RITA BUDHIRAJA
Long before you and I arrived here …
The story of Bengalis in Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts, as well as the larger Indian community would not be complete without mentioning one of the first few Bengalis to settle in this area – Rita Budhiraja and her husband late Ashwani Budhiraja. Theirs is an amazing story of a pioneering spirit, adventure, talent, and grace. Please read on to learn more about their story and their contributions to the local Indian and Bengali community.
New Beginnings
Rita and Ashwani met at Jamshedpur, India, in 1967 while he was working at Jemco as Chief Engineer. He had graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from St. Xavier’s Institute of Management in Jamshedpur, and Rita’s father was the Managing Director of the company. In 1969, after their wedding, Ashwani moved to Rhode Island to pursue graduate studies in Metallurgy at Brown University.
Fond Memories of Brown
Rita speaks fondly of their days at the Brown University. They were among the founders of Brown’s Indian Student Association (shown in the photo above). One of the highlights of their activities was the screening of an Indian movie every month. The movie reel had to be sent over by bus from New York, and Rita went to the bus station to collect it, and then return it once the viewing was done. They once organized a fashion show at the International House at Brown, where Rita dressed up as an Indian bride (see photo), to much acclaim. They set up a booth to sell Indian delicacies at the International Fair that was held at Meeting Street in Providence every year and organized sports competitions for the Indian Association at Brown. While at Brown, the Budhirajas were part of a small but vibrant community of Bengalis in Rhode Island who used to celebrate Durga Puja, for a few years, in one of their homes.
Building a home away from home
Imbued with a pioneering spirit and equipped with Ashwani’s engineering expertise, the Budhirajas moved into their beautiful home in Rehoboth, MA, on a sprawling eighteen acre lot. Giving expression to their passion for gardening they laid out beautiful landscaping and lawns, while preserving a natural forested part of the property. Within the home are present wonderful building projects, conceived and brought to fruition by Ashwani. Throughout the beautifully decorated home are mementos of Rita and Ashwani’s many hobbies and their passion for travel to various corners of the globe (from Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, to Egypt, Jordan, Bali, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand, to name a few). They loved to cook and entertain. Ashwani had several interests and hobbies. He was a formidable player of table tennis, billiards, and bridge, and an excellent artist. Both Rita and Ashwani loved to sing, were widely read. Rita’s hobbies were needlepoint, knitting, and macrame. Both their artistic creations abound all around their home, and infuse it with a character that delights visitors.
Ashwani had an accomplished 40-year career in Mechanical Engineering and Management, he retired in 2010. Rita completed her training as a dietician and held positions at Miriam Hospital, Jewish Home, and Wrentham before finally retiring in 2015.
Rita’s needlework
Ashwani’s painting
HARI Vidya Bhavan
The contribution of the Budhirajas to the society of Indian diaspora of Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts would be incomplete without mentioning their role as contributors to HARI Vidya Bhavan, a non-profit Hindi language and culture school located in Rhode Island. The founding members were Dr. Ram Gupta, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Ashwini Budhiraja and Hans Maheshwari. More information is available at HARI’s website here: https://www.harischool.com/about-us/. HARI Vidya Bhavan is carrying forward the legacy to this very day.
The Budhiraja Family
Rita and Ashwani’s family includes their two very accomplished daughters, Pratisha and Sangeeta.
Pratisha studied art at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design while concurrently earning a BA in Biology from Brown. She holds Masters degrees in Public Health and Neurobiology from Boston University’s School Public Health and Medicine, devoting two decades to a research career before returning to visual arts. She works in two and three dimensions incorporating printmaking with mixed media. Her academic and professional experience in the sciences as well as her east-west cultural lens influence her work.
Sangeeta went to law school at CUNY School of Law and concentrated in international human rights. She has worked in philanthropy for over 20 years and has been responsible for making grants to organizations doing work to improve society - women, children, education, social justice efforts, native communities, local economies. She currently works for the NoVo Foundation as the executive vice president and director of programs.
