Events › Women's History Month Spotlight: Kala Bagai

Fremont Main Library is teaming up with Narika, the Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour, and the Hume Center to facilitate a discussion of this year’s Women’s History Month Spotlight: Kala Bagai.

Join us for an evening celebrating Kala Bagai’s legacy and her survival and resilience. Learn about Kala Bagai’s history and build community through conversation about our shared histories with speaker Barnali Ghosh.

Kala Bagai was one of the first South Asian women to immigrate to the U.S. in 1915. She survived racism and heartbreak—from housing discrimination in the East Bay, to the loss of her family's U.S. citizenship—to become a much-beloved community-builder, welcoming generations of South Asians to California. In 2021, Bay Area historians and activists won the campaign to rename a street in Downtown Berkeley “Kala Bagai Way,” honoring her life and work. (KalaBagaiWay.org)

Kala became a pillar of the South Asian community in Southern California, earning the affectionate title of Jhaiji, or grandmother, and was widely recognized as a founding member of the Indian community there. Following her tradition of hosting, feeding, and caring for her community, we hope you join us for refreshments and refreshing conversations!

6:15 – 6:30 pm: Chai & Snacks

6:30-8 pm:  Speaker & Discussion

About our speaker: 

Barnali Ghosh is a community historian, and a co-curator of the Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour, an award-winning monthly history event that visits sites connected to 100+ years of Desi activism in the Bay Area. The tour was selected “Best of the East Bay,” received the national APIA Preservation Award, and has been featured in National Geographic. (BerkeleySouthAsian.org). In 2024, she was elected to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) board of directors. She is the first South Asian to serve on the board. She credits the work of earlier generations of immigrants, including Kala Bagai, for helping her find her civic voice.

Registration Highly Recommended

Warning: Please use discretion attending due to sensitive nature of the materials (discussion of suicide). We welcome children ages 12 and up

Library staff may take photos, videos, or audio recordings at our events. Please tell us if you do not wish to be photographed, video-recorded, or audio-recorded. We will always respect your requests!

An ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter or closed captioning can be provided for this program if requested at least seven (7) days in advance. For assistance, please contact your library or accessibility@aclibrary.org.