Aloka Moulik Chatterjee

Family Background

Aloka and Achala Moulik were very close sisters and devoted to each other.

Aloka Moulik Chatterjee had her school education in Calcutta, Washington, New York and London. As a little girl in New York and Washington and then at the Hendon Grammar School in London, Aloka made her own contribution to spreading knowledge about India to her British and American classmates.

She was excellent both in studies and extra-curricular activities such as debating and discussions on comparative religion and became Senior Prefect at her school in London.

Aloka graduated from London School of Economics with an honours degree in Economics, Political Science, International Law & Relations. She was an active member of LSE cultural and social life, and poarticipated in university debates and discussion groups. During her stay in Rome with her parents, Aloka studied renaissance art and culture. She also learned the Italian language.

After returning to India she taught these subjects at Indraprastha College, Delhi. After moving to West Bengal where her husband worked, Aloka obtained B.ED degree from Madras University and taught English and History at Loreto Convent in Burnpur. A few years later, she went on to be a co-founder and eventually the Principal of the first nationally accredited school in the town.

Her humane personality and excellent teaching methods helped her students to develop not only a love for the subjects she taught but also instilled in them values which they still hold dear. After her passing away, her students and the school staff held a memorial service in her name. They remember her with esteem and affection for bringing together both academic excellence and discipline to the institution.

Aloka was very widely read in history, economics, political science, cultural and art history. She liked and knew much about Western classical music. She learned Rabindra Sangeet from a famous maestro while studying in Calcutta and sang at the Indian High Commission functions in London, at her father's Food and Agricultural Organization events and at cultural events at London School of Economics. Her parents gifted her their beautiful house in Shantiniketan where she maintained a pretty garden as well as at her home in Burnpur. She was a gourmet cook and had a wide repertoire of Indian and Western cuisine.

Aloka's first book "Tales of Tuntuni" which is an English translation of a Bengali classic by the famous Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury was published posthumously. The book is dedicated to her grandson Avi and grand-daughter Durga, both of whom have the fondest memories of their beloved 'Mamu', especially of all the stories they heard from her since for as long as they can remember.

At the London School of Economics Aloka Moulik Chatterjee specialized in International History and Relations, especially the inter-war period 1919 to 1939. She co-authored with her sister Achala the book "Treaty of Versailles and Remaking of the World - 1919 -2019." In this book Aloka narrates the events and ideologies that led to the declaration of war in 1914, infamous peace Treaty of Versailles of 1919, Germany's defeat and anger, the rise of Nazi Germany, the rise of Soviet Russia, the power rivalries that led to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Aloka passed away soon after writing her chapters. Her sister completed the later chapters on the long aftermath of the Second World War. The book was published in early 1919.