Curumsey Damjee Explained

Rai Bahadur Curumsey Damjee (also spelled Karamsi or Kasamshi Damji) JP[1] (1844-1918)[2] was a noted businessman.[3] Hailing from Waghura, a small village in remote Kutch he migrated to Bombay (now Mumbai) at a young age and became a very successful businessman, working with the Bombay Port Trust.[4]

Work and award

Damjee's company, Curumsey Damjee and Sons, was involved in work at Bombay Port.[5] He was given the honorific title "Rao Bahadur" by the then British government in India for his good community work on 1 January 1899.[6]

Religion and community

The Curumsey Damjee Community Hall at the Dariya Sthan (Kutchi Lohana Mahajan) Masjid Bunder, Mumbai was named after him.[4] He also co-edited a 1902 version of Bhramanand Kavya, an important Swaminarayan Scripture, written by Brahmanand Swami. 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.[7]

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 in Waghora. Third, the R. B. Sheth Curumsey Damjee Swaminarayan Temple Charity Trust that funds various activities of the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Mumbai.[4] An annual scholarship was instituted at the University of Mumbai after him. This scholarship was worth Rs. 250/- and was given to the top most student among Kutchi Lohana community.[8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Bombay university calendar, Volume 2. 1925. University of Bombay . 642.
  2. Web site: Rao Bahadur Sheth Curumsey Damjee (1844-1918) . 5 April 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130208093447/http://www.matheran.org/aboutus.html . 8 February 2013 . dead .
  3. Book: Mahadev Haribhai Desai . Narahari Dvārakādāsa Parīkha . Hemantkumar Gunabhai Nilkanth . Day-to-day with Gandhi . Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan . 1968 . 27 March 2009. Page 205
  4. Web site: About Rao Bahadur Sheth Curumsey Damjee . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080516071309/http://matheran.org/about_our_founder.htm . 2008-05-16 .
  5. Book: Sorabji M. Rutnagur . Bombay industries . Indian textile journal . 1927 . 27 March 2009. Page 604
  6. Book: Roper Lethbridge . The golden book of India: a genealogical and biographical dictionary of the ruling princes, chiefs, nobles, and other personages, titled or decorated, of the Indian empire . Macmillan . 1900 . 27 March 2009. Page 132
  7. Book: James Fuller Blumhardt . Catalogue of Marathi and Gujarati printed books in the library of the British museum . B. Quaritch . 1915 . 27 March 2009. Page 112
  8. Book: University of Bombay . Bombay university handbook . University of Bombay . 1930 . 27 March 2009. Page 333