1(A) Is he originally from Kolkata
Born on 8th January, 1935 in an old aristocratic family in South Calcutta (now Kolkata), residing here for more than 200 years. Our area, Bhowanipore, was full of orchards, trees, plants, and ponds, and many water sources mainly surrounded by stretches of rivers popularly known as the Ganga. Bhowanipore was mainly occupied by law practitioners in those days, including Late Sir Asutosh Mukherjee (Justice of Calcutta High Court and Vice Chancellor, University of Calcutta), Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das (renowned Bar-at-Law and Past Mayor of Calcutta Municipal Corporation, who successfully defended Rishi Aurobindo against the British Government), and of course Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who resided at Elgin Road, Bhowanipore (now Netaji Bhawan) and from there left the country in disguise to fight for Independent India.
1(B) Academic Qualification:
(a) Bachelor of Commerce Degree (B.Com) from University of Calcutta in the year 1956.
(b) Bachelor of Legislative Law (LLB) from University College of Law, Calcutta University in the year 1959.
(c) Diploma in Journalism from University College of Journalism in the year 1961–62.
(d) Certificate of Rural Journalism – A six-month crash course from the Institute of Rural Journalism, New Delhi, headed by Late G. P. Jain, Editor of Sevagram Weekly, the then largest circulated Hindi agri-weekly.
2. What is the best thing he liked in the journey?
My involvement in rural journalism vis-à-vis poultry journalism always allowed me to explore the mindset of thousands of small rural farmers, who till today always appreciate the unique role of a rural journalist and honour its value. Their dependence on us as a knowledge and information sharing platform built a close relation and a larger extended family across the industry and the country. This is always encouraging and the main source of motivation to fuel up his passion.
3. What is the right motivation he likes in the journey?
The main goal is knowledge sharing and introducing innovative technology to the grass roots. In the process, highlighting and setting examples of the role of dedicated successful poultry producers and related industry people; to showcase the professional image of the poultry industry for the cause of poultry development and agro-industries in India.
4. Why did he choose the Poultry / Livestock profession?
A good number of my mentors and boyhood/school friends were involved in the veterinary and poultry profession. They encouraged me to publish a newspaper/trade magazine with an innovative outlook on poultry farming and production. Particularly, I wish to mention here the names of Late G.P. Jain, Editor and founder of the rural and agriculture newspaper Sevagram Weekly, and Late Mr. B. V. Rao, Founder of Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group — both were my good friends and mentors who encouraged me to pursue this journey from the very beginning.
5. As compared to other big players in the industry, how he and his organization are different?
IPR Group is the first professional publication that involved a team of active journalists in agricultural and rural development of India. Today, it leads with a dynamic team of professionals from agri-science journalism, particularly in poultry journalism, as well as support from technical experts, entrepreneurs, and policymakers across the country.
We stand as the only knowledge-sharing platform in the industry that delves deep into the poultry industry and its current issues and understands the pulse of the poultry industry in India — with large associations and interactions from grassroots farmers to the biggest and brightest producers alike. Our journey continues by investing in modern technology, digital upgradation, continuing with true-to-date reporting, and reaching out to the grass roots of the poultry industry.
6. Please tell us about his family.
Hailing from an affluent South Kolkata family of five brothers, who were in banking and law by profession, he chose to be different. His inclination towards media was encouraged and supported by his family wholeheartedly throughout his journey.
Later, after his marriage, his wife and two daughters were the key inspiration to his success and in achieving every goal. His spouse, Smt. Shelley Ghosh, is actively involved in the business and has stood by his side at every achievement in over 50 years of a memorable journey — whether it was representing the poultry industry to the President or Prime Minister of the country in the eighties and nineties, or welcoming friends and industry colleagues like the Late Mr. B. V. Rao to their family home in Kolkata.
Now, his next generation — his elder daughter and son-in-law, Mr. Sanjoy Mukerji — have joined forces and taken the role of torchbearers to carry forward his vision of knowledge sharing and reaching the grass roots to build a healthy agro-economy for the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
7. What does he think about his organisation leading in the poultry industry?
He believes — Knowledge is power.
At Indian Poultry Review, we are committed to disseminating knowledge across segments in the poultry industry through the years in print media, through vernacular languages (Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi — wherever necessary), through our monthly magazine Indian Poultry Review and weekly newspaper Poultry Jagat.
This apart, we focus on creating awareness sessions, direct contact programmes, and now on the virtual medium through podcasts and video content — creating live interactions and sharing platforms to reach the maximum number of beneficiaries, even at the grass roots level.
His mission is to return the freedom of making poultry farming an easy and lucrative choice of profession to feed India’s fastest-growing protein business.
8. What is his dream for the next generation entering this business?
The pandemic has changed lives in many ways. But the biggest lesson has been that of human resilience. The poultry industry is the biggest example of how people have overcome the eye of the storm and are continuously marching ahead to scale newer heights of success.
The breakthrough and tremendous flush of new-generation energy in poultry start-ups is a ray of hope and new light, growing by leaps and bounds. Introducing more and more opportunities through interactions — we’ve started the IPR Annual Conclave, IPR Commemorative Lecture Series, and IPR Knowledge Review — based on global realisation of technical and high-end skill fulfilment needs to continue in a vigorous journey forward.
Last year, IPR organised its first international knowledge-sharing activity in Nepal. The agriculture sector in India is still among the highest contributors to employment generation in the country, and the overall agri-tech industry witnessed huge revenue growth of about 85% even during the global pandemic year.
It’s time we steered this segment with adequate knowledge sharing, innovation, and ample agri-technology support to a brighter future.
9. What is his favourite food?
He is a simple man who eats to live and believes in sharing. Since his young days, he has arranged many gatherings for feasts and food experiences — from organising cooking competitions at poultry federation fairs to welcoming every guest to his home for a hearty fare — he believes in leading by example.
His favourite food is cooked at home by his wife, where chicken and eggs feature regularly. In fact, his love for innovation has also encouraged his wife, Smt. Shelley Ghosh, to publish a book of her own chicken recipes in Bengali called Chicken Chorcha (Chicken Culture), which is a popular name in Bengali households today.
10. What are his hobbies?
He has always been fond of nature and literature. To this day, he spends at least 2 to 3 hours practising horticulture every day — gardening mostly flowers and seasonal fruits at his rooftop garden — and reading books and journals at his study for at least 4 hours a day. This is his favourite pastime.
11. Anything he would like to add?
His message to today’s poultry entrepreneurs:
Poultry technology and methods of management and production are changing fast — almost daily — with new innovations and findings. Poultry producers and stakeholders should keep their eye on all such innovations and try to introduce them in their farming to gain and enrich their knowledge further.