Rai Bahadur
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy), Ministry of Eco ...
Curumsey Damjee (also spelled Karamsi or Kasamshi Damji)
JP (1844-1918)
was a noted businessman.
[ Page 205] Hailing from
Waghura, a small village in remote
Kutch he migrated to
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(now Mumbai) at a young age and became a very successful businessman, working with the Bombay Port Trust.
Work and award
Damjee's company, Curumsey Damjee and Sons, was involved in work at Bombay Port.
[ Page 604] He was given the honorific title "
Rao Bahadur" by the then British government in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
for his good community work on 1 January 1899.
[ Page 132]
Religion and community
The Curumsey Damjee Community Hall at the Dariya Sthan (Kutchi Lohana Mahajan) Masjid Bunder, Mumbai was named after him.
He also co-edited a 1902 version of ''Bhramanand Kavya'', an important Swaminarayan Scripture, written by
Brahmanand Swami
Brahmanand Swami (12 February 1772 – 1832) was revered as a saint of the Swaminarayan Sampraday and as one of Swaminarayan's Paramahamsa. He was also known as one of Swaminarayan's Ashta Kavi's (eight poets) within the Swaminarayan Sampraday ...
. A copy of this book was referred to in the Catalogue of Marathi and Gujarati books of the British Museum, Dept. of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts in 1915.
[ Page 112]
Charity and scholarship
Damjee instituted three Public Charitable Trusts. First the R. B. Sheth Curumsey Damjee Arogya Bhuvan Trust that has a sanatorium in
Matheran. Second, the R. B. Sheth Curumsey Damjee Mathura Waghora Dharamsala Trust that has a
dharamsala
Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
The ...
in Waghora. Third, the R. B. Sheth Curumsey Damjee Swaminarayan Temple Charity Trust that funds various activities of the
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Mumbai
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Mumbai () is a Hindu temple (Mandir) and a part of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. This Swaminarayan Temple is located in the Bhuleshwar area of Mumbai and is the oldest Swaminarayan Mandir in Mumbai, being over a hundr ...
.
An annual scholarship was instituted at the
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai is a collegiate university, collegiate, State university (India), state-owned, Public university, public research university in Mumbai.
The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the un ...
after him. This scholarship was worth Rs. 250/- and was given to the top most student among Kutchi Lohana community.
[ Page 333]
References
External links
The official website of the Rao Bahadur Sheth Curumsey Damjee Arogya Bhuvan TrustThe official website of the Rao Bahadur Sheth Curumsey Damjee Swaminarayan Temple Charity TrustThe Swaminarayan Samraday official Website - Ahemdabad GadiThe Swaminarayan Sampraday official Website - Vadtal Gadi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Damjee, Curumsey
Businesspeople from Mumbai
People from Kutch district
1844 births
1918 deaths
Gujarati people
Gujarati-language writers
Rai Bahadurs
Indian justices of the peace
19th-century Indian philanthropists