Hemendra Mohan Bose

Hemendra Mohan Bose (1864 – 28 August 1916) was an Indian entrepreneur, manufacturer of Kuntalin hair oil and Delkhosh brand of perfume. Many of his businesses were spurred on from amateur hobbies and interests in scientific advancements. He was also the pioneer of color photography in India.

Early life Bose was born in 1866 in Mymensingh, where his father Haramohan Bose used to stay, the ancestral home of the family was in the village of Jaysiddhi, in Mymensingh District. According to Michael Kinnear, Bose was born in 1864 at his ancestral village. After passing I.A. he took admission in the Medical College Kolkata. While a student at the college, he suffered an accident where his eyes were scarred in acid. After recovering, he quit his medical career. In 1890, Bose began experimenting with perfume, and started his move into business.

Bose was married to Mrinalini Debi, the sister of Saradaranjan Ray and Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, and therefore a great-uncle of Satyajit Ray by marriage to his great-aunt.

Career

In 1894, Bose started his own business in perfume manufacturing, the H-Bose Perfumers at 62 Bowbazar Street in Kolkata, where he distilled the perfumes. After the initial success, he added hair oil and other toiletries like lavender water, Eau de Cologne, milk of rose etc. to his range of products. He also set up a new manufacturing unit at 6 Shib Narayan Das Lane in Kolkata. He was the proprietor of the first Indian owned automobile distributor in Calcutta, The Great Eastern Motor Company, and employed a British manager. He also set up a repairing unit, the Great Eastern Motor Works in Park Street. after he had acquired an Edison phonograph. He began recording his friends in a leisurely fashion. Some of the first people recorded by H. Bose included his uncle, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, P. C. Roy, and his good friend Rabindranath Tagore. His company became known as "H. Bose's Record" which later became "H. Bose Swadeshi Records". By 1907, the demand for Bose's recordings grew so great that he began producing his own cylinders for recording. H. Bose was a well known patron of the Swadeshi movement and many of his records covered this subject.

Achievements Bose was the pioneer of color photography in India. He used Autochrome Lumière slides for his photographs. He was the founder president of Sporting Union.