 June 2013. 
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