The Bengal, in collaboration with Pronam, organised ‘Lamp of God’, a composite cultural evening of dance and music, at Kala Mandir on August 19. The programme had Dona Ganguly and her dance troupe, Diksha Manjari, along with Dr Ananda Gupta and his UK-based music school, Dakshinayan UK, come together to put up a presentation on Rabindranth Tagore and Sri Aurobindo for Pronam members. My Kolkata was there to experience the evening.
At present, Pronam has over 20,000 senior citizens as members, hundreds of whom were present for the event
The Bengal is a Kolkata-based NGO that brings together eminent citizens, opinion leaders and achievers to promote various socio-cultural and welfare activities in the state. Pronam, a project of The Bengal, run in collaboration with Kolkata Police, is an outreach programme for the welfare of elderly citizens. At present, Pronam has over 20,000 senior citizens as its members. The Pronam project is supported by Shree Cement Ltd under their CSR initiative.
Goutam Ghose delivers the welcome address
The programme began with Goutam Ghose, working president, The Bengal, delivering his welcome address. “I want to take this opportunity to thank all the members of Pronam for being a part of this initiative and its volunteers for the work that they’ve done to spread its reach. We started off with The Bengal 14 years back, and it's been a wonderful journey with Shree Cement always by our side. The main force behind The Bengal has always been the conservation and the promotion of our inclusive composition culture in tandem with a spate of social initiatives that we’ve been able to deliver. Pronam has been a very important initiative supported by Kolkata Police. With the help of our volunteers, we only hope to spread its wings further in the years to come,” said Ghose.
Arindam Sil emphasised on the importance of ‘preserving our culture and the sanctity of our language’
Arindam Sil, programme committee member, The Bengal, harped on the importance of “preserving our culture and the sanctity of our language”, where the senior citizens of our society, with their young hearts, act as the beacons, deploying their expanse of knowledge and experience.
Dona Ganguly delivered a splendid performance along with her troupe ‘Diksha Manjari’
The cultural programme had three segments: Rabindranath and his Swadeshchetona (patriotism) in the wake of Independence Day celebrations and the remembrance of martyrdom; 150 years of Sri Aurobindo's birth and a fusion between Rabindranath and the former’s body of works and thoughts; and finally, Rabindranath's poetic relationship and negotiation with death.
Dr Ananda Gupta performing with Dakshinayan UK, his UK-based music school
Dr Gupta and his team performed songs and monologues dedicated to the three segments, as they fused on stage with Diksha Manjari, led by Dona Ganguly's impeccable dance performance. The presentation followed a definite narrative structure with the dance presenting the story encapsulated in the poems and the words of the Bard, a perfect tribute to the legacy of two polymaths.
Sundeep Bhutoria described Pronam as an ‘immensely fulfilling’ project Sundeep Bhutoria
“It’s heartening to witness the journey of Pronam from 200 members to 20,000 till date. Serving and extending support to our elderly community has been immensely fulfilling. As we celebrate a decade of our journey, it's important to acknowledge that this achievement wouldn't have been possible without the steadfast partnership of Kolkata Police and my colleagues at The Bengal. My heartfelt gratitude extends to our Pronam office support staff, who work around the clock to ensure the project’s success,” said Sundeep Bhutoria, secretary general, The Bengal.