President’s Message

I trust everyone is doing well and staying safe, as we navigate through these anxious and unpredictable times. Please continue to heed the government’s advice as we collectively work to protect the health and wellbeing of our community, society and loved ones. On behalf of the BAS Committee, I wish you and your loved ones a very happy and healthy life.

It is a matter of great privilege for me to assume the role of BAS President, but above all I am humbled and honoured that our members have entrusted me with their faith. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude and thanks to former President Mr. Devasish Dutta and his Committee Members for an outstanding 2019, where they continued to strive and raise the bar for BAS.

As we celebrate 61 years as an organisation, it is important to reflect on the past and thank all the past Managing Committees for their hard work and long list of achievements. On behalf of the current Committee, I can promise you that we will do our best to continue to strive for excellence and push forward with all the projects that were started last year, for the larger benefit of our community.

In this endeavour, I am joined by my colleagues on the Management Committee: Mr. Arjun Dasgupta as the Hon. Vice President Mr Saswata Mukherjee as the Hon. Secretary Ms. Mahua Banerjee as the Hon. Treasurer Mr. Kaushik Ghatak, Mr. Abhishek Chowdhury and Ms. Shalinee Chatterjee as the committee members.

2020 has been far from the idyllic year. We are halfway through 2020, anxieties are higher than ever, and the times are unpredictable and unprecedented. While no one can predict how long COVID-19 is here to stay or what the final impact will be, one thing is for certain, we must not lose heart and hope.

In these efforts, we have continued to engage with our community remotely, adhering to health and safety protocols and unless otherwise indicated by the Government of Singapore, we shall continue to do so for the remainder of 2020. At this moment of time, given the global situation and the government guidelines, we are unable to say with certainty where Durga Puja celebrations stand this year – but we shall continue to monitor the situation and update you as things evolve.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, as this year with your continued support, we hope to give BAS a permanent home, via a permanent premise of our own. We look forward to greater member involvement through the creation of sub-committees for various activities as well as an advisory board with some of our senior members. Every member input is valuable, and every effort will be made by us to incorporate suggestions and innovative ideas that might benefit BAS and our community positively. We will also continue to build BAS as an inclusive community through meaningful and productive ties with other communities.

This year we have had to streamline the various BAS activities. Our first virtual program during the pandemic was a big success. We look forward to more such activities in this new normal.

BENGALI ASSOCIATION SINGAPORE 1 Scotts Road #24-10 Shaw Centre Singapore 228208 www.bas.sg (UEN No. S56SS0020D) Email: mc@bas.sg
The new BAS website has also been launched and the brand-new membership management system will be operational soon. Once again, we would also like to reaffirm the BAS MC’s receptivity to member feedback and suggestions.

On behalf of the 2020 Management Committee, we look forward to working with all our members and the volunteers and taking our great association forward.

Kind regards,

Swagata Chakraborty

President, BAS