San Francisco Bay Area Bengali Directory

This is a list of Bengali organizations and resources in the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of Northern California.

Coverage includes the South Bay (e.g. San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Silicon Valley), Peninsula (e.g. Palo Alto, Cupertino), East Bay (e.g. Fremont, Livermore, Concord, Pleasanton, Berkeley, Oakland), and the Sacramento/Davis area. Further Northern California coverage is planned. Both Indian and Bangladeshi groups are included.

General Cultural Groups

Anandamela [Sacramento]

Membership: primarily Bangladeshi and West Bengali, first generation
Events: annual Anandamela festival
Established: 2004
Website: http://anandamelahome.wrime.com/

Bay Area Bangladesh Association (BABA)

Membership: primarily Bangladeshi, first generation
Events: Eid reunion, Baisakhi, mela, musical events, sports day, etc.
Established: 1985
Website: http://www.baba1.com/

Bay Area Prabasi

Membership: primarily West Bengali, first generation
Events: Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Kali Puja, annual day, current film screenings, cricket tournament, etc.
Publications: annual magazine, Shankha
Established: 1974
Website: http://www.prabasi.org/

BayBasi

Membership: primarily West Bengali, first generation
Events: Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Lakshmi Puja
Established: 2008
Website: http://www.baybasi.org/

Ekotaa (or "Ekota") (Livermore Durga Puja Committee)

Membership: primarily West Bengali, first generation
Events: Durga Puja, Rabindra Jayanti
Established: 2001
Website: http://www.ekotaa.org/ (formerly http://www.ekota.org/)

Pashchimi

Membership: primarily West Bengali, first generation
Events: Durga Puja, parade floats
Established: 2004
Website: http://www.pashchimi.org/

Sanskriti

Membership: primarily West Bengali (some Bangladeshi), first generation
Events: Durga Puja, picnic, Natya Mela Bengali Drama Festival
Publications: annual magazine Sanskriti, published at Durga Puja
Established: 1998
Website: http://www.sanskriti.org/

Utsav [Sacramento]

Membership: primarily West Bengali, first generation
Events: Durga Puja, picnic
Publications: annual magazine, Chowringhee, published at Durga Puja
Established: 2002
Website: http://www.utsavsac.com/

Conferences

North American Bengali Conference 2009 (NABC 2009)

Date: July 4th weekend, 2009
Location: San Jose
Audience: National; West Bengali and Bangladeshi; first and second generation
Host: Bay Area Prabasi
Website: http://www.nabc2009.com/

Arts

Bay Bahurupi

Focus: amateur Bengali drama
Membership: primarily West Bengali, first generation
Established: 1996
Website: http://baybahurupi.tripod.com/

Enad (Ekti Nataker Dal)

Focus: amateur Bengali drama
Membership: primarily West Bengali, first generation
Established: 2000
Website: http://www.enadonline.org/, http://banglanatak.tripod.com/

BiNa (Bideshe Nattocharcha)

Focus: amateur Bengali drama
Membership: primarily Bangladeshi, first generation
Established: 2002
Ended: 2003?
Status: inactive?
Old website: http://www.e-bina.net/

Academic

Bengali Studies Initiative, UC Berkeley

Focus: Bengali language classes, research at UC Berkeley
Membership: primarily Indian and Bangladeshi academics and students
Website: http://southasia.berkeley.edu/bengali_india_initiative.php

Prabasi Bangla School

Focus: Bengali language classes for youth
Established: 1975
Location: Oakland
Membership: primarily Indian, some Bangladeshi; second generation
Website: http://www.prabasibengalischool.com/

Youth

Youth Association of Bay Area Bangladeshis (YABAB)

Focus: youth social events, arts, etc.
Established: 2000
Membership: primarily Bangladeshi; second generation
Websites: http://www.yabab.us.tt/, YABAB Facebook group

Social Service / Politics

Agami

Issues: support basic education in Bangladesh
Membership: primarily Bangladeshi
Established: 1992
Website: http://www.agami-us.org/

International Institute of Bengal Basin (IIBB)

Issues: ecological issues and human rights in Bengal
Events: lectures on arsenic contamination, human rights conference, etc.
Established: 1999?
Website: http://www.nvo.com/ghosh_research/door/

Progressive Bengali Network (PBN)

Issues: US-based progressive, social justice issues
Events: film screenings, legal clinics, protests, actions
Membership: West Bengali and Bangladeshi; first and second generation
Established: 2002
Website: https://www.bengali.net/pbn/

Project Well USA

Issues: fundraising to provide arsenic-safe drinking water in West Bengal
Established: 2002
Website: http://www.projectwellusa.org/

SpaandanB

Issues: fundraising for health, education, and development in Bangladesh
Events: fundraisers
Membership: primarily Bangladeshi, first generation
Established: 2000?
Website: http://www.spaandanb.org/

Digital Bangla Project

Issues: providing freely available Bengali software
Events: fundraisers
Membership: West Bengali and Bangladeshi
Established: 2002
Status: inactive
Website: http://www.digitalbangla.org/

Publications

Porshi

Type: monthly Bangla magazine
Established: 2001
Website: http://www.porshi.com/

Utsab

Type: bimonthly Bangla magazine
Established: 1999
Website: http://www.utsabpatrika.com/

Business

American Association of Bangladeshi Engineers and Architects, Silicon Valley Chapter

Membership: Bangladeshi, primarily first generation
Events: seminars, SBIT2000 conference
Website: http://www.aabea.org/chapters/sillicon_valley.php

Bangladesh ICT Business Center (BICTBC)

Description: incubator and shared office space for Bangladeshi IT companies
Established: 2003
Status: inactive?
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Old website: http://www.bibc.biz/

Alumni

IIT Kharagpur Alumni Group, Silicon Valley Chapter

Websites: http://www.iitkgpsv.org/, http://www.iitfoundation.org/chapters/sfbay/

Jadavpur University Alumni Association of Northern California

Established: 1986
Website: http://www.kepnet.com/jualumni/

Restaurants

Gulistan Bangladeshi

Type: Pakistani/Bangladeshi restaurant
Established: 2007?
Yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/gulistan-bangladeshi-union-city

Cafe Dhaka

Type: Bengali restaurant
Established: 2006?
Closed: 2008
Website: http://www.cafedhaka.com/
Yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-dhaka-santa-clara

Markets

New Bangla Bazar

Type: Bangladeshi market
Established: 2006?
Yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-bangla-bazar-sunnyvale

Gulshan Market

Type: Bangladeshi market
Established: 2008?
Yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/gulshan-market-union-city

Online

Bengalis in Bay Area, CA (Orkut community)

Website: http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=19529062

Research

"Culturally Correct: Identity Construction by Bengali Immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area" by Sanghamitra Niyogi

Type: academic paper
Date: 2006
Website: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p177146_index.html

"'Bengali Nerds': Second Generation Bengali-Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area" by Sanghamitra Niyogi

Type: academic paper
Date: 2009
Website: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p307992_index.html

Keywords for Search Engines

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Counties Covered: Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Napa County, Sacramento County, San Francisco County, San Joaquin County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Solano County, Sonoma County, Yolo County

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Events and services: Durga Puja, Durga Pujo, Durga Pooja, Bay Area Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Saraswati Puja, Saraswathi Pooja, Bangla School, Bengali School, learn Bengali, learn Bangla, Bengali community, Bangladeshi community, Bangla community, Bangladeshi association, Bengali association, Bengali club, Bengali clubs, Bengali committee, Bengali group, Bengali network, Bengali festival, Bengali restaurant, Bangladeshi restaurant, Bengali market, Bangladeshi market, Bengali groceries, Bangladeshi groceries