Tagore not only means poetry, but business also

Kolkata, May 13: Rabindra Nath Tagore had his current account with Bank of Bengal in 1921, the erstwhile State Bank of India.

Rabindranath Tagore to Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, Dadabhai Naoroji to Motilal Nehru--had one thing in common, they all held current accounts in this Bank. You can witness the history and economic evolution of Bengal if you traverse State Bank of India(SBI) in the last 200 year.

Current account and loan documents, old coins, manuscripts, current account details of who's who of Bengal's history and the currency notes issued by Bank of Bengal are now all parts of the historical treasure trove in the SBI's newly inaugurated archive.

The East India Company set up Bank of Calcutta in 1806.

After a brief period, the Bank was renamed as Bank of Bengal.

'' If you go through the archive, you will revisit the history of Bengal and Bengal's economy, '' SBI Chairman&Managing Director O P Bhatt said here today after inaugurating the archive officially.

The first native Indian to open an current account in Bank of Bengal was Prince Dwaraka Nath Togore, the grandfather of Rabindra Nath Tagore. The archive documents say he had taken loan of Rs 60,000 for the first time from the Bank on July 21,1817. Dwarkanath became a regular borrower till 1824.

'' Historical documents, coins, account books, half-yearly and annual reports of the Bank from its various branches in Mumbai and Chennai and other branches had been brought to Kolkata to create this archive, '' sources in the Bank's history cell said.

'' The growing export trade in opium and cotton in Western India necessiated the creation of similar Banks in line with Bank of Bengal. In 1840, the Bank of Bombay was set up which was followed by Bank of Madras in 1843. The Bank of Bengal, Madras and Bombay used to issue Bank notes ranging between sicca Rs 10 and Rs 10,000. '' The Bank's another famous borrower was Iswarchandra Vidyasagar.

In 1873, he tendered government securities worth Rs 71,00 to secure loan of Rs 6200 from the Bank.

In 1861, the India government floated Paper Currency Act, which stopped the issuance of currency notes by individual Banks following an agreement by Viceroy Lord Canning. This was the time when branch banking started, Bank's history cell sources said adding rapid expansion by way of branches at the interior areas statred from this time. Among the earliest branches were Rangoon, Dacca, Mrzapur, Benares and Patna under Bank of Bengal.

The passing of the President Banks Act in 1876 brought the Banks of Bengal, Bombay and Madras under a common statute with similar restrictions on business.

These Banks then felt the need for building up larger resources.

Till then deposits were accepted only by way of current accounts.

The rules of the Bank of Bengal even as early as 1840 provided for an initial deposit of Rs 500 for opening such an account.

For creating huge pool of resources, the three Banks introduced the fixed deposuit schemme in 1880s offering four per cent on one-year and three per cent on six-month deposit. Savings Bank scheme with a three per cent rate of interest was introduced in 1902.

UNI