Kolkata woman who became part of Fermanagh

(a slightly edited version of this obituary was published in the Irish Times Saturday November 22nd 2014)

Anita Mukherjee – born January 27^th 1957, died October 23^rd 2014

Anita Mukherjee, who has died in a Belfast hospital, was a native of Kolkata, India, who became part of life in her adopted home of Enniskillen. “Somehow I feel in tune with Fermanagh,” she said. She was a charismatic community worker there for a decade and a half. At meetings, she was the person people wanted to sit beside because she was fun.

Probably her biggest achievement was establishing Women of the World in Fermanagh. It fulfils a number of roles. Social events are organised to counteract the isolation of immigrant women. These are a lifeline for those from small immigrant groups.

Fermanagh Women of the World develops understanding of immigrant cultures among the host community. Ms Mukherjee saw that work as countering racism by breaking down barriers and getting rid of preconceptions.

She energetically promoted her Bengali culture, teaching its dance and cookery. She swept into classes in a whirlwind of cheerfulness, with bangles and sari. She took those classes into schools and youth clubs. As well as being a promoter of Bengali food, she was an equally energetic promoter of healthy eating. Her workshops on equality and diversity always deepened participants’ understanding.

As well as Women of the World, she was a member of Fermanagh Women’s Network, the Northern Ireland Rural Women’s Network, Fermanagh Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP), and the Soroptimists. In the PCPS she strongly advocated proper links with the community: and, being an immigrant, contributed vital insights.

She was born Anita Chatterji in January 1957 in Kolkata, India’s third-largest city, the eldest of four children, three girls and a boy. He father was an engineer, her mother a poet. The family was educated rather than rich. She received secondary education at the Loreto House in Kolkata, one of India’s most prestigious schools, run by Irish nuns from the Loreto Order. At the school she remembered encountering Mother Teresa. She continued her education with a degree in English from the University of Calcutta. At the turn of the century she left India when her husband became general manager of an engineering firm in Fermanagh. The county quickly became home, and she contributed greatly to its life.

She is survived by her husband Tapan, son Rohan, sisters Indrani and Debjani, and brother Rinku.